Tennis: the most perfect combination of athleticism, artistry, power, style, and wit. A beautiful game, but one so remorselessly travestied by the passage of time. Martin Amis, celebrated novelist and essayist. ‘Anyone for tennis?’ Why those three words became a cliché for books published and stage plays enacted during the turn of the twentieth century …
Continue reading “Yorkers and a Deep Third Man at Wimbledon”
Why are you on Facebook? Why do you care who is trending? Did you miss your 15 minutes of fame? Van Morrison. My participation in social media is negligible. I post my weekly blog on Facebook and Twitter and on occasion, I might make the odd comment, odd being the operative word, if some of …
The law is an ass – Old English proverb. I am at odds with the Karnataka High Court, which recently ruled that the act of a 38-year-old man opting to squeeze another man’s testicles during the course of a heated argument cannot be regarded as an attempt to murder. Now, in the normal course of …
Let me get one thing straight off my chest. I do not understand the art or science of predicting the future. Do I believe in it? Do I repose blind faith in its mysterious and arcane ways? I do, when the predictions go in my favour. Else, I am dismissive. This is not to suggest …
Bore, noun. A person who talks when you wish him to listen. Ambrose Bierce, short story writer. One of the most common words we come across in our daily conversation is the noun bore. It can also double-up as a verb. The word has several meanings, but in the sense in which I am referring …
When it comes to Hollywood stars, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro would rank among the all-time greats that ever bestrode the silver screen. Not that one can actually stride on a screen, silver or otherwise, but I think you get my drift. That was merely to take care of some literal-minded types who might …
Continue reading “When Godfathers and Grandfathers become Fathers”
It is given to only a select few to sit in on meetings involving the most powerful personages of the land, those that guide our destinies and chalk out our futures. We, the hoi polloi, come to learn of these earth-shattering proceedings much later in a carefully orchestrated form. However, the common-or-garden house fly suffers …
The much-acclaimed movie, My Left Foot (1989), is based on the true story of Christy Brown as revealed in his autobiography and brilliantly portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis in his Oscar-winning role of the handicapped protagonist. Afflicted with cerebral palsy, the only functional part of his body was his left foot. He could paint, write, …
A few days ago, I was watching a programme on television, a talk show pretentiously titled ‘Whither English education in India?’ Or words to that effect. The anchor of the programme was talking to three teachers of English language and literature from major Indian cities. One of the participants, a lady of some standing amongst …
Hey now, baby / Get into my big black car / I want to just show you / What my politics are. Cream. As a responsible and civic-minded resident of the tech-city of Bangalore, or Bengaluru if you are so disposed to pronounce it, in the state of Karnataka, and not Karnatak as many of …
Suresh's Corner