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- Archives: July 2006
- If Media Is A "Business"...
Satire: "Media as business" has some hilarious - and depressing - implications in the free-market era...
- Munnu Chunnu Engineer!
While kids, we're told that no matter what we have to stick to the ultimate goal of earning lots of smiling Gandhis.
- Writer's Notebook: Remembering Gratitude
I will do my best to remember...I'm doing what I want. What can be better than that?
- The Real World Cup Winner
As the World Cup draws to an end, one team has already declared itself a clear winner - Team Adidas.
- Second Hand Love
I like the idea that a book I’m holding has been read, loved or hated by someone before me.
- Book Review: Two Lives, Vikram Seth
While the main story is of Shanti and Henny, Vikram's own story is an interesting third element that makes this memoir worth picking up.
- Having a Baby in Bangalore: Some Notes
All in all, it was a very positive experience.
- Sabarimala Temple to be Purified Because a Woman Entered the Sanctum Sanctorum
Put the facts in front, not a blinded dogmatic belief in what religion says.
- Women Entrepreneurs - Success Stories And Challenges
Women entrepreneurs represent a huge untapped potential for economic growth
- leaky boat
the rusted tin cans used / could not handle the flood
- With a Grain of Salt: Poor Tariq Ramadan
He is trying to balance a secular consumerist society with traditional Islamic thought.
- Movie Review: Superman Returns - The End of the Supersabbatical
In Singer's film, Superman Returns – but more happily, Superman Lives.
- Understanding Today Through Yesterday: History And The Truth
...for us to better understand the times we live in we need to know what led up to the current circumstances.
- How Derivative Perceptions Affect Our Success
It is not about a race or a group of people, it is about our sub-conscious sense of perception
- Chinese Communist Party Celebrates 85th Anniversary
An examination of the Chinese Communist Party celebrating its 85th Anniversary on July 1.
- Concert Review: Wilco, Winnipeg (July 1, 2006)
Fans were treated to seeing a magnificent, unmistakably unique band, firing on all cylinders, plus a superb support act.
- Marching With Pride
We will march until India Shame becomes India Shining: "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high..."
- Victims Of Development..."For the Larger Good"
Though India has "developed", and become much more prosperous, is there also a need to revisit our paradigm of development?
- Dissecting the U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation Act 2006
The Manmohan Singh administration has jettisoned national security by acceding to the agreement in a surreptitious manner. It is turning India into a client state.
- What Gives Rise to Religious Intolerance?
A root cause analysis of comment patterns on articles dealing with religion on Desicritics.
- The Vidarbha Farmers' Crisis - Made in India
The mad-cap suggestion of a 27-year old journalist who has seen the utter devastation of the area.
- Today's Mexican Vote Will Affect America
Mexican voters begin with a calm, strong turnout. The election will affect Mexico and the US.
- What is India?: "I Says I's Seen It Awl"
The reality of the (cliched) 'gap between the haves and have-nots', I feel, has been so overused that it doesn't strike as real anymore.
- New Delhi Journal: No Sex, No Condom
India's school-going generation can win the battle against AIDS.
- Turning A Deaf Ear To Yourself With Noise
So why not try to make a little less noise now and than, and hear a little better.
- I Am A Disco Dancer…(ta ta tara)
To say that my family was shocked - would be putting it very mildly.
- Mumbai - Submerged City
To really depend on their word would be like believing in Mallika Sherawat's sincere acting intentions.
- The Tigers Try to Charm New Delhi
As New Delhi begins to inch closer to involvement in the peace talks, the Tigers may find themselves further cornered.
- I Support Reservations, You Don't. Let's Not Talk!
Two friends on opposing sides of the debate.
- In Zizou, the French Trust!
This is my ode to the greatest soccer player of this generation and one of the greatest ever - Zinedine Zidane. All I can say
- And Mumbai Goes Down Under Again!
Yet another monsoon has exposed the lack of interest in improving conditions in Mumbai. Will someone do something about this?
- An Experiment In Self-Publishing
This is a fishing expedition; I'm going to let out some line and see if I get any bites.
- Book Review: RF/Microwave Interaction With Biological Tissues
An indepth exposition on the subject of RF/Microwave Interaction with Biological Tissues.
- The Jottings of Sheikh Osama bin Austen
Jane Austen can count bin Laden as one of her ardent admirers.
- Website Review: Forums Of India
There's a new kid on the bookmarking block. And this one has a desi flavor to it.
- fences
poking at the hermetic wall of dust and ash / and buoyant abandon / fences that outlive hate pulverize soundlessly
- North Korea Gets Provocative
Six missiles and we may still be counting.
- Vidarbha, Politics, Power and a Failure Called Manmohan Singh
The failure of the UPA government in tackling the Vidarbha farmers suicide problem.
