Macaulay , Pioneer of Indian Modernization- Zareer Masani

After the history books in school where one became acquainted with British officials Robert Clive, Warren Hastings, William Bentinck, Thomas Macaulay - I revisited that part of my history again thanks to Harsha who insisted that I read about Macaulay. Zareer Masani's book recreates the person that Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) was and the impact he made (if I am writing this blog in English and if you're an Indian reading it in English, we...

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The Ideal PM

It was interesting to see Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's endorsement of Rahul Gandhi as the ideal PM after 2014. I am not aware if Mr. Singh  elucidated any special qualities that Rahul Gandi possesses which make him the ideal PM of the largest democracy in the world. For someone in such a responsible post to endorse someone so strongly, specially someone as erudite as the present PM, it takes a lot. It is the kind of a statement that forces us to think about two things - whether there are some unknown factors about Mr. Rahul Gandhi's leadership...

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Story idea - The Hypocrites

The Hook:It is about a land filled with Hypocrites. They say one thing, do one thing. A new bunch of people who come to that land by mistake find out why this abundant land is stuck where it is. But can they get away?Pic courtesy: Prarthana NargundkarThe Story:A group of adventurers chance upon a land of plenty. Everything about this land is perfect. The people make all the right noises and they all seem perfectly sane too. The new bunch cannot figure...

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The Beggars Mafia

It's aggressive. It's in the face. But  what makes it most distressing is the fact that you know that its an organised racket.The Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar junction is a big junction these days. It has grown bigger over the years and one can see a large number of vehicles restraining themselves on all four sides, pedestrians trying to sneak off to the other side, with not an inch available for the good old push carts. These days you cannot even stand edge ways on that road.In the old days there used to be a couple of old men and women beggars,...

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Story Idea - Love Affair With Luck

Hook:Man who has been unlucky all his life decides to have a love affair with luck. Now all his living moments are spent wooingStory:Pitch in the regular guy full of bad luck stories. Take it to a limit where he breaks. But he wakes up on the other side - he feels that something he has always wanted, something that has rejected him all the time, this Lady Luck, must be wooed, if that's the last thing he does. Now how does one woo luck - that's what...

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Teachers Day - Teachers I Remember

On Teachers Day I remember with gratitude all the teachers who have taught me and made me. More so the teachers who left a lasting impression on me by their words and deeds, their intensity to teach and impart knowledge by being themselves. 1) L.T. Ramasarma: My first teacher at Eluru, when I was all of five. He would come home in his dignified yet friendly manner, well dressed, clear about all he wanted to teach, strict when he needed to be. Perhaps...

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Anjali - We Don't Know What Will Happen In the Future

I guess I got what I was asking for. In one quiet moment between a game of cricket with the young lady I asked her - "Anjali, when you grow up, will you fight with me?" I would not be telling the truth if I said I did not expect her to say that she would not fight and that she would love me forever and all that.But she took a rather simplistic view of the whole thing. "We don't know what will happen in the future na?' she said very practically. "We...

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In Bruges - Movie Review

Fantastic stuff. I loved it. There's not a moment when you feel you know what's going to happen and its the weirdest plot, the most original of characters and motives. And its dark comedy which I love. Super stuff.Two hit men are sent to Bruges (where's that?) in Belgium, by their boss. One older, Ken (Brendan Gleeson), and Ray (Colin Farell), a new recruit who has just botched his first attempt at murder, killing  a little boy by accident....

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Thought For The Day - Slow Down But Don't Stop

"Slow down but don't stop", is one of my favorite lines from 'The Men Within'. And I experienced the full meaning of that recently. Aren't we learning all the time?Recently I set myself a one hour walk-jog routine for 21 days. Typically one of my main excuses to skip the walk (and thereby muck up the whole program) is the time constraint on days when you hit the park late. "I can't do the entire one hour if I go now. Let me go in the evening," is...

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Story Idea - Egoistic Lovers

Hook:Two super egoistic lovers and the lengths to which they go to boost their ego after a petty fight.It's about two people who go to great lengths to prove they are in love and finally find out that they are not. They are in love with themselves!Story:The story dives headlong into the romance and makes it sizzle. Its the ideal romance, and the two lovers are so pleased with themselves. But all through this romance there are indications that give...

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The Best of Maupassant - Book Review

Another one that I got from Indialog's nice collection of classics. "The Best of Maupassant" has 37 short stories of the most delightful kind, each with a gentle twist at the end that stays with you. Guy de Maupassant, born in 1950, died young,  at 42. Having served in the army in the Franco-Prussian war, he has a few stories set in the war time. His body of work includes 300 stories, six novels, three travel books and one volume of verse, according...

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Thought for the Day - Match Ability With Belief

If you have ability, but no belief, you will under perform. You will be seen as talented but not good enough for the big league. A loser.If you have no ability but have belief, you are better off than the first lot. You will use your limited ability to its maximum and do better than you are expected to. You will rise above your weight. You will be successful.But if you have ability, backed by equal or more belief, you will soar. You will be a champion.(Assuming...

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Anjali - Art of Gratitude

Once again a knock on the head. Ever since my barber for the last three decades passed away last year, I have been on the quest to find a suitable and convenient replacement. Not having found one who fit my exacting requirements (i.e. my old barber), I have been complaining, cribbing since then. The saloon near my home does a fair job but unfortunately they get the most of my cribbing.But I went there again last week and got my hair cut. On my return...

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