Always ask what is inside the package Said the smiling, imposing man with the handlebar moustache and the unmistakable demeanour of someone used to having his instructions written down and actioned upon forthwith. You could also tell from the firmness in his voice that he had an army background. This is 2006, and I was [ ]
Once in 2 weeks (or as the ever-confusing term goes, biweekly), I do a live stream with a good friend, Pranav Joshi called Patthar Ke Fools. It is a freewheeling conversation about a specific food topic and promises its viewers utter and complete absurdity and a total lack of seriousness. The name itself is a [ ]
If someone had told me that my first book would be about cooking, I’d have snorted. But then, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve snorted at accurate predictions or good advice. One particularly memorable snorting incident happened some 5 years ago when Manasi Subramaniam from Penguin wrote to me, asking me to consider writing [ ]
What is literacy, really? The government of India theoretically defines it as the ability to read and write with understanding. Read and write, one can still define with some degree of objectivity, even if there are degrees involved. In practical reality, the ability to read or write can vary from “I can understand Shashi Tharoor [ ]
Every day on social media, Indians indulge in their favorite pastime Solutionism. Your flight was late? Of course, the cause is the lack of Air India’s privatization. Your Swiggy order was late? The restaurant doesn’t follow Six Sigma. But this behavior goes well beyond posturing on the internet. The single most common Indian response [ ]
Supra Amani, the Fifth Count of the royal estate of Amani sat in his imported Chesterfield sofa, gazing out of a French window that opened into a view of rolling hills dotted with grazing cows mercilessly mutilating grass while deftly using their ears to flick flies away. A voice from behind suddenly interrupted his reverie, [ ]
Good evening. Tonight’s programme is going to be different. The Nation demands to know how a prime time TV panel debate is designed by my illustrious channel. So, tonight, instead of just seeing a debate in action, I will take you through the backstage process that we have perfected over the years. Some viewers might [ ]
I think human beings suck at online discourse. Let me rephrase that I think social media technology is designed in a way to amplify a particular kind of human suckiness. For starters, it is constantly nudging and persuading us to share more stuff online. Apparently, 70% of our smartphone time is spent inside [ ]
I ve come to realize that Ovo-lacto-vegetarians will never win elections in India. Why, you ask? But first, consider this question Why is milk considered vegetarian while eggs are not? This was the subject of a discussion I had with a gentleman who forwarded me a “Cow farts cause global warming and ancient India knew [ ]
Over the last few years, quite a few people who run into me have posed a declarative statement masquerading as an accusative question “You don’t blog nowadays”. And I’ve always given an answer that, in retrospect, was rather stupid “But I post on Twitter”. I’ve come to realise rather late that there is [ ]