- World Cup 2006: The Semi Finals - Penalty Shoot-outs: Not for the Faint Hearted
My approach to the penalty shoot-out changed drastically as I watched the duel at midnight between England and Portugal.
- CD Review: PovertyNeck Hillbillies PovertyNeck Hillbillies
...foot stompin', beer drinkin' music.
- The Qinghai-Tibet Route: The "Highest" Railway Line in the World Opens for Business
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's longest plateau railroad, stretches 1,956 kilometers from Qinghai's provincial capital Xining to Lhasa.
- The US-India Nuclear deal Must be Abandoned
The Indo-US Nuclear accord is intended to secure American strategic objectives in South Asia rather than Civil Nuclear co-operation.
- Microsoft Closes Books on Windows 98, ME -- No Support For You
More than 70 million people are still running Win98 and WinME. Why is anyone still running WinME?
- The Indian Youth - United We Stand
We are not only aware of our duties towards our families but also our responsibilities towards our country and its people.
- CD Review: Omkara
With wonderful lines Gulzar also gets away with more than murder. This man never loses his power to amaze.
- A Bleak Perspective of Corporations
While popular perception sees corporations as the engines of development, another analysis leads to different conclusions.
- World Cup 2006: Portugal Issues Wayne Rooney Commerative Crotch Stamp
Classic Payback: stamping on Carvalho's very Portuguese crotch has earned Wayne Rooney his very own Portuguese crotch stamp.
- Business Today's B-School Ranking Survey gets "F" Grade
The recent BT B-School Ranking Survey is an apt case study of what faulty surveys are like.
- How Should the Indian Democracy Address Naxalism?
Is the Indian State's policy vis-a-vis Naxalism only addressing a symptom?
- Canadian Politics: Softwood Lumber, The G.S.T., And A Trip To Washington
Canadians will mind if Mr. Harper looks like he forgets which side of the border he lives on.
- O Coffee, If You Were a Woman
Would you too scald my lips / mess my head, fill me with acidity
- Ranbaxy Family Dispute: Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani
Is blood really thicker than water or does even blood evaporate with the heat of Money and Power?
- Extremism In The Pursuit Of Anything Is Moronic
A nation dominated by extremists is doomed to become increasingly divisive and solve no problems...just exacerbate our current ones.
- Desicritics Editors' Picks - June 19- July 03
Editors' Picks - which stories did you like?
- Pepsi Declines Stolen Coke Recipe, Sticks With Sweet Stuff
If the products in question were anything like Coke Blak or Coke Zero, it's hard to imagine Pepsi being interested anyway.
- Short Story: Fever
"The past week reeled before his eyes like a jittery black and white footage."
- Jerusalem in the Mind's Eye: Ab Yarusalam Door Nahin!
A Delhi-Walla writes his memoirs about a city that he has never visited.
- The Odontiad - I - Cracks
Isn't tooth decay something we all share, along with death and taxes?
- My Favourite World Cup Moment
His comeuppance came against France when Portugal lost and he was booed every time he moved a muscle.
- DVD Review: John Hammond: The Paris Concert
He doesn't just play the music of the past... (he)blows the dust of history off it so that it sounds ... fresh, alive and relevant
- Interview: James Barclay Part One. Author Of The Ascendants Of Esotrea
If your story needs to be inflated to fit a target, it’s probably the wrong target or the wrong story.
- Movie Review : Alag : Run Bhola Run
After watching Alag, I looked at the two people sitting on my either side. Superman and Krrish.
- Interview: James Barclay Part Two Author Of The Ascendants Of Esotrea
No matter how successful you are, you can get stale writing the same characters, world and style.
- The World Cup Of Soccer: The Heart Matters
It is one sporting event that still continues to wear its heart on its sleeve.
- Blogspot Vs WordPress
The blogs look much neater and more professional on Wordpress.com compared to Blogspot.com.
- Ramadoss Running Amok ?
Is Dr. Ramadoss over-abusing his powers as "Honorable" Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare ?
- Will Ignoring Your Spouse's Undesirable Behavior Fix It?
Most human relationships, fortunately or unfortunately, do not thrive on material rewards alone.
- fullmoon blanket
bird on a leafless tree branch / musing rumi like / undaunted by warring truths
- Mumbai Stopped - Sainiks are at it Again
The words Shiv Sena and Mob Violence go hand-in-hand.
- Anorexia: More Than Just Starving
Just getting (patients) to eat again is only half the battle, getting them to change their minds is even harder.
- Book Review: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Masterpiece epic about love, life, war, peace... everything.
- FIFA World Cup 2006: Why Italy Won
It's been a long month of late nights, leastways in this part of the globe.
