The Indian Premier League (IPL) is upon us. Once more with feeling. This is the 18th edition of this obscenely cash-rich tournament and no one seems to be tiring of it. It is another matter altogether that many cricket followers, particularly those of an older generation, swear blind that they will never watch another IPL …
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Too much of a good thing
The dreaded day is upon us. They say it comes just once every four years, but in between we have another variant of the same which overwhelms our television screens. And our lives. In case you have still not cottoned on to what I am obliquely referring to, let me set your mind at rest. …
‘Alas, poor thing!’
At the outset, let me proffer my humble apologies to Shakespeare, Hamlet and poor Yorick’s skull, which was Hamlet’s object of profuse sympathy. Yorick was the court jester and, I daresay, was a barrelful of laughs as he and his master downed many a tankard of the blushful Hippocrene at the nearby King & Crown. …
The Budget. A taxing exercise.
It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it. George W. Bush. It is that time of the year again. In just a few days, February 1st to be exact, India’s Finance Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman will step up to the podium in the Lok Sabha to deliver the nation’s 75th Annual …
Vedic flights of fancy
Recently, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel claimed that Vedic-era sage Bharadwaj conceptualised the idea of the aircraft. She also described the mythological sleeping giant, Kumbhakaran, brother of Ravana from the epic Ramayana, as a technocrat, who spent six months secretly making machines. Presumably he slept soundly during the next six months. The Governor …
Deepavali and Diwali. One festival. Two facets.
Caveat: This piece was written nearly a decade ago and published in the Deccan Chronicle. It is being presented here with some added embellishments and cosmetic changes. I am counting on the fact that more people would not have read it than have. And among those few who have, only a handful might recall having …
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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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