Spitting Olympics

Something I wrote based on a trip I made a few years ago.
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As I sit on a bench with Sekhar, a steady stream of young men approach the open courtyard in front of me. Never from closer than 6 feet away, each one snaps his head forward and — powerfully and voluminously — spits into [...]

Truth in advertising

Educational opportunities, as advertised in newspapers:
ADMISSION NOTICE: Applications are invited for admission into next 6 month Advance Course in Open Type Footwear from Madhyamik (or equivalent) passed male and female students at a course fee of Rs 3000 per head. Number of seats is 25. Age limit is 30 years but relaxable in case of [...]

Six a year

This was a comment, but I think it warrants a small piece by itself.
Aadisht Khanna did a remarkably detailed analysis of NSS (National Sample Survey) data here. This data is about the consumption of various foodstuffs; in particular, how patterns of such consumption in the rural areas and among the poor has changed over [...]

Not the only

OK, I said I would send it somewhere to be published. I worked on it some, and today’s Mid-Day has the revised version.

In those tomatoes

My August ‘05 article for Humanscape magazine. Some of what’s in it has been in this space before.

Sunday amussment

On my side, seems like just a foot or two from the bus window, is the shuttered establishment called “Shagun Video Game Amussment.” Is it closed because this is Sunday morning? Or because below the name is a line saying its operation is “Stayed by High Court”? I try to lean out of the window [...]

Daisy punned it, I swear

Want to read about … hmm, let’s see:

male creeps chasing a girl in UP?
how it is easy for girls to score at IIMs?
a girl in a hat writing about summer solstice?

You do, right? Well, go here and chase those links! (Not the girls).

Girlfriend and ma

So this is a story about India and Australia, playing a cricket Test in Adelaide. Harbhajan Singh comes out to bat, and Shane Warne’s going to be bowling to him. Now Warne wants to get under Bhajji’s skin, so he has consulted a local Punjabi friend (there being plenty of Punjabis in Adelaide) and by-hearted [...]

The mix

At a panel discussion yesterday, I heard this phrase a couple of times: public-private partnerships. Not the first time I’ve heard it, of course; and the idea is often held up as the model of how policies and programmes must be implemented these days.
But of late, I’ve been wondering. Are “public-private partnerships” not an example [...]

Small ones

In this week that India passed a Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, we also hear that in five tribal districts of Maharashtra alone, about 13 children are dying every day of malnutrition. (See, for two examples, this report and this one).
The state Government claims that this number is down (slightly) from a year ago, and [...]