- Book Review: Londonstani by Gautam Malkani
Distinctive narration by a "rudeboy" helps drive a debut novel exploring life and conflict in multicultural London.
- India Tests The Agni-III Missile
Such a sophisticated piece of technology is expected to develop a snag in the first set of trials.
- FIFA World Cup 2006: Desicritics Weigh In
His comeuppance came against France when Portugal lost - Desicritics on Cristiano Ronaldo. Read on for more World Cup coverage.
- Movies And Merchandise: A Match Made In Hell
They still need to be able to capture people's imagination and make a movie people are going to want to see
- Allah vs Other Gods: Tolerance in Islam
I am not quite sure of others but this simply insults my intelligence
- U.K. Woman Gives Birth at 62 with Help From Controversial Doctor
Is conception after menopause a miracle or a tragedy?
- Prayer Of The Livid
Non linear masticated thoughts in this author's first post. Read on!
- Neyveli Lignite Disinvestment
When the right "incentives" have been shown to the decision makers at DMK, Neyveli Lignite will be sold off.
- Heart To Heart
Iraq - the theatre of war, opening soon in your neighbourhood.
- The India-US Nuclear Deal
Introducing a new series on Desicritics - the cartoons of Vikram Nandwani
- On Writing - A Ramble
Most people don’t take their own writings seriously. Or at least, they think they don’t want to.
- The Vidarbha Tragedy
More than 500 farmers have committed suicide in the last year in Vidarbha.
- Broadband Transforming Internet - From Media Usage to New AOL Business Plan
But, for the Internet to become a true "mass media" like TV or radio, access needs to be made ubiquitous.
- Apple's iPod: Will It Talk?
Touch screens seem too fanciful, but a talking iPod could be the Next Big Thing.
- Canadian Politics: The Case Of The Missing Opposition Parties
Canada was going to sleep easier knowing I was taking the case of the missing opposition parties.
- Bangalore Highway Stalled Again
Politicians in Karnataka stalled work on the Bangalore Highway Project yet again.
- Fiction: Jane Austen in Delhi!
England’s great novelist visits her former subjects in the peak summer heat of 40 degrees Celsius
- Kids Say The Darndest Things!
With his innocent smile and even more sincere words, he promised that the secret would just remain between us.
- E-school Ranking Survey: Sins Of The Times
If a magazine cannot do a detailed survey then why should one believe their results?
- Mumbai Trains Targeted: Helplines and Useful Contact Information
Seven blasts have rocked Mumbai trains
- Mumbai Blasts: The Inside Story
Eight Blasts rip through Mumbai. Not for the first time. But, what makes Mumbai an attractive terrorist target?
- World Wide Help Blog: A Go-To Site for Disaster Help and Information
Humanity, compassion, empathy. In the end, that is what World Wide Help is all about.
- Bombay Explodes Again
The UPA looks like it's turning into a national security threat itself.
- Delhi Journal – The Evening of Bombay Blasts
Delhi fluttered as terrorist attacks shook India's dream city.
- Information Week on India's "Salary Inflation"
We NEVER hear complaints about overseas companies moving business to the US. Only bellyaching that foreign companies should hire "Americans First".
- Mumbai Blasts, Terrorism, and the World We Live In
It is an open secret that intelligence agencies receive billions of dollars annually to carry out covert operations in foreign lands.
- The Odontiad II - City Of Villains
Winning the global war on tooth decay
- Syd Barrett Dies at 60 - The Madcap Laughs No More
Pink Floyd founder, psychedelic visionary, and the original acid victim.
- Indian Navy Leak
The Great Indian Navy War Room Leak
- Why Mumbai Doesn't Need Superman
If you asked me on Monday who the new Superman was, I would have said "Brandon Routh". Ask me today and I have a different
- CD Review: Underdog by Wishing Chair
Not since Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, and Ferron...have I heard as powerful and intelligent music from a woman's folk/country group
- Mumbai Blasts: It's Time to Stop Being the Victim
We cannot be bombed in our homes, trains, roads at any time of day or night and carry on doing what we were doing before
- Politicians Need To Watch their Mouth
Are the Politicians far more dangerous and even bigger villains then the terrorists who carried out these bomb blasts?
- Desicritics on the Mumbai Train Blasts
Readers' Digest, is this the rudest city? Maybe they didn't hold doors but they came to their fellowmen's aid when it was needed. Now put
- Now Repeat After Me. Zizou Is A Goonda -- A Rowdy
The Zizou Vs Matrix saga twisted and turned by the sensationalist Media to fit its own delusions.
- War Headlines and News Analysis from Israel - Hostilities Break Out on Lebanese Border, Attempted Rocket Attacks from Samaria
Suddenly, like a thief in the night, war steals upon you catching you unaware of the danger you are always in...
