February 2012
13 posts
How Bollywood Teaches Literacy in India →
We don’t always need shiny new technology to do amazing things around the world. As this edition of Mobile Message shows, with some imagination everyday technology can be re-purposed to do extraordinary things. Brij Kothari of Planet Read shares how he got Bollywood to marry karaoke, and how it doubled the number of readers in Indian primary schools.
I’m sure everyone in India now knows...
Deathly Altar Of Tatu Ajja →
Was Basavaraja’s death plain murder or a gruesome enactment of a tantric ritual?
A truly WTF news story.
“But for Twitter I would have still continued to respect so many stars from the...”
– Twitter / @nikhilnarayanan
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Surfing at Ramchandi, Puri →
Surfing took a baby step or the first dip at the first India Surf Festival in Puri this month. Indian surfers, from states along India’s long coastline, came together for the first time, in one place. From fishermen’s sons to professional surfing instructors, they do not fit the classic, global image of surfers we have. They are uniquely Indian. Meet the first generation of Indian...
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Watch(via Mother India Father Surf)
21 Tips On Surviving Life in Modern India →
1. Be rich. Very rich. Money may not buy happiness, but a Crore or two lying around doesn’t hurt.
2. Don’t buy anything without bargaining. Nothing. It is just against the Indian spirit. If your kid asks for a school trip to Egypt, propose Jaipur. If he turns out to be a bargainer, raise the offer to Aurangabad.
3. Have lots of kids. You must have a doctor, a lawyer, an police officer, and a...
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Step by Step to Assembling Indian Fast Food →
Tucked between a strip mall Starbucks and a Jamba Juice, at the back door of a Chipotle Grill, Bombay Bowl is one of a number of Indian restaurants whose owners are thinking big no matter how small they are. Borrowing the assembly-line format, customized service and chipper style of national chains like Subway, they plan to make dals, curries, chutneys and flatbreads into fast-food choices from...
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Story of Parliamentary Reporting →
A familiar scene in the two Houses of Parliament is that of quietly dressed persons heading for the central table at a brisk pace—but with a careful and correct bearing—taking their seats, scribbling in their note-books for a while and then making an exit as quick and unobtrusive as their entry. But not many people know who are these men and women apparently always in a hurry and what is the...
And the Award For The Most Surreal Experience Goes... →
The past few weeks have been pretty ordinary for me. You know how it is. Sometimes you hit that humdrum phase in life, when all you do is wake up, go to work and hang out with Shah Rukh Khan at Mannat.
Alright, I’m kidding. I meant Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor.
This happened because I was part of the writing team that scripted a recent Bollywood award function, hosted by the two stars. I...
Why Aren’t More Indians Using Twitter? →
The reality is just very different on the ground. People will get their nationalistic backs up about this post, but the stats don’t lie. It’s not a matter of national pride, it’s a matter of business reality right now. Pretending a country is something it isn’t yet, doesn’t help any entrepreneurs trying to build companies there. In fact, it’s hurt India in the past because investors and Web...