tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44741507908554044932012-02-17T14:14:28.550ZPrithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.comBlogger2731100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-26730422489692518492012-02-12T08:38:00.000Z2012-02-12T20:11:14.531Z

Blistering barnacles! Thundering typhoons! Ostrogoths! Bashi bazouks! Why has Steven Spielberg given Captain Haddock a Scottish accent? Pithecanthropus! Lily livered landlubbers! Troglodytes! I caught the Tintin movie on a flight recently, and it was a mixed bag. I loved the look. The motion capture technique works well. It strikes a  nice balance between maintaining the texture of the

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-83547583149674497772012-02-07T15:15:00.001Z2012-02-07T15:35:43.797Z

Che Guevara is an iconic hero, universally beloved and revered. Fidel Castro is often seen as a villain, hated and reviled as one of the world's last Stalinist thugs. But, are they really all that different? Or, did Che just have the advantage of dying young and therefore remaining pure, while Fidel lived on, grappling with and being tainted by an imperfect world? This thought was

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-34156920605316444852012-01-22T16:01:00.000Z2012-01-24T12:29:45.241Z

I read, and enjoyed, a book that called Christ a scoundrel. The book is by Philip Pullman, a well known atheist. Pullman isn’t being subtle about his name calling, Christ is referred to as a scoundrel in bold print, in the book’s title. Initially, I wasn’t sure if I should be blogging about a book that calls Christ a scoundrel, I'm not here to offend people. Then, I found that the Church of

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-41981461841443640062012-01-17T10:39:00.000Z2012-01-17T10:39:39.456Z

 Kolaveri Di takes Europe by storm, as predicted by Limca Cuts from Planet Earth.

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-2366560710341732932012-01-07T21:11:00.001Z2012-01-08T10:02:36.306Z

I’ve been wrong about Liz Hurley’s love life previously. I predicted that Liz and her Indian husband Arun Nayar would make a good couple, which didn’t quite work out. Liz and Warnie are now an item, tweeting away lovingly to each other. But is this person with Liz Hurley really Shane Warne? The ultimate ornery, brawling Aussie has become a metrosexual pretty-boy. Why? I think it is for the

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-21478682223906357272012-01-05T21:51:00.000Z2012-01-05T21:52:32.987Z

"Let us take what the terrain gives" is kinder...

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-18943572494263727332011-12-31T18:06:00.000Z2012-01-01T15:38:07.000Z

"Nobody ever did anything very foolish except from some strong principle". I chanced upon this quote a couple of months ago, and it has stayed in my mind ever since. It is an old quote, by the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, the young Queen Victoria's political mentor, but it has stayed in mind because it feels contemporary, and is less cynical than it sounds. Good principles - like, for instance,

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-79047004994661080022011-12-23T09:08:00.000Z2011-12-23T10:07:03.844Z

"Follow your dream" is advice I have frequently received. This is also advice I have given multiple times. However, in most circumstances, this advice is worse than useless. I need to make choices about my career as a business executive in the here and now. Reminding myself of my childhood dream, to open the batting for the Indian cricket team, doesn't in any way help me make better life

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-13433405019255645552011-12-18T10:07:00.001Z2011-12-18T16:42:16.973Z

“Beauty comes first. Victory is secondary. What matters is joy.”  These are the last words in Football Philosophy, a book by the Brazilian legend Socrates. I was doubly bereft as I read these words. First, because I read them in this obituary for Socrates, who died prematurely aged just 57. Second, because the great Brazilian disagrees with me. Socrates seems to be saying that to abandon

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-6361433749164597102011-12-11T11:57:00.001Z2011-12-16T16:24:00.105Z

Kolaveri Di has lived out fourteen out of its fifteen minutes of fame. So, one final thought to occupy that last minute: Kolaveri Di has what it takes to win the Eurovision song contest. This thought comes straight from Only Mr. God Knows Why, an article by Anthony Lane (which, refreshingly, is still visible to the public on the New Yorker website). Anthony Lane's thesis is that a

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-11596497215409520242011-12-01T01:00:00.009Z2011-12-11T12:27:28.735Z

Once upon a time, grown women in Madras wore sarees. No longer. Now, the default outfit is a salwar kameez, especially among younger women. The saree is gradually becoming formal wear, for special occasions. One of my aunts thinks this is because of the coarsening of Tamil culture – the saree is too revealing for today’s nasty world, women feel safer in the more fully covered-up salwar

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-31760200354725446062011-11-19T15:10:00.010Z2011-12-14T21:58:04.497Z

தென் பாண்டி சீமையிலே தேரோடும் வீதியிலே மான் போல வந்தவனே யார்  அடித்தாரோ யார்  அடித்தாரோ These lyrics are from the theme song of the Tamil film Nayagan. The refrain, "yaar aditharo?" translates to "who hit you?", which is a pretty accurate description of what this Mani Ratnam film is about. Nayagan is an exploration of what hit a young Tamil boy called Shakti Velu, and turned him into

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-65879015462706415772011-11-15T23:22:00.005Z2011-11-18T22:59:19.081Z

English is the world's most successful language because it is so rich, it has many more words than any comparable language. Yet, frustratingly, English still doesn't have words for so many useful, everyday concepts. Consider, for instance, haimish: a Yiddish word that suggests warmth, domesticity and unpretentious conviviality. I was looking up the meaning because it is in this (excellent) New

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-69954093942258430862011-10-27T08:06:00.024+01:002011-11-15T23:31:51.862Z