- Free Offline Blog Tools: a Brief Comparative Exercise
At times one might actually prefer the comforts of a corner of the home to think and write one's blog post. An easy solution is
- The Looming Middle East Disaster
With all of Lebanon now its target, the world waits to see what action Israel will take.
- Firefox Market Share Grows While Microsoft's Shrinks
Firefox is up 1.14% since May, while Internet Explorer is down 2.12%. Desicritics readers are even more partial to the 'fox.
- Bombay Blasts: Are They the Only Terrorists?
What about terrorism sanctioned by us Indians, and executed by our elected governments
- A Pretty Starbucks Regular: Glad To Not Know Her
Everytime I see her, she is with a different face. I am pleased that I don't know her.
- CD Review: War And Love Poem de Terre
...an intelligent, provocative and inspired creation
- News and Analysis From Israel: If We're at War, the IDF Didn't Plan For It
"Don't pay attention to that man behind the curtain", the wizard shouted, as he maneuvered levers to create his image.
- Responding to Terrorism
If we do not respond appropriately to those who initiate violence, we are complicit in and guilty of the subsequent and future violence.
- hendecagon
then came 9/11, 3/11 and now 7/11 - 7 blasts 11 minutes apart
- Who Was Behind The Mumbai Blasts?
Should our government not have the cojones to take action Israeli style instead of waffling around the diplomatic bush?
- The Odontiad III - The Commerce Of Teeth
Candidly contemplate commercial cuspate clarity
- Hanging On The Edge Of A Cliff: Update On The Middle East
The battle escalates. Syria and Iran are threatened by Israel. The international community does nothing as always. Is there a strategy somewhere?
- Mumbai Bomb Blasts: The Aftermath - Or the Lack of It
A few short hours after the bombs shook the stations the same trains that were blasted started running again.
- Just Let Zidane Be
Quite frankly I don't understand what the fuss is all about.
- Mumbai - Nah New York – Under Attack!
Now the Third World covers the First World’s tragedy as the First World covers the Third World’s.
- Indian Blogs Slam TV Coverage of Mumbai Blasts
But when does television coverage cross the line? When does it all become too much?
- Canadian Politics: Week In Review July 7th - 14th/06
...sometimes it's not the splashy headlines that tell the story of what's going on in the country, or what the future holds
- The MG Comes Back!
Forget the terrorist horrors in the world today. The MG symbol of fun and freedom may come back.
- salaam mumbai
salaam for coming of age / for showing restraint / for not being gujarat
- Sing Shoefiend! Sing!
Some memories just don’t fade.
- Book Review: The Partner - A Critique
A review of John Grisham's "The Partner"
- Joblessness Is The Mother Of Acidity
One more day of joblessness in office and my mammoth stomach can be reduced to ashes by tsunami sized acid waves...
- Reacting to the Mumbai Blasts: The Red-Green Show
The Red Brigade and the Jehadis join hands to eliminate the Infidel Class Enemy.
- Sri Lanka: Empathy, Education and Ethnicity
Sri Lanka is close to the abyss. A mere push, in the form of the 'Final War' or something of similarly strong rhetoric or action
- How I Got Drunk And Lost My Virginity at Nizamuddin Dargah
The personal account of losing it all in a 14th century tomb in Delhi.
- Movie Review: Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
A movie about the making of a movie based on a book that was unconsidered unfilmable.
- 'Sue Me!' 'Cause I'm Naomi Campbell
It is time Ms. Naomi Campbell seriously thought about buying rights over the phrase, "Sue Me".
- Natural Selection: Still Going Strong
Natural Selection ensures the survival of a species, in one form or another.
- Cries From A Grave
A poem, dedicated to all those who lost their lives in the Mumbai Blasts.
- Book Review: The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova
Part text book on European History, Part Thriller , Part Horror , this book is an enduring work that can be read and enjoyed many,
- Keeping up the Spirit to Die Continually
If the blasts were carried out by Hindus, would the media still celebrate the spirit of Mumbai?
- Terroristan
Here we present perfidies and games played by the state claiming to be a frontlying allie in the fight against terror.
- With A Grain of Salt: Terrorism - Do You Handle It As a Crime Or As a War Or Both?
How to approach terrorism - as a crime or as a war?
- Aaj Tak Coverage of Mumbai Blasts: Using Unreliable Sources
By hook or by crook, we need news.
- Jihad Watch
To combat terrorism effectively, we need to understand what jihad is and what motivates it.
- Canadian Politics: The Case Of The Missing Opposition Part Two
...our politicians were actually becoming politicians.
- A Day At The Office, Ten Years Hence
It's a whole different world ten years from now. The mobile phone has become a one-stop solution to everything.
