I marvel at people who, at the drop of a hat, shoot off letters to all and sundry. For the most part, these are addressed to folks they do not know from Adam. Or for that matter, Abdul or Shiva. One has to be ever so mindful. People are so prickly and thin-skinned. ‘What do …
Continue reading “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter”
Almost seven decades ago, 68 years to be precise, the wondrous Harry Belafonte, now sadly no longer with us, released a melodious, calypso-tinged song called Brown Skin Girl (stay home and mind baby). We teenagers at the time had no clue that this was a song that lyrically satirised and obliquely commented on American soldiers …
Ever since I can recall, I have never been much of a political person. For the purposes of this essay, I am not talking about petty office politics (the proverbial gossip at the water cooler) or even more petty family politics, but the national political scene – the biggie. With elections well and truly upon …
I have a question that has stayed with me for more years than I care to remember. Why is it that whenever a politician, industrialist, film star or some other big wig is taken into custody by the long arm of the law, the arrested individual invariably sports a triumphant smile for the cameras? Not …
I am not sure what it is, something in the air perhaps, but every other person I know seems to be going in for cataract surgery. This awareness has been brought sharply to my attention when, after a routine eye check-up, my ophthalmologist declared that I am a ripe candidate for the removal of my …
‘He lends out money gratis and brings down the rate of usance here with us in Venice.’ Shylock, Merchant of Venice. Most of us have credit and debit cards these days, tucked away in slits in our bulging wallets and squeezed into our back pockets. Not to mention driving license, Aadhaar card, medical insurance card and …
Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep. Albert Camus. I was at my general physician’s chamber a few days ago for a routine check-up. I had my latest blood reports, ECG, chest and spine X-rays at the ready. He waded through them perfunctorily, as doctors are wont to do, intoning …
It has been barely three weeks since I returned home from my annual Carnatic music adrenalin rush – a non-stop, round-the-clock festival of musicians of every hue strutting their stuff across the length and breadth of Chennai. I have, in earlier missives, dwelt at length with all the usual trappings, musical and non-musical, that the …
Those of us who are interested in the infinite variety that life has to offer, ‘a man (or woman) of many parts’ we are occasionally described as, are more to be pitied than envied. It is true that, sitting in front of my state-of-the-art television set (which cost me more than an arm and a …
If one were to ask 50 people at random in India if they knew who Diane Morgan is, one will almost certainly draw a blank. I myself had no clue about this anonymous Diane till I began to research her. And why was I researching this virtually unknown lady, who is clearly something of a …
Suresh's Corner