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Showing posts from April, 2008

What I Missed While Walking Past the Kanchi Mutt

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A place I passed every day without really understanding it. As a kid growing up in Malleswaram, devotion wasn’t something we discussed — it was just in the air. The smell of agarbathi in the evenings. The noise of vendors lining up on 8th cross before a festival. The quiet expectation that you showed up, bowed your head, and moved on. Ganesh Chaturthi. Varalakshmi Vratam. Deepavali. Janmashtami. Ugadi. The calendar moved, but the pattern stayed. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Malleswaram was part of my daily route to school. Not something I questioned. Not something I deeply understood. Just… there. Every morning, on my way to school, I would slow down for a second in front of the Mutt. Just enough to bow my head toward Kanchi Kamakshi from outside the gate — and then hurry along before the school bell. It was a ritual for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it came from devotion. I did it because my parents did it. The street...
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Khelo aur Jhelo - One of a kind

Controversy theories have plagued Indian sports in the last week much to the delight of some of India's acclaimed serial killers. Ekta Kapoor , in an exclusive media interview to SaaS TV , thanked the Indian sportsmen for her inspirational new biopic, Khelo aur Jhelo (JLo?). In her usual candid self, Ms. Kapoor spoke about the various problems troubling the cricketers of today. So, in her typical style, she chose a name starting with 'K', and says that this is one of a kind serial, bringing to the forefront, the relationship between sportsmen and their in-laws. In-laws? Yes, as she has repeated often, this is a " one of a kind " serial. Media sponsors are thronging her house, in a bid to gain valuable advertisement spots for her 1199 episode drama. When quizzed why she has to offer only 1199 episodes, she said that the story will take its course, and depending on the response, she plans to continue the plot. The interview has generated never before heard ...
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Taxing the alien

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Finally, I made up my mind. Yes, I can fill up the 1040 EZ form to file my tax returns. Wait a minute . What if this is not the right form? I went back and forth, getting into discussions with like-minded, not fully informed gentlemen, individuals, who had as much proficiency in accountancy and related information as I have, in say, Carnatic music. I tried to reach every information I could avail with a faint hope of procuring the maximum possible in some way. It is also important to fill up the right form; you don't want to be hauled up for filling out a wrong form! I wanted to believe whatever others said as far as tax forms were concerned. I thought that everyone other than me had better knowledge when it came to filling these forms. It was after careful deliberation that I was sure of two things I am capable of filling these forms on my own instead of going to a consultant, even if that meant additional complications in figuring out the obscurities. That I cannot fill t...
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Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

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I had no idea about Jhumpa Lahiri's latest release until I got many of those promotional mails from Barnes and Noble, Borders and Amazon offering an attractive discount. It was a perfect way to start the month. Obviously, my first intention was to check up at the local library, and on finding out that I was 81st in the queue, I quickly went to the nearest Borders store, swiped my Amazon (what an irony!) credit card for $15.75 (inclusive of tax), and there I was clutching the beautiful hardcover bound book as if I was the proud author. Even though Interpreter of Maladies was her first publication in the literary world, I latched onto this only after I had finished reading The Namesake . The Namesake has left a lasting impression in me (link). The feeling lingered on for some days, as the emotional aspect of the book ebbed on to me in seamless fashion. Her topics are not out of the world; on the contrary, they have got a lot to do with day to day situations that we conjure in ou...
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