- A Matter Of Trust
Sometimes the best way to ease a hurt, or a betrayal is to go on with life as if nothing bad ever happened to your
- Review: Day 1 - Winnipeg Folk Festival (July 6, 2006)
Day 1 of the 33rd annual Winnipeg Folk Festival was their biggest opener ever with Steve Earle headlining.
- autumn harvest
where is your health card? / demanded the nurse and / with ever so trembling hands / he felt for his back pocket
- Review: Day 2 - Winnipeg Folk Festival (July 7, 2006)
Day 2 highlights included seeing San Francisco's That 1 Guy and Minnesota's Low at the alternative tent.
- Writer's Notebook: Publicity, Publicity, Publicity
Who knows, I may even sell a copy
- Review: Day 3 - Winnipeg Folk Festival (July 8, 2006)
The Grande Mothers, members of the Mothers of Invention, were a highlight for me, along with Sisters Euclid and Ireland's Flook.
- F1 Updates - Schumacher Shining, Still
French F1 Grand Prix Win and the race for the 2006 Championship
- On Gift Donkeys
What is it about Eagle flasks, paperweights with brand logos and books by Arindams that people find so irresistible?
- Let It Not Cost US The Earth!
Planting one solitary tree isn't going to help much, is it? What is the worst that could happen, anyway?
- Right To Information: RTI Shows Ineffectiveness of Bureaucracy
Ongoing workshops on Right to Information in cities around India have been empowering.
- Tattoed Muslim Woman
Her wingless butterfly, ever so motionless, wrinkled / like her ambitions fast
- Blog Censorship by the Indian Government ?
Over the weekend, news slowly started trickling in that some Indian bloggers were having difficulty viewing blogspot, and then typepad blogs.
- Charity and the Power of Appropriation
Why is every action in the altruistic domain geared towards a selfish motive?
- What's With All This Blocking, eh ISPs?
Many bloggers in India, for the past few days have not been able to access certain domains like Blogger.
- Terrorism Made Easy
Cartoonists must do their jobs, and the show must go on.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Continues to Pillage Box Office - Bahamas Settings Play Key Role
The film's ravishing Bahamas settings are so inviting, Captain Jack Sparrow... I mean Johnny Depp, is moving his family there.
- Indian PM Responds to Mumbai Blasts - As Usual
Life goes on, politics goes on.
- Book Review: Build Your Own Website The Right Way Using HTML & CSS by Ian Lloyd
The web is A Good Thing but it has transformed nerds into cultural heroes, which is A Bad Thing!
- Chopped, Sliced, Slashed, Mashed, Massacred at Hazrat Nizamuddin
Virginity lost irretrievably in a stinking, too-sweaty, dense jungle of inaccurate words.
- Ain't No Pill For Memories
There are no shortcuts to mental and emotional health
- Mumbai Blast Repercussions: Blogs Jammed - Red Alert Declared!
Overturning its image of being soft on terrorists the UPA Government has finally decided to hit back.
- The Great Indian Blog Ban
For the second time in a week, we Pakistanis pray for our friends to the East...
- Tsunami Strikes Again
The images of the December 2004 Tsunami are still fresh - as if the tragedy occurred just few weeks back.
- Shiv Sena Battered Mumbai Too
Maximum City
- Failures In The Commercial Space Industry Can Bring Successes
Failures and accidents in hand, the open and creative mind can pull out successes.
- Book Review: The Places in Between by Rory Stewart
Anyone who calls Rory Stewart's tale of his walk across Afghanistan in the middle of winter simply a travelogue is as crazy as Stewart's idea.
- An Open Letter To The Philadelphia Inquirer
If your idea of modernity means Development and Richness of a nation/community, yes Muslims of today are far behind, but definitely not due to their
- WinFS - A Sneak Peek Into The Mythical Windows Future Storage
Storing files on your computer will never be the same again.
- A History Of Abuse
Even with setting a petrie dish in a laboratory we couldn't have created conditions any more ideal to create abusers.
- Sex, Books and Breathing in New & Old Delhi
Reading and musing in the city of trees, tombs, and artists.
- Growing Pains And Alienation
The pain of watching your child choose a path that you know can only lead to hell can be excruciating
- some more names, billy
they too played and lived here once / before succumbing to dictates / of being born where they were
- Movie Review: BLOGBAN
BLOGBAN is a story of bonding between the blogger and the blog and the sudden denial of access
- Travel Essay: Dispatch from Udalgudi
Towns like Udalgudi could be a tourist's paradise. But poor governance has made it a destination to doom.
- Canadian Politics: Playing To The Crowd
Steven Harper seems to have forgotten that we are a constitutional monarchy where the Prime Minister does not rule.
