There is an interesting article published earlier this week in The New York Times, an op-ed piece by columnist David Brooks titled “What the Words Tell Us”, where he analyses the shift in the usage of words over the last century and tries to understand what this implies with respect to social behavior. He writes, …
Author Archives: Bhavin Jankharia
Telephone Angst
Greed! The fodder for our columns that connects idiot spot-fixing cricketers and gullible, Saradha-like pyramid scheme investors…I would rather focus on more relevant and important issues. The generational divide is never more apparent than when someone above the age of 65 wants to get in touch. This is how it goes. My cell rings. When …
The One Doctor You Don’t Want!
At the outset, apologies to all doctors named “Michael Pinto”. I am not sure how embellished this story is, but I did hear it from the horse’s mouth. A doctor friend of mine told me about an 82-years old patient of his, who had suddenly become drowsy and had to be admitted to a local …
Post-Credit Geeks…in Mumbai
Last Sunday, we watched Iron Man 3 at the Adlabs in Wadala. When the film ended and the credits started rolling, my wife got up. I held her down saying I wanted to catch the post-credit scene. She didn’t know what I was talking about, but waited anyway…and my excited son and I explained to …
When Similarities End…Starting With Cleanliness
The first thing that strikes you when you exit the airport is the bright sunshine without the humidity and the cool breeze without the cold. It feels a bit like Mumbai, but without the clamminess and the perspiration that make the summer months so painful as against the glorious sunshine in Beirut that makes you …
Your Blessings for a Dinner Plate
A few weeks ago, much was made in the papers about a high-profile businessman who quietly stood in line at a wedding reception when he could easily have cut the line. Honestly, these stories are nothing but sops meant to con us into believing that the super-rich are still human. But that’s not the point! The real …
The Chimera of Old Hindi Songs
A few weeks ago, my wife and I went to our local club for an evening of old Hindi songs. It was a one-man show, the singer belting out old medleys and ghazals and also managing the keyboard and arrangements. People had a really good time as happens in all such programs that transport them …
The Tale of Two Films…A Good “Bad” Original and its Bad “Bad” Remake
When non-Indians ask for masala Bollywood film choices, I tell them to start with Sholay, then try Amar Akbar Anthony or Yaadon ki Baarat and finally Himmatwala. 1983. We had just finished a brain-squeezing exam and 30 of us wanted to leave those brains behind and watch a “bad” Hindi film. Himmatwala playing at Badal/Bijlee …
The Delusion and Entitlement of Self-Important Tribes
This happens often! Journalists rarely carry articles against fellow journalists even though they constantly bitch about each other “off-the-record”. It is rare for a doctor to testify against his colleague in court, though in private he will massacre his reputation. Despite infighting, tribes or guilds tend to take care of their own, often insulated from the …
Coping with Tragedy
On Wednesday, all the front pages carried a story of the murder-suicide of a family of four at Bhakti Park in Wadala. Apparently, there was a dispute regarding the apartment, and the debt-ridden father killed his wife, his two sons and then himsel When I came home that evening, my children pulled me into their …