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, …
Category Archives: Peeves & Rants
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 …
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 …
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 …
Broken Windows
Every once in a few Thursday afternoons, I run into Samir Dalvie, who often comes up with interesting and challenging points of view that sometimes become fodder for this column. Thank you Samir for this one! This Thursday, he spoke to me about the “Broken Windows” postulate, which I had read earlier in Malcolm Gladwell’s “The …
Something About Nothing (…and A Little for All)
I thought only actors got typecast! After last week’s piece “The Namoral Dilemma”, I received emails, SMSes, blog comments and calls asking why I had written a political piece and deviated from my usual focus on to day-to-day life in Matunga and Mumbai. Seriously! There is a top 5 list of “reasons to hate marathon …
Walking…with our Lives in the Palms of our Hands
Most of us walk on Mumbai roads carrying a death wish! This piece was prompted by the accident that happened last week on the Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR), where an Indica mowed down six women, killing two. A death is a death. Such accidents should never happen and my sympathies rest with the families …
Subliminal Influences
It is generally accepted that the influence of television and movie violence in adults is transient. Which is why, as young adults, we did not turn into Govinda-like boors after watching all those rubbish David Dhawan film But, there can be perceptible changes in behavior. Once after watching an episode of “The Big Bang Theory”, …
Reverting Back!
“It would be a good idea to prepone the meeting. Please revert back to me as soon as possible”. Each time I see a mail like this, often many times a day, I cringe. And there is not a damn thing I can do about it! After having experimented with and used the Samsung Note II …
Judgmental
Four days ago, I watched English Vinglish. In this new world of first weekend-hit films, this movie is still running to full houses in its third week, simply because of Ms. Sridevi, who is just so damn good. I liked the film and even had a lump in my throat when Ms. Sridevi gave her …