Why I Advise People to Break Off Engagements

(Published in Zeitgeist, The New Indian Express, dated 30 October, 2010) “No, don’t marry him. You’ll regret it.” My friend’s friend gapes a...

What Makes a Bengali?

Bijoya Dashami, which is happy Dussehra for most parts of the country, is a day of some sadness for the Bengali. After the intense festivity...

Why a Woman Can't Handle the Driver's Seat

(Published in Zeitgeist, The New Indian Express, dated 16 October 2010) “I bet that’s a woman!” That was my pet phrase when I felt like anno...

An Unlikely Chain of Events and Wise Versa

(Published in Zeitgeist, The New Indian Express, dated 2 October, 2010) It’s only when someone starts snoring, and a fellow-passenger glares...

When Faithlessness Takes a Hike

(Published in I-Witness, The New Indian Express, dated 27 September, 2010) Title: Manasarovar Author: Ashokamitran Translator: N Kalyan Rama...

The Vas Deferens Between a Fundamentalist and Teenager

(Published as 'A Boy's Guide to Growing Up', I-Witness, The New Indian Express, dated September 20, 2010) Book title: The Sacred...

Tupperware and the Sanctity of Marriage

(Published as 'Earl T. and the Boxes of Bliss' in Zeitgeist, The New Indian Express, dated September 19, 2010) “See, this is how you...

Seven Deadly Films: My Favourite Thrillers

Depending on where you are looking from, the number of movies in the thriller genre can be surprisingly high or depressingly low. There are ...

What I Do When I'm Bored

This happened after a certain someone told me I should 'stick' to what I do best...

I, Robot? Ai ai yo, Robot!

Okay, let me get this out as fast as possible... Enthiran (though, I watched the Hindi version) is I, Robot meets The Matrix meets Green Gob...

Quiz Time (2): In Defence of Dadagiri

Having put down my thoughts on ‘good’ quiz questions, I realized that I had disguised my philistinism quite well since a commenter pointed o...

Quiz Time

The first question I ever answered in an ‘open’ quiz was when I was about ten. To be honest, it was not a fully open quiz but among the club...