An enduring memory of my childhood is that of lying in bed on a cold December night in Bangalore, sometime around 1973 with the lights switched off and my brother telling me stories of Brer Rabbit. These were written by Enid Blyton and involved the escapades of a rabbit who was constantly outwitting the trio of Brer Fox, Brer…
While rummaging through our pantry the other day, I came across a bag of Pistachios. It was a 3 lb bag from Costco and we had consumed about half its contents. The presence of the bag had obviously been forgotten and it was lying hidden behind some boxes. The contents had turned rancid and I threw the bag in the…
They made their appearance in India in the mid-to-late seventies. The next step in the evolution of music players – the cassette decks. They ranged from the compact mono players and “two-in-ones” to the larger cassette decks that came with graphic equalizers and powerful speakers. They were middle and upper-class status symbols, usually occupying a prominent place in the house.…
The phrase “Street Singer” evokes nostalgia for lovers of old Hindi music. And by old, I mean really old, for this is the name of the 1938 movie starring the singer-actor K.L. Saigal. It contains gems such as “Babul Mora”, “Jeevan Been Madhur Na Baje” and “Lachhami Murat Daras Dikhaye”. Yes, I admit, I listen to Hindi songs from the…
Each year, as my school’s annual sports day rolled around, I would get excited. I really had no reason to. While I played cricket and soccer in my neighborhood, I would never qualify for any of the athletic events. I loved sports though. I followed the Olympics (past and present) and Asian games closely. Jesse Owens, Al Oerter, Jim Thorpe,…