WordPress database error: [Duplicate entry '0' for key 'PRIMARY']
Today morning I alighted from the 16316 Kochuveli – Bangalore Express at Bangalore Krishnarajapuram at 0725, bang on time after a very comfortable overnight journey from Ernakulam. The real ordeal, however, only lay ahead of me: I had to get home from the hellhole that is KR Puram railway station junction. Usually, I wouldn’t think…
During the recent Tipu Sultan birth anniversary controversy, a friend asked a fascinating but very logical question: “Where are Tipu’s descendants?” What happened to his sons off his official Sultana and of course, all the progeny off his mistresses, because Tipu Sultan of course kept a harem of women, like every ruler in the world….
Dr. No (Doctor No) was the first James Bond movie. In his first ever outing on the silver screen, James Bond would save the world from the nefarious schemes for world domination of Doctor Julius No, evil mastermind and SPECTRE member, in a very 1960s way. Dr. No introduced the world to the secret agent and…
One of the biggest challenges one faces living in India is getting change. You go to any ATM, out pop only either pink or yellow colored currency notes. You won’t get change for them unless you spend it in a bar, no matter how much Gandhiji smiles. In fact, lack of easy change is the reason for…
If you haven’t yet heard, Nivin Pauly is Malayalam cinema’s latest reigning youth sensation, with a slew of new age blockbusters under his (metaphorical) belt, from the romantic Thattahin Marayathu to thrillers like Neram, the epic 1983 and the cult Bangalore Days. His latest, Premam, is running away to become one of Malayalam cinemas biggest…
People are dumbfounded at Kerala appointing retired tennis legend Steffi Graf as the state’s brand ambassador for Ayurveda. Aren’t there enough eligible Mallus in Malluland to promote Ayurveda? Why Graf when we have Sreesanth? (OK bad joke). The reason is simple. She is selected to promote Ayurveda (and Kerala) outside India and not within the…
You do have a phone with a good camera. Take 10000 photos with it. Buy a compact point and shoot. Take 20000 photos with it. Buy an advanced point and shoot. Take 50000 photos with it. Buy an entry level DSLR. Take 100000 photos with it. Buy a professional level DSLR. Take 250000 photos with…
It was June 07 2015, Sunday. It was bright and sunny at 30 degrees and the sky was a deep blue with sparse white clouds, the kind of summer day which would be criminal to spend indoors. Long stuck in the frustrating 10 km box that included home, office and the ring road in between, where there…
Laila O Laila was bad. It was horrible. There was absolutely nothing in the movie to watch. It shows an overweight Mohanlal with an aversion to shaving razors romancing girls half his age while putting substantial effort into things like running and romancing. He seems to be choking on something all the time and looks…
Finnish Symphonic Power Metal band Nightwish released their seventh studio album “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” on March 27 2015, for which as an obsessed fan I had been waiting since forever. Then I faced the problem I face with every international music album: there was no way I could buy the album in India. It…
[dropcap]It[/dropcap] was fourteen years ago when I first met them in a dingy movie theater in the town of Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India. They lived in a universe completely different from mine, lives not even remotely approaching mine. And that was why I was drawn to them. Brian O’Connor, Dominic “Dom” Toretto, Leticia “Letty” Ortiz, Mia…
Once I had an argument with a creationist about, well, the origin of the species. This particular guy would not just refuse to accept scientific facts but wasn’t even ready to listen to a counterpoint to his argument and wasn’t ready to even recognize that there might be people who have a different point of…