- Trespassing on a Booklover's Library
There was a heavy steel Godrej lock on the door instead of a 'no trespassing' sign; the warning was left unsaid but understood by our
- Thatta Kedona
“I am returning back some of what I achieved in my earlier life.”
- The Great Indian Blog Ban - Signs of Hope
The Indian public have shown that they are now no longer willing to let another Satanic Verses episode be repeated.
- Blogs, Freedom of Speech and Indian Democracy
The belief in democracy must come from within, not from outside.
- We, The Bloggers
You punch us, we write back! And we know who is winning this game!
- Movie Review: Fanaa - Someone is (not) thinking
Firstly, please give a standing ovation to the cinematography of Ravi K. Chandran. Delhi has never looked so beautiful.
- Thank You, Government of India, for Blocking the Blogs/Websites!
The recent blocking of blogs/website is not a conspiracy to curb freedom of speech/information - it is plain stupidity and ignorance.
- America: An Enigma?
A Tale of Two Americas.
- The Great Offshoring Debate!
India's IT revolution is not because of the IITs but because of the NIITs!
- I for Insanity. I for Illness. I for Islam
A violent strand of Islam is bent on destroying this world.
- Book Review: Lessek's Key Robert Scott And Jay Gordon
Lessek's Key the second instalment in Robert Scott and Jay Gordon's Eldarn Sequence doesn't suffer from any sophomore jinx.
- Movie Review: The Devil Wears Prada: Apologies All Around
Promises more hell than it delivers.
- Bollywood in London
So what is it that makes Bollywood so popular? I don't know, and perhaps we shall never really know.
- yeh khuda hay na bhagwan m'ra
it is easy to invoke god / GWB's or OBL's? / the palestinian Allah / or the israelite Yahweh
- Radio Mirchi: The Horror of Bangalore
This is dedicated to the inane, unimaginative and absolutely boring RJs on Radio Mirchi 93.3 FM, Bangalore. It's Bullshit Magaa.
- Monsoons in India
The Buddha Smiled explores what makes an entire civilisation go crazy about the rains, and comes away drenched himself.
- Me, A Village Boy!
A cluster of memories - some overlapping, some isolated - of 'the village boy' I once was stays with me.
- With a Grain of Salt: Ratios and Proportions in War
What exactly is this proportionate or disproportionate business? Surely this is war and everything goes?
- Indian Response to Mumbai Terror Attacks: What It Is And What It Should Be
India has to stop expecting the western powers to do something about this. This is our own problem, no matter how intricately it is tied
- CD Review: Isabelle Snakes & Music
a breath of independence and freedom; something people older than you can blame the troubles of the world on.
- Business Set-up Follies: Did I Really Do That?
As a once-stumbling, struggling entrepreneur, I made a whole host of really bad decisions.
- CD Review: No Mercy Bernard Allison
No Mercy offers a great introduction to an amazingly diversely talented blues musician.
- Movie Review: Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest - A Fantastic Thrill Ride
The much awaited second part of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest does not disappoint its fans.
- Radio Frequency Identification: Privacy's Last Gasp
You have the right to privacy, demand that it is respected.
- Indian Govt. Bans Blog - Got To Do Something!!
How the Govt. decided to ban blogs?!!?!
- Mukesh Ambani's Vision For India
Ambani plans to invest $5 billion by 2011 to put both the farms and the stores on the road to modernity
- CD Review: Bommarillu
Though the album is a decent enough listen, it lacks the freshness of NVNV.
- Meeting Mr. Madan - A Teacher of the Old School Variety
Mr. Madan wasn't just another school teacher or principal. Through his English literature classes, he shared his calling.
- The Writing Life: Why You Write?
My writer friend was surprised with how the owner had given his opinion even without setting an eye on the draft of his life long
- Between The Devil & The Deep Sea
Tribals in Chattisgarh are being forced to pick either the government sponsored Salwa Judum or the Naxalites.
- Rescuing Prince - Media Hype Or Good News?
The television coverage of the boy Prince and the effort to rescue him shows that news is waiting to be covered outside politics, sports, business
- Kedari's Mother - Kalki: A Translation
Somehow, sometimes we begin to feel warm even towards perfect strangers.
- Right To Little Information
While the government claims that the RTI amendments will end ambiguity, activists say the changes will render the law powerless by only allowing for marginal
- Shadow Land: Where The Past Lives
Everyday in the present is a day you can use for giving yourself a better future with fewer shadows
- Shakespeare F[seleted]S Jane Austen
What if Shakespeare had tried his quill on Jane Austen?
- For Prince and Open Pits
Death by falling into pits and manholes is not new to India.
- Pati, Patni Aur Woh
Would same kind of confession be accepted by our society if it was made by a woman?
