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 …
Category Archives: The Funnies
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 …
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 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 Smart-Phone License
Two days ago, I came across a post by Ms Janell Burley Hofmann in the Huffington Post regarding an iPhone she had gifted her 13-year old, on condition he would agree to a written contract of rules. All of us who are parents of tweens and teens should read this post and then share it …
Jay, Veeru And Digital Bigamy
Last week I briefly mentioned that despite being an Apple fan-boy, I had switched to Android with a Samsung Galaxy Note II. The main driver was the loss of Google Maps from the Apple ecosystem. I received quite a few emails from confused individuals, asking for more details. So here goes… First. Don’t even think of …
Dog Spas, Tattoo Shops…What Next!
King’s Circle has more than 5 salons…but no spa. You can get shampoos and haircuts and manicures and pedicures, but no ‘spa experience”. And since we are a “middle-class” locality, we don’t even have one of those “ladies” parlors in one of the “quiet” streets. And yet…your dogs and cats…can get a spa experience…in Matunga! …
Sun Signs for the 40ers
This is for those in their 40s. A good age to be, at times depressing, but great fun. Aries: Today, you will forget a friend’s name. You will remember her profession, where she lives, her husband’s name and where her children study. You will remember that you had remembered her name just ten minutes ago, but …
Show Business Activism
You are dreaming! You are a 40-something successful superstar, struck with middle-age angst, aching to do something different and socially relevant. You flirt with the likes of the Narmada project and Anna Hazare but they turn out to be too controversial. Then you realize that it’s best to do something within the context of your …
Getting Picked Up
To understand this piece, you need to be clued into what is happening these days in Mumbai. In case you are unaware, please read these 3 newspaper reports online from India Today, NDTV and Mumbai Mirror. Last Thursday, needing to unwind after a busy day, I went to Upper Parel, to the new buzzing Mahavir …