Perceptive readers have noticed that this blog's name has changed from Moon Balls from Planet Earth to Limca Cuts from Planet Earth, and have asked me what Limca Cuts are. Like a Moon Ball, which is a spinner's slower ball, a Limca Cut is an obscure cricket term. Unlike a Moon Ball, a Limca Cut comes from the street cricket played in Mylapore, Madras, back in the 1980s. Here is a step by step

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-66225108514561138752011-10-22T08:50:00.013+01:002011-10-27T23:09:39.498+01:00

Jalaluddin Rumi was wandering the streets of Konya, overcome with grief at the death of a dear friend, when he was captured by the rhythmic beat of a goldsmith's hammer. He started whirling, found consolation, and inspired a tradition that has continued for seven hundred years.Sufi whirling has always been laced with lamentation. Though, arguably, the whirling in the cartoon above, whirling to

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-89785173006983053752011-10-19T17:26:00.018+01:002011-10-19T20:03:14.596+01:00

I had been in Istanbul for a couple of days, gamely drinking Turkish coffee to keep my clients company. Now, my soul craved the familiar comfort of a Tall Skinny Hazelnut Latte. I spotted a Starbucks - on Istiklal Caddessi, in the Beyoglu district - and homed in. The Starbucks had a mix of wooden chairs and cushy sofas, posters promising schools in coffee growing areas, a display of coffee beans

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-45036007702049524272011-10-15T10:59:00.009+01:002011-10-15T11:29:29.661+01:00

"Life gradually became less a search for meaning than a process of optimization: how to put this sentence the best way in the fewest words, how to choose the right things to buy at the supermarket and pay for them in the fastest-moving line, what to do and ingest in order to keep from getting sick or depressed..."The essential difference between brahmacharya and grihastashram. Taken, a little out

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-84353945017606535442011-10-09T22:29:00.014+01:002011-10-10T07:13:38.680+01:00

The English love their heritage. I am continuously amazed and heartened at how much care is lavished on everything from prehistoric dolmens, to Roman ruins, to Victorian facades, to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This love isn't limited to a vanishingly small elite. The National Trust, one of many NGOs that look after England's heritage, has a paid up membership of four million people, not

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-19180383094555901342011-10-01T14:23:00.010+01:002011-10-01T17:51:56.792+01:00

The Rugby World Cup is on. I am cheering for the All Blacks.India is not playing, so I can swear allegiance to any team in the tournament. I would, ideally, choose my team based on their skills, tactics, character and creativity. However, sadly, I don’t know rugby well enough to exercise that kind of nuanced judgement. I’ve worked out the scoring system and sort of know the main rules – like you

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-64862020037658838552011-09-20T09:53:00.016+01:002011-10-27T23:13:15.455+01:00

"And then a scholar said, Speak of Talking. And he answered, saying...In much of your talking, thinking is half-murdered. For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings, but cannot fly."From The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran.The words were on my mind because my family and I were at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park last weekend. We encountered these Yorkshire Souls:

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-28956514158809065012011-09-10T16:08:00.012+01:002011-09-10T20:35:00.393+01:00

I spread my map out across the reception desk, pointed to a scribble on a chit of paper, and asked the concierge, "How do I get to this restaurant?""No problem, sir." the concierge gesticulated broadly towards the Hilton Hotel's glass frontage. "Just walk across the Lover's Bridge, through to the end of the park, and the restaurant is just two streets away." He bent down to ink the restaurant on

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-48074377377609405152011-09-05T18:16:00.018+01:002011-09-05T21:00:37.500+01:00

Once upon a time, King Drupada ruled over the land of Panchala. Drupada was wise and just, his subjects were happy and loyal.However, King Drupada was not as strong as he was wise. He was drawn into war against the Kauravas of Hastinapura, and was comprehensively defeated. He was captured on the battlefield, bound in chains, and presented as a prisoner to Dronacharya, the victorious Kaurava

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-1786821997121934292011-08-29T10:27:00.011+01:002011-08-29T10:47:38.169+01:00

“So, Prithvi, we have heard that Indians mostly have arranged marriages. Is this true? How does that work?” I was out at dinner with a bunch of business colleagues when I was asked this question. Conversation around the table paused. My colleagues were clearly interested in hearing about Indian arranged marriages. These colleagues included smart people from Brazil, Denmark, Poland, Bulgaria,

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-26677534996238788762011-08-10T21:13:00.021+01:002011-08-11T07:48:32.738+01:00

Homogocene: the term ecologists and evolutionary biologists use to describe the current era, when ecosystems are becoming more homogenized, when tough generalist species take over large portions of the globe, pushing out the specialized species that developed in isolation. I was in Istanbul recently. Typical business trip: airport, hotel, conference, hotel, airport. I had no chance to go

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-56843438751253845302011-08-07T11:37:00.041+01:002011-08-13T06:58:33.838+01:00

How could India lose like that? India are the world number 1, the world champions. And yet, we lost to England. Twice, By big margins. How could the team which won the World Cup just three months ago, playing with so much spunk and conviction, suddenly turn so spineless? This question feels especially important because I was in the stands at Trent Bridge for three days. I took in the spectacle

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-67300010595830664672011-07-28T19:55:00.010+01:002011-07-29T06:53:04.660+01:00

I am in the market for a new bag. Nothing special, just a simple duffel bag for everyday use. The one specific feature I want is an optic yellow inner lining. This is the bag I use today. It isn't bad. It is a Samsonite, the fabric is tough, the zipper works fine. But the inside of the bag can get as dark as the belly-of-a-whale, especially indoors. Finding my wallet, blackberry, goggles or even

