I am not sure if Big Brother is watching you, but by now there is hardly anyone left with a mobile phone who has not received a call from an unknown number to which, if you absent-mindedly respond, a seductive, recorded voice will coo these magic words, ‘This is a call from the Telephone Regulatory …
Author Archives: sureshsubrahmanyan
New, improved YouTube spruces itself up
I’m sure if Shakespeare were alive today, he’d be doing classic guitar solos on YouTube. Peter Capaldi. Not all that long ago, watching YouTube was considered a harmless way of passing the time, if you had precious little else to do. Nothing of earth-shattering importance was ever seen on this free-to-air channel, but we could …
Scientists uncover new facets of the Vermeer girl
You’re just too good to be true / Can’t take my eyes off you. Frankie Valli. Whenever a conversation amongst people with an artistic bent of mind turns to the great painters over time, invariably the names of Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Toulouse-Lautrec, Monet, da Vinci, Dali, Picasso and a few others would tend to …
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One-song wonders
I was lunching at a much-frequented club in Bangalore last week with a few old school friends, old being the operative word. Just to be clear, we were class mates in school about 60-plus years ago and this was one of those nostalgic, beery get-togethers we periodically indulged in. The WhatsApp message from our Group …
Of Laddus, Heads of State and Chess Champs
During the past few weeks, all manner of happenings in and out of the country have been keeping the news channels buzzing and tongues wagging at every social gathering. So what else is new? Or news? At times we are amused and at other times we are horrified and once in a rare while, we …
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Letters to the Editor
If you are a regular writer of columns or blogs such as yours truly, you will know that getting your byline to appear in print form in a newspaper or magazine is no mean task. Ditto online is a tad easier. Getting a book published is another kettle of fish altogether. You bung something in …
KYC – a blight on my life
I paid a visit to my friendly bank, a stone’s throw away from where I live, to renew a fixed deposit account which was due to breathe its last in a few days’ time. As they always do, the bank authorities sent me a text message informing me of this fact and would I come …
No case to answer
The trial, in a curious case of a cyclist accused of rash driving, is currently under way at a local high court. Even more curiously, the person accusing the cyclist of reckless driving is the owner / driver of one of the newer, luxury models of a BMW. We take up proceedings at the trial …
Looking in the rear-view mirror. Longingly.
The ‘good old times’ – all times when old are good. Lord Byron Nostalgia. Those who wallow in it are almost certainly, and let us not mince words, long in the tooth. They are defined by the length of their teeth. I freely admit that I belong to this category. As I write this piece, …
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What price the Nobel Peace Prize?
A man can’t soar too high, when he flies with his own wings. William Blake. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose brand equity suffered an appreciable dent after the recent General Elections in the country, continues to hold the reins of power, albeit tenuously, at the Centre. If he were a fan of The Beatles, …
Suresh's Corner 