How I won the World Cup for India
Ramaswami Mudaliar was a kind man but he wasn’t too kind when it came to his Dyanora black-and-white television. In 1983, owning a television was the current day equivalent of driving a BMW with Katrina Kaif as your dinner date. Mudaliar probably hugged and slept on the TV, which was encased in a wooden cabinet; […]
The end of Suren as we know him?
For all you guys that know Suren, here’s some breaking news. The rum-loving, party animal who terrorized unsuspecting victims with his ruthless one-liners has been branded. Yeah, that’s what samarshanam means. They brand you with red-hot Sanku and Chakra emblems. What this entails is that Suren is not supposed to drink, smoke, and eat (even […]
The Garhwal Diaries – 1
26 October 2010, Delhi, Dehradun We got rooms in the Doon club! Thanks to Dominic. The ‘Jehar’ (fresh lime juice) from the Doon club kitchen is supposed to be world renowned but I think it’s overrated. The boys made fun of my humungous suitcase. It can carry a whole town inside it. Sandeep, seems to […]
The Duck’s Gonna Go
I was sitting in the D stand on the fourth day, watching the match when Pujara walked by. I normally don’t scream at players to grab their attention, I mean fuck. No. But when I saw Pujara, I felt like I had to tell him. I screamed “Pujara! Hard luck man!” He was mildly shocked […]
Kabini: Wilder Waters – 1
The tusker charged at our jeep. Initially I thought ‘mock charge, ha ha’ and started clicking away on my Nikon D90. And then it struck to me that only the ‘aunties’, female elephants that take care of the babies, mock. This tusker meant what he was trying to do: smash us to pieces. Our driver, […]
Stories from Chennai
I always saw Chennai in Yellow. It could be the harsh sun. Or probably the bright colored Sambar with a wild, turmeric fragrance. The Chennai in early 80s was a different world. There were no high-rise apartment complexes. Barring the LIC building on Mount road, which was the tallest in Chennai, there were no distinguished […]
The End of the Revolution
A look at the news should tell you how the so called Maoists have embarked on a highway to self-destruction. No, I don’t know enough about their philosophy or why they took up arms struggle. Not because I don’t care. Because it doesn’t make sense. It probably did until the economic reforms started in the […]
The Price You Gotta Pay
It was five in the morning. It was a balmy October day and the trees stood still. The town of Chittoor was pregnant with expectation. Chiranjeevi’s Raakshasudu was releasing that day. The Chiru fans’ association had arranged for a special show. Quite a few people I knew were going for the special show. I wished […]
Why-kee-pedia?
I caught my eleven year old nephew browsing the web and I asked him, “What are you up to?” He said, “I am researching on Tamil freedom fighters on ‘why-kee-peedia’. For an essay?” I was impressed. When I was his age, I had to rely on the government library in Greamspet, Chittoor, for research. The […]
RIP Michael Jackson
It was raining and we were scurrying for cover in VGP Golden Beach. It was 1989. I refused to budge. They were playing Thriller. That was the first time I heard MJ. I was transfixed. “What music is this?” I asked someone and they laughed at me. “That’s Michael Jackson, stupid!” Now, I was a […]