Back in my journalism college days, I chanced upon a delightful op-ed by Praxy Fernandez. I faintly recall it running in Deccan Herald, because in our library, national and regional papers rubbed shoulders with international titles. [Arab News from Saudi Arabia was printed on light-green tinted paper, while ads in Saudi Gazette were printed on…
William Hanson, a British etiquette coach, recently posted a video claiming the ‘correct’ way to eat a banana is with a fork and knife. Yes, really. No peeling it like a normal person – just slice off both ends, score the peel, and eat it delicately, as if it is a royal dessert. Naturally, the…
We have heard of liquid assets, but never quite like this. In a move that would make Cleopatra turn in her milk bath, Hollywood actress Sydney Sweeney has turned her bathwater into bars of soap. 5,000 of these sudsy souvenirs, coyly named Sydney’s Bathwater Bliss, vanished from the internet faster than free WiFi in a…
From Savarkar slurs to ‘maafi’ meltdowns, the prince of political fantasy just can’t seem to leave facts alone. Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party’s eternal hope and perennial liability, was back in court recently – not as an aggrieved citizen, but as the accused in yet another defamation case. This time, he had gone after Vinayak…
A quick quiz: Can you decode the following? T, TG, TS, TN, UP, AP, MP, WB, Pjb, Hry, Ch, C’garh. If you can, you have either worked in an Indian newsroom or have the patience of a saint. If not, welcome to the chaos of the modern Indian headline, where cryptic abbreviations are the norm…
There comes a moment in every young man’s life when he must face his demons – not in the boardroom, not on a battlefield, but in the far more fearsome arena of adulthood: the kitchen. My younger son Vikas, now trying to survive in Melbourne, has just entered that phase. Though he has landed a…
There is a new virus going around, and no, it is not airborne or waterborne – it is mic-borne. The symptoms are unmistakable: compulsive wisecracks, uncontrolled sarcasm, and a chronic inability to distinguish governance from giggles. Punjab’s Chief Minister, Bhagwant Singh Mann, once infected professionally, now appears to be in full relapse. Zinger of the…
There is something almost poetic about a vanquished general dusting off his shalwar, adjusting his sherwani, and declaring victory – while the ashes of defeat still float gently behind him. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s latest call for peace with India, following Operation Sindoor, belongs squarely in that tragi-comic genre where denial wears the uniform of…
In a farcical twist worthy of a low-budget action flick, Pakistan’s military top brass attempted to rewrite military history – armed not with facts, but with a photograph pinched from a 2019 Chinese army drill. At a ceremony organised to commemorate a supposed military ‘success’ (details classified, perhaps even from reality itself), Pakistan’s Chief of…
This playful take on a Kerala court ruling spotlights Hyderabadis’ uproar over losing complimentary biryani gravies. Quotes are for effect, and all characters are entirely fictitious. In a judgement that sent shockwaves through WhatsApp family groups, a Kerala consumer court has declared that restaurants are not legally bound to serve free gravy with porotta and…