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-40830868521180361302011-07-23T12:24:00.022+01:002011-07-24T23:42:18.540+01:00

I was presenting at a business conference last month, and started my piece with this home-edited five minute clip from a favourite 90s film, The Ghost and The Darkness.This broke the tedium of hour after hour of Power Point presentations. But that apart, this film clip did try to make a point. The Ghost and The Darkness is about an engineer who is desperate to protect his people from man-eating

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-52681368549192942462011-07-16T11:02:00.053+01:002011-07-16T21:00:45.296+01:00

The dust has now settled on Wimbledon 2011. We have two exciting young champions to celebrate in Petra Kvitova and Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal is taking time off to let his fractured foot heal. Maggie May, Andy Murray's dog, is also recovering, from all the stress and media scrutiny that comes with being a celebrity. Yet, after the fun and the excitement have died down, after the Pimm's No. 1

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-41492502660013700082011-07-02T06:24:00.010+01:002011-07-03T23:33:14.418+01:00

I woke up this morning, poured myself a cup of coffee, and reflected on the possibilities. India are playing a test match in Bridgetown, Barbados. Has India's batting crumbled again? Did Fidel Edwards bounce out Virat Kohli? Did my home town openers, Mukund and Vijay, do well? Are we scoring runs quickly enough to declare and force a win? Did it rain?I had experienced hope, dread, and technical

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-84501435384400152782011-06-24T07:55:00.033+01:002011-06-25T21:54:15.519+01:00

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is playing at the Haymarket Theatre this summer. Advertising posters for the play are all over London's tube network. So, this old favourite was on my mind as I made my way to Wimbledon earlier this week.Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is a (brilliant) Tom Stoppard play, based on the same characters and events as William Shakespeare's Hamlet, but told

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-46228948929223060912011-06-05T22:13:00.026+01:002011-06-06T17:42:44.127+01:00

My family were on a chilled out vacation in the cliff-top village of Oia, on the Greek island of Santorini, when we discovered one of the world’s great bookshops. Specifically, the tenth best bookshop in the world, as certified by Lonely Planet. Other cities which feature top ten bookshops are London, Paris, San Francisco, Rome, Buenos Aires, Berlin and Beijing. Pattern recognition software would

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-23702713975953892712011-06-01T16:41:00.015+01:002011-06-02T06:54:15.588+01:00

Chennai Super Kings, my home town cricket team, just won IPL 4 in style. They have clearly been the best team on show since the inception of the IPL, with two trophies, one runner up spot, and one semi-final finish. Many reasons have been ascribed to this performance, from MS Dhoni's captaincy, to the stability of the squad, to Stephen Fleming's coaching. I really like the tactical intelligence

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-76773254605551871862011-05-21T10:33:00.015+01:002011-05-21T10:50:39.668+01:00

Loved this quote by Alfred North Whitehead: "Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking of them".By this formulation, civilization is about being able to drink water out of a tap without worrying about infectious diseases. It is about being able to click I Agree to credit card or iTunes terms and conditions without worrying about

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-35103346038036158152011-05-14T06:29:00.017+01:002011-05-16T19:52:43.564+01:00

BBC's plush and stylish new offices in Salford, near Manchester, are sprinkled with "collaboration pods". The idea is that useful work happens when people talk to each other, face to face, rather than sit around in closed-door offices. Doing away with offices and having these collaboration pods should encourage people to do just that. However, having sufferred in new-age work spaces for decades,

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-5446386398839267002011-05-08T07:38:00.023+01:002011-05-08T10:05:36.245+01:00

Know who Pippa is dating, dahling? She's with England's finest doosra-man. Palace sources inform us that Pippa Middleton's boyfriend, and date at the Royal Wedding, is former England off spinner Alex Loudon. Loudon is an old-Etonian friend of Prince William who captained England under 19s. He turned pro and played county cricket for Kent and Warwickshire with some success, when he morphed from a

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-90681601866041334522011-04-28T21:52:00.011+01:002011-04-28T22:09:20.132+01:00

The Imperial Tobacco Company will launch Wills Navy Cut in the UK tomorrow, to mark the happy and auspicious occasion of the Royal Wedding. Brand spokesperson Yogi Tobaccowallah explained "The future Emperor William is lovingly referred to as 'Wills' by his subjects. He will be getting married in his smart Navy Cut suit. He and his beloved are perfectly matched, made for each other, just like the

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-20121531851507007742011-04-24T13:14:00.037+01:002011-04-26T19:25:21.692+01:00

My flight had started boarding. I was gathering up my laptop, iPod, magazine and assorted paraphernalia to head to the gate when my cell phone rang. It was my wife. I told her I'd reached Istanbul airport, was heading to my flight, and that I'd be home soon. My wife was surprised. She thought I was in Stockholm, Sweden, not in Istanbul, Turkey. As always, my wife was right. I was, in fact, in

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-15124514126308671712011-04-09T10:38:00.028+01:002011-04-24T16:29:30.565+01:00

India won the World Cup. Wow! How did we do it? (A) we cheated (B) we were lucky (C) we have a team of geniuses (D) it is written. And yes! Ladies and gentlemen, you are right. The correct answer is (D). We won the World Cup for the same reason that a chai wallah called Jamal Malik won Rs 2,00,00,000 in a quiz show. We won the World Cup because - it is written. I didn't just make that up when I

