News clips

Miscellaneous bits of excellent news and information gleaned from Bangalore newspapers.
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CHANGE OF NAME
“I, Ravi N Katti who had changed his name from originally Ravi N Katti vide affidavit dated 05.07.04 and published in daily Vijay Times on 08.07.04 is reverting back to his original name Ravi N Katti vide affidavit date 19/03/04 before Mr B [...]

Match time

As a good friend who was in the Press Box (noticed him there from across the stadium through a pair of borrowed binoculars) commented: “We had a Test that went down to the last five overs. Who could ask for anything better?”
Indeed. The Bangalore Test — where a generous new friend allowed me to triple [...]

Lunar land, or lunacy

Nice little celestial show last night, that I caught from the terrace here in Bangalore. Jupiter appeared very close to the full moon, and especially through the slightly hazy night sky, they made an arresting sight. I ran downstairs and urged the family to take a look too, and it was while I was doing [...]

Signs from a train

Up on the wall of the railway compartment, near the entrance, is this small sign: “Disinfested on 06/03/04″. Yes, that is “disinfested.” I am seriously wondering whether I want to travel in a coach that has been, and therefore regularly needs to be, disinfested. What was that I heard scurrying about under my berth at [...]

More scenes from a train

If it’s vignettes of life in India I wanted, taking the train was the best idea in a long time. Herewith and hereunder, some more.
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The men selling chikki — that far more euphonious name for what the Americans call “peanut brittle” — bring Richard Dawkins, of all people, to my mind. In his superb The [...]

Scenes in a train

A few vignettes from 24 hours spent on a second-class coach to Bangalore. More another time. Overwhelming impression: the sheer number of beggars.
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At Daund, an old man looks in at me through the window and starts speaking in Tamil, asking for a few coins. In Daund? What makes him think I look like a Tamil [...]

Never mind the kids

The splendid Wankhede stadium is a prime example. If you’re in Bombay, take a detour and peer in. I’ll bet good money you find it empty. No match going on. Of 365 days in the year, is it likely that the Wankhede is in use on more than, taking a wild guess, 50?
Because two factions [...]

A tolerable load, really

Done with Laura Wexler’s Fire in a Canebrake. As I mentioned earlier, this is about a lynching in Georgia in July 1946. After the crime, the FBI began an investigation that had to immediately confront both white silence and black fear (and therefore black silence as well). It also had to work within the curious [...]

Second day

Here’s something that surprises me, when I think about it. The last time I watched a day of Test cricket in a stadium was also the first time I watched. And when was this momentous day? One day during this Test. Yes, that many years ago. For some reason, I have a distinct memory of [...]

Waiting for a line

Instant history applied to modern times, available for perusal here: A man from Gujarat was thrown out of a train in South Africa. Let us pledge to work for such a day when an American will have to stand in line for entry into Gujarat.
Hmm, let’s see. To start with, what an interesting comparison! Throwing [...]