The Meenakshi Temple, fragrant strands of jasmine, the three Tamil Sangams…these are what you generally associate with the city of Madurai. And of course, the beautiful and lyrical way in which people there speak the Tamil language we, here in Chennai, are so accustomed to massacring. But, actually arriving in Madurai in August 2009 is…
Bring back the Brits?
That’s what one Mr. Aakar Patel wants us to do. Or at least, wishes they hadn’t left India quite so soon. Check out this phenomenally shortsighted article in the Mint. Or must I say, blindingly Anglophile? I really don’t know how to classify this article. It is one thing to point out that there are…
Time stands still…
…as you enter the three centuries-old Dutch fort at Sadras. I won’t describe the fort for you. Sriram has done it well enough. The fort, built in the 17th Century speaks volumes of a past long dead, an era gone by. I enter the fort and wish I were born in those times. I wish…
Wake up! Smell the (filter) coffee!
Picture this…you wake up in the morning, feeling lazy from all-night conversations with the world’s best friends you can have, and wish you could sleep just 5 minutes more. At this point, the aroma of freshly-filtered coffee, hits you…yumm… Can life be any better? Make no mistake; this is one area in which I am…
The son of Ponni
Yesterday was Adi Perukku. I read not one, but two posts on Ponniyin Selvan. Yes, the novel par excellence by Kalki Krishnamurthy is what first came to my mind when I realized it was the 18th day of the Tamil month of Adi. The thought sent me hurtling back a decade. I had barely finished…
Slim, fair and “homely”
Ever gone through matrimonial ads in the newspapers? All of them ask for brides who are slim, fair and “homely”. Mommy dearest, in her quest for the perfect son-in-law (another post for another time) decided to put in a description of her darling daughter (read ME) the other day over phone to someone. “My daughter…
Of art and vulgarity
I was following a rather interesting discussion yesterday on television. It concerned two groups of people, one contending that the traditional arts were vulgar and the other contending that vulgarity, or the lack of it depended on one’s perspective. The one thing I noticed about people who protested vehemently against vulgarity in art, was that…
The quest for the perfect bride
Bride-hunting is fun, especially when you are not the bride. Bridegroom hunting is even more fun, am sure. Only, I don’t know it yet. But this is not about me. It’s about one person’s quest for the perfect bride. Let’s call him X. Now in his thirties, he decided it was time to try and…
The great science-humanities debate
I was pointed to two articles that contribute to the great science vs. humanities debate, by Abi. The author, Shreesh Chaudhary is a professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in IIT-Madras. He raises some very pertinent, and thought-provoking questions, even as he identifies three basic reasons for the lack of prominence of…
Higher education and Budget 2009
In the Finance Bill 2009, nearly 9 billion INR (approx. $189 million) has been allocated to spending on higher education. This is a 36% hike on spending for higher education over the previous financial year. Let’s first look at the actual provisions of the budget. All information below has been taken from the official budget…