As long-time readers of this blog know, I (usually) avoid talking about personal matters in my posts. I am however going to make an exception in the next 2-3 posts, starting with this one*.  The trigger for this was a question that I get asked fairly frequently: “What brings you back to India?” (and the related question about “What made you leave?”).  A few weeks back, Nilesh asked this question in a private email to me. I asked his permission to reproduce his question on the blog – along with …

*** CAUTION: Not Suitable for Children and May Not be Suitable for Workplace Viewing ***
About 10 hours ago, late afternoon yesterday, Times of India published an article headlined, “Incest: Haryana’s shameful social heritage” by Sukhbir Siwach.

Most of you probably missed it…I did too…until I was alerted to it by centerofright. The article talked about disturbing incidents and reports of incest in Haryana and appeared to suggest that this practice was widespread in rural Haryana:
These are not isolated incidents: incest is reportedly a real part of life in rural Haryana
It …

Christopher Hitchens brings out a great point in this brief excerpt from A Test of Tolerance (emphasis added):
Emboldened by the crass nature of the opposition to the center, its (the Ground Zero Mosque’s) defenders have started to talk as if it represented no problem at all and as if the question were solely one of religious tolerance. It would be nice if this were true.
But tolerance is one of the first and most awkward questions raised by any examination of Islamism. We are wrong to talk as if …

Today’s post comes to you courtesy Milind Thatte. Milind is currently researching for his forthcoming book titled, “Our forests, Our people“. This is an excerpt from his work (emphasis added):
*** Excerpt from “The Land of Shabari” by Milind Thatte ***
Dang[1] is the southern district of Gujarat sharing its borders with two districts of Maharashtra on its east and south. Ambika and Khapri are the small rivers running like romancing snakes through the forests of Dang. The mountains of Dang mark the north-end of Western Ghats.
Dang has ancientness to its …

A few days back I stumbled upon this extraordinary compilation titled, “Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature” by Vettam Mani (thanks to Geeta). Today, I finally found some time to “browse” through its 900+ pages….Below, two delightful snippets from the volume…Enjoy (emphasis added)..
ALPAKALA(M). A short time. (Alpa = short and Kala= time). In the Bhagavata the following definition is  given of alpakala :
Take two tender leaves of a lotus and place one on the other. Let a strong man take a sharp …

The day of coronation appears to be coming closer…The machinery seems to be working full-time to establish the dynasty in the “hearts and minds” of the people of India.
First you had the “celebrations” around the Prince’s coming of age. Last week we witnessed the pleasing face of the late patriarch beaming from hoardings, posters and advertisements in newspapers…Today, I was alerted to this painstakingly compiled photo album, courtesy NDTV that talks of (emphasis added):
“Priyanka’s aura…that definitely cannot be ignored

Wait there is more…
Her poise and elegance coupled with her settled attitude, …