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-52349286586721087942011-03-31T22:53:00.018+01:002011-04-01T13:43:06.664+01:00

Sachin's 85 in the semi-finals against Pakistan yesterday has to be one of his worst knocks ever. He had four, maybe six lives. He couldn't pick Saeed Ajmal, he couldn't time the ball, he was not batting like Sachin. Yet, he stuck it out, ground out more runs than any other batsman in either team, and took India through to the finals in Bombay.Sachin was winning ugly, in Brad Gilbert's immortal

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-36861318562721218802011-03-27T12:42:00.034+01:002011-03-27T15:04:12.367+01:00

Have you ever been annoyed at a picnic by a paper plate that gets soggy with gravy and starts collapsing in your hands?Did this paper plate collapse at the precise moment when your eyes met Hers - she of the sparkling eyes and lustrous locks - so you had to cut short that magic moment to prevent the chana masala from descending on to your trousers? Did She then go off for a walk with the creepy

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-31370559368019519552011-03-23T08:48:00.012Z2011-03-25T22:19:26.694Z

I was down at the club last night. Tennis social. Dusted off my old racket - the same Prince Spectrum composite that I had back when I was in college - and gave my game a spin.My game was filthy. I still play squash regularly, so I had no problem hitting the ball, but I had no control. I was spraying the ball all over the place. I resorted to tapping the ball back over the net to keep it in play,

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-66773189230995693452011-03-16T18:44:00.032Z2011-03-16T20:35:23.007Z

"So that is the news from Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above-average."Every week, Garrison Keillor concludes Prairie Home Companion with these wise words. Similarly, every week, the titans of the corporate world conclude that that they will compete for the future by winning the war-for-talent. They all strive to hire

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-80197072869832094432011-03-05T09:03:00.024Z2011-12-14T22:00:24.571Z

Ever wondered who Bashi-Bazouks are? I first encountered Bashi Bazouks in The Crab With The Golden Claws. At the time, I didn't really wonder who or what they were. I just accepted them as another Haddock-ism, like lily livered landlubbers, or fancy dress fatimas, or ostrogoths, all good ways of describing people who don't understand that Loch Lomond whiskey is sacred. Nonetheless, I was

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-65142749032515934532011-02-06T10:22:00.022Z2011-02-06T22:23:51.251Z

I generally review books after I have read them, but I'm posting about Red Plenty when its still in my Amazon shopping basket. I heard about this book's premise on the radio, and the premise may turn out to be its most more interesting part. Here is what the front flap says:Once upon a time in the Soviet Union...Strange as it may seem, the grey, oppressive USSR was founded on a fairy tale. It was

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-39721294221607340102011-01-31T21:46:00.043Z2011-02-02T08:52:14.130Z

Amy Chua's fifteen minutes of fame are almost over. The Tiger Mother story has played itself out as a news item. Yet, after having read the Economist, Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker, David Brooks in the NYT, Larry Summers in the WSJ, The Guardian, Slate and probably a dozen other stories about The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, I feel like the mainstream media are missing the central point

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-54384632608210916922011-01-18T23:39:00.025Z2011-01-19T09:06:15.992Z

I was on a business trip to Istanbul recently. All I had time for was the airport, hotel, and conference center - annoying when visiting one of the world’s most fascinating cities. Fortunately, my hotel was Absolut Istanbul, on the grounds of the old Dolmabache Palace, overlooking the Bosphorus. Plus, I got another shot of Istanbullu from my in-flight reading. The Sultan's Seal, by an American

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-51910450726885931912011-01-12T22:49:00.012Z2011-01-12T23:15:22.762Z

I just listened to a podcast by Amber Case, an anthropologist who studies how people use digital technology. She said something that really resonated with me:What I'm really worried about is that people aren't taking time for mental reflection any more, and they aren't slowing down and stopping... And really, when you have no external input, that is the time when there is creation of self, when

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-48717908732229170512011-01-05T21:42:00.024Z2011-01-07T08:19:32.506Z

Swanny’s Ashes video diaries are coming thick and fast now. Episode 7 came out on Jan 2, a mere 4 days after the Christmas special episode on Dec 29.Interesting, then, that Swanny did not bring out an Ashes video diary for a sixteen day period between Dec 13 and Dec 29. Swanny did not do an episode after the Perth test, when England got walloped. He went straight from celebrating the Adelaide win

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-36264171301754186242010-12-28T19:52:00.040Z2011-01-07T08:22:43.985Z

We don't need no education,We don't need no thought control,No dark sarcasm in the classroom,Teacher leave them kids alone,Hey teacher! leave them kids alone!All in all it's just another brick in the wall,All in all you're just another brick in the wall.I spent a chunk of my youth chanting along with this Pink Floyd rock anthem. So, I was intrigued to learn that one of the leading lights of the

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-60186956275690520742010-12-25T17:12:00.035Z2011-12-26T08:59:04.450Z

This post is being published on December 25 to honour a deity whose birth is traditionally celebrated on this day: the sun god, Mithras. I discovered Mithras (or Mitra) while exploring Rome this summer, at the Basilica di San Clemente. Entering at the street level, this Basilica is "one of the most richly decorated churches in Rome". Walk a couple of staircases down, and you're in the ruins of

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-41620844793357273572010-12-22T22:24:00.016Z2010-12-26T08:35:53.655Z

