Ravi Varma in a Vijayawada home

Ravi Varma in a Vijayawada home

February 19, 20175 mins

{Editor’s Note: My mother is a late adopter of the Internet. In the pre-Internet era, she used to write the loveliest of long letters to her children. The letters stopped after I returned to India. In…

Let the ass kicking begin…

Let the ass kicking begin…

December 13, 20162 mins

It was my second year of playing squash seriously. ‘Seriously‘ doesn’t mean I was any good yet. I was at that rookie stage of a squasher’s evolution when I was constantly looking for easy winners…

A marriage in the winter of 1962

A marriage in the winter of 1962

October 18, 20168 mins

[Editor’s Note: My mother is a late adopter of the Internet. In the pre-Internet era, she used to write the loveliest of long letters to her children. The letters stopped after I returned to India. In…

Been there seen that

Been there seen that

September 18, 20164 mins

A common thread running across all Indian/Eastern spiritual traditions is some form of meditation. The variations come in the form of how one meditates, whether it is the sole instrument for spiritual…

The Indistructibles

The Indistructibles

September 03, 20162 mins

When I bought the Palm Pilot 5000, I could legitimately call myself one of the “early adopters”. I still remember the excitement with which I drove to the Circuit City (somewhere near Park Ridge…

Legend of Kukut Rishi

Legend of Kukut Rishi

August 25, 20162 mins

[Editor’s note: Amar Chitra Katha – a collection of 300-something picture books taught my generation all they needed to know about Hindu itihasa – rishis, kings, queens, heroes… they had them all. I…

Breaking a streak can be SO liberating

Breaking a streak can be SO liberating

August 13, 20163 mins

We are all prisoners of our own device. – Eagles Streaks are wonderful things. For the sports aficionado, it’s such things as consecutive games in which an NBA star has drilled at least one 3-pointer…

Squash and the City

Squash and the City

April 16, 20163 mins

Serious runners are crazy people. Serious squash players are no less crazy. The crazy squash player I am thinking about is my friend. Sanjay (now a Princeton, NJ resident) was my senior at BIT Mesra…

What drives birders

What drives birders

March 27, 20164 mins

birder_definition A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Decades ago this was the topic for a school essay. It required the utmost imagination and sleight of hand to cobble together a few paragraphs. If…

Poetry in tortuous motion

Poetry in tortuous motion

October 07, 20151 mins

I parked the car, got the kids’ bags from the trunk and walked them over to the school gate. As we crossed the median, my runner friend B went hurtling past. He was obviously doing a speed workout. I…