Diwali was a blast. Pun very seriously intended. It was raining yet my brother-in-law and I went to buy crackers. The initial child-like enthusiasm died once we saw the crowd. It was the day before Diwali and everybody was queuing up in front of the veddi kaddai (that`s how we call a shop that sells … Read more
Growing up in India can be difficult. Especially, if your name was Jamshed Velayuda Rajan Ramaswamy. I have endured my name for long…but now I am wondering if I should change it to…Robin Wood…or maybe William Won`t Tell…or perhaps Shake The Sphere. Don`t blame me for the name change. I myself shudder to think of … Read more
I got my big, pink lower lips from my father. Nothing hereditary. Plain coincidence. Scene I We were staying in Jallundar, Punjab when I was all of eight years old. And the Punjabi women have a habit of forming groups and idling the time under the soothing sun (it gets pretty cold in winter) after … Read more
This is a borrowed idea. Mr Mohan, a colleague and a friend mentioned that I should write about the ten things I want to do before I breathe my last. And here we go – 1) I want to pair-a-jump with my girl, and when there are a few kilometers to go, I want to … Read more
My father always wanted me to marry a lady army officer. He started nursing this wish after I failed the National Defense Academy exam, Combined Defense Services exam and the Armed Forces Medical College exam, in that order. With my job here in Sify taking me no closer to an Army officer, leave alone a … Read more
I envy ornithologist Salim Ali. People believed him when he said he was a bird watcher and spent his life time watching birds. My parents never allowed me to do it. You are a bad boy, they would chide. In my school days, my rakhi-sister Latha Jayashree would come in between the birds and me. … Read more
Has your father ever chased you around the house to apply that dirty lather (that`s what one thought till one started shaving) on your cheeks? If the answer is no, you would probably not understand the romance involved. My father was trying on my sisters, and me what he had already tried on my mother. … Read more
A series of blogs on my father, in the hope that he doesnot end up reading it. I am in luck: for my father the internet is as good as a fishing net … I know it is hard to believe, but my father once owned a bank. Yes, a bank. Name: Royal Ramawamy`s Bank … Read more