"Are you having a Colombo moment?". I'd heard this question a few times at my new job, and I just couldn't figure out what it meant.The context is usually as follows: We are in a day-long strategy meeting. We are running behind schedule. The presenter has walked through forty odd dense Powerpoint slides. The audience has mostly stopped paying attention, and is ready for a coffee-break. The

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-2590389904622498972010-12-16T21:10:00.015Z2010-12-16T21:54:50.511Z

I attended a paper-meeting last week. By paper-meeting, I mean a day-long meeting of more than ten people, where the materials being discussed are in fat spiral-bound paper dockets (thappis). This was my first paper-meeting in a decade. I loved it.At most contemporary meetings, or at least in my last company, people stare at discussion documents on their laptop screens. As a result, the body

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-90923365585993462932010-12-09T21:57:00.046Z2010-12-10T17:47:05.928Z

This post started its life as a political rant.I was at the club, meditating on a cappuccino, while the kids were at tennis class. Muzak played in the background. Billy Joel floated up on the Muzak track, singing:She can kill with a smile,She can wound with her eyes,She can ruin your faith with her casual lies,And she only reveals what she wants you to see,She hides like a child,But she’s always

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-55762562593174194502010-11-14T17:17:00.032Z2010-11-18T15:47:49.312Z

The Rafael Nadal Foundation just opened a primary school in India, in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. I am especially delighted because Rafa’s name is now linked with education, because, to me, Rafa epitomizes what education ought to be about. Its not really about multiplying matrices or solving differential equations. It is about being educado.This excellent New York Times article on Rafa describes

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-61152927051763509512010-10-24T11:33:00.023+01:002010-10-24T23:05:05.445+01:00

Cheteshwar Pujara, looking back on his test debut, remembers that “ he (Sachin) told me that God has given you this chance to play; he will help you score runs, don’t worry.”Pujara’s anecdote gives devout Sachinists a rare insight into His religious thought. To Sachin, it is clearly self-evident that God exists, and that God is merciful and kind. Sachin also seems to be describing a God who is

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-89921678232129840712010-09-26T18:54:00.067+01:002010-09-29T07:34:06.154+01:00

This post was born from the frustration of an unsuccessful shopping trip. I wanted Altoids. I checked the local supermarkets - Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda. None of them had it. My local independent pharmacy used to carry a few tins, but alas, no longer. As I made peace with poor substitutes like Fox's Glacier mints and Starbuck's After Coffee Mints, I reflected on the irony that such a quirky,

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-71314141768490153392010-09-18T07:33:00.029+01:002010-09-18T11:56:14.410+01:00

Rudo y Cursi is a Mexican film about football, made by the same team as classics like Y tu mama tambien and Amores Perros. My wife and I watched it about a year ago, on an impulse, largely because it had Gael Garcia Bernal. We had the movie theater entirely to ourselves through a Monday 7:00 screening, which was a little odd initially, but that gave us complete freedom to laugh out loud at the

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-2762396511596150362010-09-14T18:53:00.007+01:002010-09-14T19:39:43.739+01:00

"There was nothing wrong, he reminded himself, in appreciating a bourgeois paradise when every other sort of paradise on offer had proved to be exactly the opposide of what paradise should be."These wonderful words were spoken by art gallery owner Matthew Duncan of Edinburgh, the kind hearted but unremarkable son of a rich father, in The Unbearable Lightness of Scones. Haven't quite put my finger

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-62313164741221812432010-09-11T12:24:00.036+01:002010-09-17T23:12:25.316+01:00

Watch Avatar. It’s a great film. If you have watched Avatar as entertainment, I urge you to watch it again, now with a piety in your heart, in the spirit of bhakti, for this is no ordinary Hollywood blockbuster, it is the tale of a blue-skinned hero, animated by a celestial spirit, who was born to save god’s righteous people, and leads them to glorious victory over evil.Our blue-skinned hero’s

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-47128099752640002962010-09-04T12:09:00.033+01:002010-12-26T08:38:01.483Z

காட்டுக்கேது தோட்டக்காரன் இதுதான் என் கட்சிkattukkethu thottakaran, ithuthan en katchiThese words are from a favourite old song by Kannadasan, one of Tamil cinema’s greatest and most celebrated poets. This translates roughly to: does the forest have a gardener? His side is the side I’m on.As it turns out, the forest does have a gardener. His name is Les Morson. His side is the Hartington Sports

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-32402757886129422932010-08-26T15:36:00.025+01:002010-08-26T20:32:37.021+01:00

My daughters learn ballet. I take them to ballet class most Saturday mornings. While I’m waiting for class to finish, I sit around in a large hall drinking Nescafe along with dozens of other parents.I see the same set of parents at ballet class every week. I obviously have something in common with the other parents, we live in the same neighbourhood and have children the same age. Yet, none of

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-30627638930081635612010-07-16T08:45:00.012+01:002010-07-16T09:20:07.713+01:00

There really are big-point players in tennis. Just found a couple of statistical references to support this claim.Watching this year’s Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal always looked in charge of his semi final against Andy Murray. Yet, there was a time late in the third set, with Murray down 0-2 on his way to a 0-3 whipping, when Murray had actually won more points than Nadal. Rafa was winning the points

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-6950595086110516422010-07-13T19:10:00.024+01:002010-07-14T07:57:19.858+01:00

"I started my management career in a backward village in Etah, Uttar Pradesh. I lived in the village, as one of the local people, trying to improve their lives.Women in my village walked five miles each way, every day, to get water for their families. This was obviously a big effort; it left them physically drained. Couldn’t we improve these women’s lives by putting in a water pump, right here,