- Movie Preview: Anthony = Cletis Tout?
A tribute or another ripoff?
- Hel-Loo World!
Welcome to the world of "subconscious perceptionary mapping"
- Omkara -- The UP-Bihar Mafia Concept
There is freshness in the UP/Bihar mafia backdrop: it could be one of the key elements providing Omkara its success.
- How Peace Will Not Be Achieved: Urge Peace with India, But Kidnap Peace Activist in Pakistan
While the Pakistani President talks about peace with India on one hand, peace activists working on Indo-Pak peace are under threat.
- Living or a Life – Choices for Women in the East
Exceptions apart, women in our society are expected to be home. Men are not equally involved in parenting and running the household.
- Book Review: Time Management for System Administrators
A useful book for the much overworked and over-stressed system administrator .
- A Journey With Computers
Computers have come a long way from the era of DOS where you had to learn masses of commands and Windows 3.5 was booted with
- Canadian Politics: Reneging On U.N. Declaration Of Indigenous Rights
There was no way (the Conservatives) could have signed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Magician's Tale: Dawood Disappears
There is so much privacy - Dawood Ibrahim can disappear without a trace!
- The Tantrum Begum
Can a tantrum throwing Begum be a possible reason for losing a significant battle?
- Prithvi Theatre: It Is Play Time
Aranyas are showcasing all of their plays back-to-back at Prithiv this coming weekend.
- How Pakistani Government Promotes Terrorism and the US State Department May Be Involved!
So what is US State Department's beef in promotion of terrorism in South Asia?
- fallen leaves, sanguine branches
leaves gravitate, hug and embrace - nature's nature / but why do hatenamis annihilate blankly / impeccant leaves that have umpteen promises left
- Wandering Scholars from the Third World
What is driving this solid growth and "massification" of students going abroad?
- Movie Review: Accident
The movie's screenplay is its greatest strength. Shankar Nag never devotes a second more than what is required for a scene.
- The Mumbai Deluge
Having been through all the madness of last year I realize that it does take some spirit on part of the citizenry to carry on
- Writer's Notebook: No Free Ride
They just don't seem to offer much that I can't do as well and offers no better guarantee or returns.
- Ladakh the Faraway Land
Ladakh was an experience to remember. Rarely have I seen such true scenic beauty.
- If You Really Want to Ban(g) All Anti-National Websites
A concerned Indian Citizen's humble attempt to help in the UPA Government's crusade to destroy all Anti-National Websites.
- Book Review: The Historian
A deftly crafted page-turner fused with doses of incredible surprise.
- A Bus Ride Through Vellore
Vellore, the home of the Christian Medical College is a quaint little two bus-routes town couple of hours from Chennai.
- Book Review: Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters and Survival
I hate to tell you this Mr. Cooper, but you are not the first one to think it is funny or wry that you live
- The Pink House With Three Stories
As you grow older, you become conscious of your family - especially as you begin losing them in a slow but steady trickle...
- US Congress Approves Indian Nuclear Deal
Both sides, as usual, miss the point.
- Why Bloggers Blog? It's All About Me, Stupid
Blogging has become a way for people to share their personal experiences and their lives with small groups, not to change the world.
- From Beirut to Jerusalem – Madness All the Way
If there were not real people shedding real blood it could have been real comic-strip fun.
- CD Review: Mehfuz - Euphoria strike again!
Euphoria's music is uniquely desi - magical, funfilled, full of colour. Their latest offering, Mehfuz, is no different
- Oak Trees: A Link To The Past
The oak tree is a sign of strength and endurance i
- Floyd Landis Does What Lance Armstrong Could not -- Test Positive
The Tour de France winner tested positive for testosterone, the dope.
- Come On, Let's Drop In On This Manmohan Guy
Let's meet the Prime Minister, shall we?
- Pornography - Taking the Moral Highway
Viewing pornography is a clear violation of the divine directives and suggested way of life in the first place.
- House of Representatives Passes the Indo-US Nuclear Co-operation Bill but Concerns Remain
The Indo-US Nuclear Co-operation Bill Passed by the US House of Representatives is not in alignment with the July18, 2005 Agreement.
- Of Paper Tigers And False Bravery
You can deal with the paper tigers in a couple of ways - the most sensible of these would be to just ignore them and
- Srinivasan: Seeing People Beyond Numbers
Demographers are those who are taught to see people as numbers. Here is the portrait of one who saw the individuals beyond the numbers.
- Oprah Winfrey Proclaims She's Not Gay
Is Oprah feeding off the people with her dishonesty?
- deluge
never imagined had / ensconced so many / seamless memories / as solicitously / i caressed her hair
- CD Review: The Lady and Mr. Johnson - Rory Block
Rory Block has to be one of the finest acoustic slid Blues players alive today
- NAFTA: The Environment And You!
