In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team. Jean Paul Sartre, Critique of Dialectical Reason. It’s one-on-one out there, man. There ain’t no hiding. I can’t pass the ball. Pete Sampras. Pelé, arguably the greatest ever footballer to dribble past 10 men and essay a bicycle kick past an astonished goalkeeper, (with …
Author Archives: sureshsubrahmanyan
Letters from a Son to his Father
I have had occasion in the past to share my thoughts pertaining to the challenges one faces getting rid, over time, of various objects from home and hearth. Notably books that have seen better days, music cassettes, spool tapes and LPs that are of no more use to man or beast given the rapid advancement …
Roll over Beethoven
I was interested in both western and Indian classical music. Satyajit Ray. What with classical music in India being fused by musicians, in tandem with light music across genres, an increasing number of people are now more than familiar with the art, science and practice of Carnatic music. It is a self-evident truth judging by …
CAPTCHA if you can
I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted. Alan Turing. All right folks, I am willing to reluctantly concede that there must be some deep-seated logic …
The Boxer
‘Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth.’ Mike Tyson. Ever since Muhammad Ali passed on into the great boxing ring in the sky, I evince scant interest in the pugilistic sport. Cassius Clay, as we first came to know of him, was a fast-talking, fast-punching and, for good measure, a handsome …
On the other hand
What is the sound of one hand clapping? Zen Buddhist paradox or koan. While doing a bit of surfing on the net, I came across this amusing anecdote. A man meets a friend in the street, looking worried. ‘What’s the trouble?’ he inquires. ‘Quick,’ says his friend, ‘I need help – do you know a …
That’s Entertainment!
Why is it that no one, and I mean not a single, solitary person, has anything good to say about anyone on our television news channels? Politicians naturally are the prime targets, crosshairs clearly emblazoned on their backs inviting us to take aim and shoot. We elect them every five years to represent us in …
Mango Melody
Underneath the mango tree / Me honey and me can watch for the moon / Underneath the mango tree / Me honey and me, we plan marry soon. Monty Norman’s calypso from the film Dr. No. The mango season is upon us, and if it were not for the IPL, the recently concluded assembly elections …
Let the dead past bury its dead
It is downright cussed, if not plain ridiculous, that those of us who live in the Garden City of Bangalore, a gross misnomer if ever I came across one, should keep whining and going on about the unpleasant weather during the months of April and May. Yes, the heat and humidity, once unknown in the …
To SIR with love
The assembly elections in five of India’s states, which includes one Union Territory is now, mercifully, over. Or, is it? The aftermath of this enfranchising exercise will linger on for several days, if not weeks. Chief Ministers have to be named, hopefully without acrimony. Where there is little doubt as to who the CM will …
Suresh's Corner 