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-14941481597349254702010-07-05T12:12:00.020+01:002010-07-07T10:28:34.194+01:00

Consider yourself at homeConsider yourself one of the familyWe've taken to you so strong,It's clear we're going to get alongConsider yourself well inConsider yourself part of the furnitureThese words were chiming forth from the back seat of my car. My children were practicing for a show while I was dropping them off at school. As they picked up the tempo and emphasis for the crescendo...Consider

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-62610400206195305722010-07-01T07:42:00.024+01:002010-07-02T11:35:45.638+01:00

Airports and railway stations are boring, functional, de-humanizing places that one passes through, perforce, on one’s way to happier parts of a holiday. Unless, you’re in Madrid. I fell in love with both the Barajas airport and the Atocha railway station during my familiy’s visit to Spain.Barajas, apparently, is well known in architectural circles. It won the Royal Institute of British Architect

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-27551710898941950652010-06-27T10:57:00.016+01:002010-06-27T11:23:21.827+01:00

Having spent much of the last week vegging out watching Wimbledon and the World Cup, I am struck by the contrast between the slick appeals system at Wimbledon, and the complete absence of a similar system, or even calls for a similar system, at the World Cup. This is despite the fact that bad refereeing decisions have a bigger impact in football, where one goal often is decisive, than in tennis,

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-19962779350097404682010-06-22T09:34:00.028+01:002010-06-23T22:22:35.080+01:00

The assassination of Julius Caesar, when Casca’s hands spoke for him on the Ides of March, when et tu Brute felled Caesar, is surely one of the most pivotal, dramatic and best remembered episodes in world history. The place where this happened, the Area Sacra, with the brick ruins of four Roman era temples and its chipped fluted columns, is still evocative and atmospheric. However, it is not a

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-20609853609493318402010-06-17T14:06:00.035+01:002010-06-18T22:59:26.155+01:00

CMJ’s son Robin retired from first class cricket a couple of weeks ago. I looked looked him up on Cricinfo, and came across a delicious little nugget: Robin Martin Jenkins played in the same Radley College XI as Andrew Strauss and Ben Hutton.The reigning England captain, a county all rounder who was once considered England material, and the captain of the county that calls Lord’s home – these

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-3463716154209997612010-05-23T11:30:00.033+01:002010-05-23T19:17:21.085+01:00

One of the highlights of our family's trip to Paris this spring was this poster:It is prominently displayed all around the Paris metro network.It reminds me of one of my favourite brands, Rapidex English Speaking Courses, which is right up there along with Palmolive and Boost as great Indian brands endorsed by Kapil Dev. Different cultures, exactly the same consumer need.The market clearly knows

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-23870901535640655612010-05-18T14:31:00.038+01:002010-05-18T20:19:31.248+01:00

Gaudi’s work – incredible, phantasmagorical forms set within a city of perfectly straight lines and right angles – captures the spirit of a world gone by, a world that was animated by nature, magic and fantasy, and boldly brings that spirit back into an unremittingly modern world.Reminds me of the good doctor Grace. Specifically, of CLR James’ take on WG Grace.CLR James, cricket’s greatest

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-87120739045067534952010-05-10T14:17:00.028+01:002010-05-10T15:54:28.267+01:00

We were in Barcelona, with no specific agenda, thanks to a restless Icelandic volcano. A little Gaudi pilgrimage was noblesse oblige; my father’s brother, an architect, was an ardent devotee. So my wife and I navigated the streets of Barcelona, on foot and in public transport, with the children, with only a hazy plan in mind, to see the Pedrera, Casa Batllo, Parc Guell, and the Sagrada Familia,

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-68572856953527216862010-05-01T08:02:00.024+01:002010-05-01T09:49:56.190+01:00

Would you want your brand to be associated with an icon, who, for centuries, has been associated with unearned privilege, wanton indulgence, promiscuity, and the furious hatred of the common people? Apparently, yes, if you are in the luxury goods business.The exquisite pink marble Trianon palaces in Versailles, from where Marie Antoinette reigned, are being restored to their former glory. This

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-38593231883707365612010-04-09T22:46:00.040+01:002010-04-10T15:59:40.069+01:00

The Clintons' marriage is famously “complicated”. The Obamas seem a stable and happy couple. This blog believes that Liz Hurley’s marriage to her unlikely Indian beau Arun Nayar is more likely to go the Obama way than the Clinton way; the Hurley-Nayar yin and yang are in balance, as are the Obamas’, while the Clintons’ is not.Earlier, I had floated a general theory: the psyche seeks a balance of

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-64496649275200973782010-03-25T20:44:00.065Z2011-01-01T09:00:51.842Z

Why don’t glamourous hotties ever fall madly in love with nice, well-mannered, hard-working boys? Why are they forever falling in love with over-muscled, mean-spirited, brutes who are so clearly up to no good?This topic has been debated extensively in my hostel room by my friends, all of whom are nice, well-mannered, hard-working boys. However, the most insightful take on this eternal question

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-28857499757015562042010-03-10T23:08:00.054Z2010-03-16T20:03:09.015Z

We’ve found the culprits. We know who dun it. It’s them Adam and Eve, residents of Eden Gardens, Paradise, PL24 2SG. They inspired the Cruella de Vils slaughtering innocent baby pythons in Florida.There are serious arguments being made for the extermination of the Florida python. Learned Associate Professors believe that the python is a threat to delicately balanced ecosystems. Yet, I can’t help

