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Alyque Padamsee would like to extend a monologue into a dialogue. The poor penis felt quite left out while the vagina kept ranting away. So Alyque is organising the Penis Dialogues. Fabulous! This is one play I must see. And quickly, because the culture vultures are already hovering.
[AE: Shanti beat you to this story. Get […]

One of the major events in Bombay this March is a staging of the Vagina Monologues on International Women’s Day. The play is not new to Bombay, it’s been running since last year. I saw it last year with friends and found it very funny. Somehow I missed the undertones that Cathy Young finds […]

Ram Jethmalani claims that he was a boy scout. (Scroll down to the end of the article). I’m not sure what to make of that, but it brought back memories of my times as a scout. So, I did a few preliminary google searches.
My old scout troop — 13th East Bombay — has it’s own […]

landlord, cowboy, brotherhood, yacht, cult, primitive, addict, alumni, American, elderly, illiterate, mankind, penmanship, teenager, third world, uncivilized, underprivileged, unmarried, widow or widower, masterpiece or mastery.
Just some of the words you won’t find in an American textbook because an anti-bias committee has airbrushed the literature.
It’s funny when a line Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the […]

The Aussies have a “we’re gonna do what we’re gonna do and balls to the world” attitude that I love. This lit up my day.
The first passenger train to cross Australia from south to north arrived in Darwin yesterday to be welcomed by women flashing their breasts and men baring their backsides in a mass […]

On first read I found this very funny. Rahul Gandhi decides to take his girlfriend with him to the family vacation. A retired professor takes umbrage at the fact that the couple are not married and files a case under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
The funny part is that he was upset at […]

Jivha doesn’t like the latest Maruti Zen ad because it reinforces stereotypes.
In India’s male-dominated and still-feudal society, especially up north like Delhi, Bihar, U.P, Haryana etc., we can do without reinforcing stereotypes that the male is the victor and the female the vanquished. I’m sure there are other, more meaningful and tasteful ways to sell […]

The memoirs of Luis Bunuel (1900-1983)
Guest piece by Sauvik Chakraverti
It is through sheer luck –- or should it be called serendipity -– that I came across this extract, in a book called Journeys: An Anthology edited by Robyn Davidson (Picador India: 2002). Luis Bunuel lived to the age of 83 and wrote these words towards […]

The spirit of community in Texas. I am touched and humbled.
A few weeks after September 11, 2001, Vasudev Patel, a Hindu immigrant from northern India and U.S. citizen, was shot and killed in his convenience store/gas station in Mesquite. Since then, his wife Alka has bravely kept the convenience store open and has been raising […]

An interesting idea for a blog. In their own words:
Kabul:Reconstructions is an installation and public dialogue project that explores the multiple meanings and resonances of the idea of reconstruction — as both process and metaphor — in the context of present-day Kabul.
www.kabul-reconstructions.net is an online discussion forum, information resource, and medium for the communication […]

I’ve been a volunteer for this wonderful event for many years and it requires all the support it can get. The site has the details. Just click on the logo to go there.

Charles Bronson, 81, Movie Tough Guy, Dies
I remember seeing Death Wish on video in the early 80’s. It was the first really violent movie I saw with my cousin thanks to the new video player his parents had got. Surprisingly, I liked it.

Tunku Vardarajan on How Not to Say What You Mean
Tastefully written, with words like comestible and locution for garnish. Regardless of his support for euphemisms as mild expressions for awkward realities, he does not mince words while describing why he dislikes political correctness.
. . . one should distinguish what might be called the political […]

George Bernard Shaw once famously said “Those who can, do; and those who can’t, teach.” And some who have done it, got caught, paid the price, are teaching about it. They’re the Professors With a Past [NYT link, requires free registration]
Mr. Richards is a self-described “convict criminologist,” one of a small, tightly knit group of […]

The smaller tid-bits on portal hide some gems at times. Rediff had this on today: London pub welcomes Indian rupee. Why didn’t someone tell me earlier? But honestly, I’ve always avoided Southall. No need to visit London if I have to eat Indian food!
Rediff news however is a bit stale. The Guardian wrote about in […]

The Scotsman has a nice piece on the 60’s model Twiggy. I especially liked the fact that she has a foghorn of a laugh when she’s in full swing. My kind of lady!
A google image search on Twiggy brings up a load of her old pics. An interesting “then and now” comparison with the […]

Niraj wrote abou this new phenomenon of metrosexuality (NYT, requires free registration) and I’m intrigued.
The article focussed only on straight men discovering their female sides. I also know a lot of straight women who display a manly personality. What comes right on top of my mind is Kiran Bedi. She’s definately not gay, but whenever […]