The environmental business of our businesses is nobody's business but ours
- Hinglish Legacy of the Raj
Both Hindi and English seems to have mutated considerably over the years.
- Gossip
We Indians indulge in this time-pass hobby on a regular basis.
- Films Slated for Release in 2006: Bollywood's Big Cook Fest?
It is quite rare to see a biggie being released week after week, one behind the other - NOT for a few odd weeks, but
- Desicritics Editors' Picks - July 03 – July 09
If you're in the list, please vote in one article to be featured in the next Editors' Picks.
- The End Of Mom, Dad, Dick, And Jane
Once there were happy families dotted through out the land and the boys were all princes and the girls princesses.
- Movie Review: Lady In The Waterloo?
Thoughts from a heated discussion on M. Night Shyamalan and his Lady In The Water
- The Absurdity of Babu Raj
Instead of substance petty foibles rule the Babu Raj
- Breast-Feeding: Talk But Don't See
Americans are easily offended over the display of a mother feeding her child publicly.
- Desi Culture
I’ll live without accessible roads or amenities like telephone or the Internet. But I will be close to my roots.
- I Dreamt of Delhi Last Night
No matter how many cities I go to, anywhere in the world, Delhi shall always remain the one indelibly etched on my mind.
- Book Review: Ayodhya 6 December 1992, P.V. Narasimha Rao
Despite the scholarly collection of facts and a racy narrative, PV’s defence is unconvincing.
- Iranian President Calls For A War On Words
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for war against "foreign" words. 21st Century realpolitik leads us toward violence against language.
- With a grain of salt: Cannibalising Your own
Give them education, give them jobs and show them a better path to the light.
- Book Review: White Oleander by Janet Fitch
A raw and complex coming of age story of a teenager shuttling between foster homes.
- candle light tryst
finger tip thoughts / flame / all over your skin / mapping contours / brows, lips, nape / sighs of exhales
- The UN Secretary-General Caught Lying Through his Teeth
The United Nations Secretary-General should be ashamed of his bald faced lying to the World.
- Canadian Politics: The Scent Of An Election
Ottawa's smelly enough in the summer without the stink of a forthcoming election choking me.
- Sustainable Rural Development - An Idea For a Book
Ironically, the term Sustainable Development is not understood in its true sense.
- Gurucharan Das on The Indian Model
What is the Indian model for economic development? What is this "Peculiar Revolution?"
- Can Microsoft Change It's 'PC Mindset'?
Is Microsoft suffocated by its own innovations?
- Movie Review : Omkara : Welcome This Bard-waj
Every attempt should be made to go to the theater and enjoy this spectacle.
- Decisions, Decisions: What To Do Only?
I liked how the monotony of my feelings was broken up with the burning sensation in my fingers.
- Sleep, And Other Maladies
Despite all theories to the contrary, women own the bed, and we men are mere guests at their convenience.
- It's Time To Kill The Myth of the Muse
Muses are a dangerous concept for a writer. There are only the wild and mysterious ways of the unconscious.
- Friendship and Power
Politics puts a considerable strain on friendships ... and it has contributed to the destruction of relationships that might have otherwise flourished.
- Book Review: The Sacred Art Of Stealing Christopher Brookmyre
To say The Sacred Art Of Stealing is not your typical mystery/crime novel is like saying Eric Clapton is not your typical guitar player
- Congo: Children Bear the Brunt of War
Imagine being the mother or father getting ready to bury the third child in a row.
- Tourist Season in New Delhi
The Monsoon Session has started and the Parliament has been adjourned since then
- I Feel Sorry For Hitler--Too Bad He Wasn't Waging World War II Today
If the allies fought under the same constraints imposed upon Israel, Hitler would have become King of the World.
- DVD Review: Kwaidan - Filmmaking At Its Best
Kwaidan brings together a number of discrete, yet inter-related artistic traditions to produce a visually satisfying, emotionally rich, scary film.
- Tol Mole Ke Bol
Jaswant Singh and his 'Call to Dishonour'
- Trendy On The Tube. Not
Ageing breasts that look like weathered handbags, hairy, beer bellies hanging over denim waistbands - just a couple of things summer brings you.
- misconceived misconceptions (or the tale of fallen s )
oh the MISconceiving / MISconceptions / and sleep, million lambs away
- The Qana Massacre: Israel Killing Children and Women
State sponsored indiscriminate excess against civilians is immoral, unjustified and plain wrong under any pretext.
- War As Seen From Ma’aleh Levona, Israel
There is a haze far to the north. This haze is the fog of war.
« June, 2006 || August, 2006 »
- If Media Is A "Business"...
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