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-61599245265076978232010-03-03T22:42:00.050Z2010-03-06T21:48:56.825Z

The United States is being invaded!! Hundreds of thousands of slimy aliens are slithering around the sacred homeland.And so, the United States is defending itself. War has been declared on these intruders. Patrols are being mustered to track down these sneaky, elusive aliens. Beagles are being trained to sniff them out. Scientists are working on miniature airborne drones, like the ones used by

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-79250344285437983362010-02-21T09:18:00.039Z2010-02-21T20:49:10.815Z

When is drinking good clean fun, and when is it dangerous and destructive? The dividing line is mostly about how you drink rather than how much you drink, according to this recent Malcolm Gladwell article in the New Yorker.For instance, recent Italian-American immigrants drink a lot. They drink with every meal, they drink with their families, they drink when friends come over, they drink while

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-2594391937805223132010-02-18T20:38:00.020Z2010-12-26T08:39:04.297Z

A Buffalo Springfield classic just shuffled up on my iPod. It goes:Sit down, I think I love youAnyway, I’d like to tryI can't stop thinking of youIf you go, I know I'll cry......Oh you know what they say about the bird in the handAnd that’s why I ain’t leaving without you......So if you want someone to love youPretty baby, I’m your guy.Really?Experts like Dear Prudence clearly know more about

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-34926069009808495162010-02-13T09:06:00.018Z2010-02-13T12:53:58.950Z

Were we ever #1? This feels like a question worth asking after the whipping at South Africa’s hands in Nagpur. Maybe the ICC ratings don’t actually mean anything.For several years I have trusted the Rediff ratings more than the ICC ratings. The Rediff ratings suggest that India never were #1. The latest Rediff ratings Google could find, published in December 2009, show India at #2 behind

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-5987336851641605262010-02-07T08:04:00.024Z2010-02-07T14:23:24.288Z

Building on the thread from the last post about following one's dreams...Consider a fairly routine career choice facing a college graduate, say, advertising vs. IT. Neither job quite counts as living-the-dream, like playing cricket for India. But the college grad finds advertising more interesting than IT. The follow-your-dream school of thought would typically recommends taking the advertising

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-29498468940540623472010-01-31T15:25:00.024Z2010-01-31T17:28:39.000Z

"Follow your dream" is career advice I have frequently received. This is also advice I have given multiple times. I must confess that, on reflection, this is really bad advice. I don't feel too bad about having given this advice, I will pass the blame on to the omnipresent self-help management gurus, but it still remains really bad advice.The only dream I've ever had that feels worthy of the name

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-39948686399913957312010-01-24T08:01:00.074Z2010-12-26T08:57:48.304Z

Tiger Woods is now a patient at Pine Grove, a Behavioural Health and Addiction Services clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.He is on the Gentle Path program, which will help him regain freedom from the disease of sexual addiction. The treatment includes Exercise Fitness Therapy (aerobics, weight training and jogging) and a ROPES course: a combination of an obstacle course and group therapy among

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-58390785801916195702010-01-16T08:41:00.050Z2010-01-16T16:36:42.046Z

Had stopped by at the Madras Crocodile Bank recently. The overwhelming impression I came away with was one of plenty. Plenty of crocs, piled up on top of each other. Well fed, too. Tourists can pay Rs. 60 for the privilege of watching the crocs eat dead rats which are tossed into the croc enclosures. Sometimes the crocs don't bother moving and simply ignore the rats; they're too full.The crocs

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-91626701328715544122010-01-10T20:33:00.024Z2010-12-26T08:43:29.566Z

An auspicious post to wish all readers a happy new year...Just discovered a piece of children's entertainment which is not just mostly harmless, but positively good. It is teaching my children that the differences between cultures around the world are there to be enjoyed, but that underneath these differences human beings are essentially the same, that we are The Family of Man (I think). This is

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-4521945807486082492009-12-20T20:10:00.053Z2009-12-25T06:02:42.695Z

Wokay. Mind it! This is not a movie. It is a 90 second ad film stretched out over 90 minutes. But once you are in an undemanding frame of mind that is willing to forgive that flaw, a frame of mind that comes naturally on long-haul flights, Quick Gun Murugan is good, clean fun.The best thing about Quick Gun Murugan always was his style. The razor thin moustache, the comfortable paunch, the

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-23431515250560758972009-12-13T12:52:00.034Z2009-12-13T21:14:17.881Z

"That's wicked! Really wicked! Thank you man. Thank you. Wicked!"Thus spake a man-on-the-street. He wore workman's overalls. He spoke into his cell phone, excitedly, animatedly. I overheard him as I walked to Pret to pick up lunch, and thought it odd that a word that once meant bad has come to mean good. Ours is a topsy-turvy world, a world without roots or moral anchors. A sign, perhaps, that

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-60217087972163980322009-12-05T10:08:00.063Z2009-12-13T12:21:12.760Z

It is great to see test cricket at Brabourne Stadium in Bombay. Not just because of Sehwag's 293, or India attaining the world #1 ranking, but for its political resonance.Brabourne stadium represents a part of India's culture and cricketing heritage that deserves to be celebrated and brought back into the mainstream. It was built by the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in 1936, to be "India's Lord's".

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-3768358096368033262009-11-29T09:52:00.028Z2009-11-29T11:57:14.608Z

I visited the Iona School yesterday for their Advent Fayre. Some good friends' children attend this excellent school. It was a very nice family morning, with craft activities for the children, live singing, and freshly pressed apple juice. Also picked up a brochure about the Steiner Waldorf system of education followed at Iona, which says:Integral to the Steiner Waldorf education is its view of

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-79240246323477921482009-11-22T08:34:00.025Z2009-11-25T23:30:37.375Z

See the player in the blue t-shirt? She is Dr Emily Ryall, Senior Lecturer in the Philosophy of Sport at the University of Gloucestershire. She is a committed, competitive sportsperson and a University lecturer, thus embodying the Corinthian ideal of amateurism. As a girl with a Ph.D. who plays rugby, she is reshaping the myths of womanhood. Discovering Dr Ryall, and that there are entire

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-29786982280031772382009-11-14T09:16:00.030Z2010-12-26T08:45:23.839Z

The war in Afghanistan is not going that well. It is not clear what exactly the fighting is for. Young soldiers are getting killed. There is no end in sight.Yet, Sam Kiley, a British journalist who just brought out this book on touring with the paratroopers of the 16 Air Assault Brigade in Helmand province, reports that the troops are committed and motivated.Why? In part, says Mr Kiley, it comes

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-6731695135580971272009-11-11T12:25:00.008Z2009-11-14T09:04:48.709Z

...Peter Jackson, requiring a wrathful army for Helm's Deep, bravely ventured onto a cricket pitch, during a break, and asked twenty-five thousand fans to roar in unison. They obliged.From the New Yorker

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-33586720539146569922009-11-07T15:01:00.032Z2009-11-07T22:49:09.660Z

Patriarchal cultures generally build their female characters around two polarized archetypes: the Madonna and the Whore. And so real women casting around for raw material with which to build their identities are forced to make a false choice between these archetypes, and therefore between virtue and sexuality. So, since the days of The Female Eunuch and The Feminine Mystique, one of the themes of

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-83826802210042751342009-10-25T07:30:00.045Z2009-10-25T15:22:35.815Z

The last blog post was about Barbie, much reviled by feminists for warping the way girls think about themselves. My take was that Barbie was mostly harmles, and that self-destroying Ophelia was a more scary archetype. To which Radhi had a very interesting comment: "But in our real worlds - madness, despair and anguish are also true, tantalising and in a weird way... much more interesting".Very

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-17767967267041416362009-10-17T09:44:00.013+01:002009-10-18T18:26:30.461+01:00

Barbie is right up there, along with McDonald’s and the Marlboro Man, as a capitalist icon that liberals love to hate. Not without reason. Barbie is anatomically inaccurate. She might psych women into body-image anxiety. She could trap girls into limiting self-concepts. And so, for a while, my wife and I very deliberately did not buy our daughters Barbie dolls.But our daughters were gifted Barbie

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-26060564464402021272009-10-11T08:09:00.014+01:002010-12-26T08:46:10.748Z

Just made sense of a lyric I've heard many times before, but never quite understood. "The girl on the half-shell" from Joan Baez's Diamonds and Rust, as in... you burst on the sceneAlready a legendThe unwashed phenomenonThe original vagabondYou strayed into my armsAnd there you stayedTemporarily lost at seaThe Madonna was yours for freeYes the girl on the half-shellWould keep you unharmed...This

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-81063908790068042972009-10-04T08:20:00.017+01:002009-10-04T14:09:17.278+01:00

Was Clement Attlee a great Prime Minister? Or was he a bungling idiot?This feels like an interesting question right now, because the two issues that define Attlee’s legacy are very similar to the issues that President Obama is grappling with – withdrawing from occupied countries and providing health care to the less fortunate.As an Indian, my first instinct is that Clement Attlee was a bungling

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-77019671405325816242009-09-28T20:44:00.010+01:002009-09-28T21:03:38.771+01:00

Gezellig - space and people coming together in harmony, that special spirit of cosy fellowship that animates Dutch life - would be an excellent addition to the English language and to English speaking cultures. Maybe, but maybe not in the way I initially thought. When I first wrote about Gezellig, I assumed that the word that best describes Amsterdam would naturally be liberal (as opposed to

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-82404724646025293702009-09-26T19:17:00.019+01:002009-09-26T22:20:52.001+01:00

Re-interpreted classics can so easily go wrong. Like, say, The Thomas Crown Affair. Sorry, but nobody compares with Steve McQueen, certainly not Pierce Brosnan. Or Sabrina. Maybe Harrison Ford is in the same league as Humphrey Bogart, but poor Julie Ormond never had a chance of filling Audrey Hepburn’s shoes. But sometimes it is worth the effort. Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet has to be one of the

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-81830066310106626672009-09-19T15:30:00.011+01:002009-09-19T18:50:46.941+01:00

My previous post on the English crowds booing Ricky Ponting drew some interesting feedback…thanks for the engagement. Some readers suggested that there is no such thing as good banter as opposed to bad sledging. That feedback provides me with a great segue to sledging stories that go back to the deified Dr WG Grace, the original Mr Cricket. I think these anecdotes make the point that on field

Prithvi Chandrasekharhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17241305923176458205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4474150790855404493.post-76933049849933382712009-09-18T07:30:00.003+01:002009-09-18T07:33:49.691+01:00

I was at Trent Bridge earlier this week for the fifth ODI. I was observing the crowd intently when Ricky Ponting came out to bat. He was booed, loud and clear. But the more decent elements in the crowd were embarrassed enough to try and drown out the booing with cheering. When Ponting finally walked off the pitch after a masterly match-winning century, the entire house rose to give him a

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