Archive for the 'urban myths' Category



Smoky Ideas

Published on May 31, 2008

All eyes are on her. She is sitting in her car intently taking a drag as she waits for the traffic light to turn green; she is stirring her coffee at Barista and raising smoke tendrils; she is reading a paper and lighting her cigarette; in between shaking a leg or two on the dance [...]


On dirt and dearth

Published on May 14, 2008

For these children, each new day is a battleground, a new competition, where they shove, push, scavenge, and fill their sacks, all to win their war against want and poverty.


“Daddy, teach me how to pray!”

Published on May 7, 2008

So I decided to enjoy the celebration and here the message. I shifted focus to the actual content of the legends and songs that the lead singer of the troupe were rendering. I ignored the well-known lyrics of the movie song that played in my ears; I started following the words and the movements of the troupe. But alas! My absurd mind failed to appreciate their efforts.


“Frailty! Thy name is woman”

Published on March 25, 2008

We talk about female liberation, equality and education. There are organizations, people (both men and women) fighting and striving to give women respect with security and independent sustenance. In a previous post, Haunted by a Woman, I highlighted with a real-life example, the need for women to be able to stand up for themselves when [...]


Our World – Their World

Published on March 22, 2008

 All kinds of people make this world, but there are two of a certain species that cause the greatest flurry in their lives and the lives of others. The first category I would call the “Glasshouse Dwellers” and the second species I would call the “Rooftop Dwellers”.   
The Glasshouse Dwellers or GHD are primarily self-sustained, independent [...]


Haunted by a Woman

Published on March 1, 2008

 I have been having recurrent nightmares about a woman. A woman’s plight has petrified me and made deep inroads into my psyche. I feel helpless – not because I cannot protect myself from the nightmares, but because I cannot do anything for her. This woman revealed to me a fold of our tattering social fabric, [...]


Wrinkle-Lift and Burgundy-Tints

Published on February 28, 2008

 Pink bottles, red tubes, blue gels, white crystals, and sparkling sprays – they invade shop-shelves, and then lay siege on our bathroom shelves. They promise rose-petal suppleness, wrinkle-free liveliness, nourished firmness and so many more adjectives! Most woman fall prey to these, hopefully applying layers of the magic potion, in a never-known-before discipline. Some show [...]


Ethnic Designs

Published on February 23, 2008

 The world went gaga over their tattoos – Saif’s love tattoo, Sanjay Dutt’s colorful shoulder tattoo, the ink-stained torso of Arjun Rampal, not to forget Rakhi Sawant’s oh-so-conspicuous tattoo and the “kaanta-laga” girl, Shefali Zariwala and the arrow piercing her heart tattoo – the list is endless.  
Tattoo amongst modern youth and their icons is yuppie, [...]


Options Galore

Published on February 19, 2008

It was July and the night was stormy. I had been immensely delayed in office and by the time I could wind up my work, it was nearly 10:30 PM. I did not want to wait for the office cab, which would take another half an hour to pick me up. I saw a lone [...]


She too is a working woman

Published on February 10, 2008

She told me it was cold when she was leaving for her house after cooking dinner at my neighbor’s house. I asked her what time does she normally finish her work everyday. She said 9:30 PM.
“So you cook again when you go home!”
“Not exactly. I only make the chapattis or heat up the vegetable/curry!”
“Do [...]


Check Mate!!

Published on February 8, 2008

 They asked me how much I earn. I shrugged the question aside without mentioning a numeric figure. Their curiosity not satiated, they turned towards my husband and inquired about our salaries. My husband also refused to quote an exact amount. They started guessing and threw in some figures as our combined salaries. No response from [...]


Disconnected … because we are connected!

Published on January 23, 2008

I carry a mobile, work in an IT company and have a 24-hr unlimited internet connection at home. This implies I have complete access to a plethora of news and information websites, blogs and networking sites and have email accounts and photo albums on most free web spaces. I am connected, virtually. I am [...]


“Male hubris, female humility”

Published on January 17, 2008

It is proven. Psychologist Professor Adrian Furnham, of University College London, analyzed the results of 25 studies on IQ and gender differences and his findings say that men are deluded about the supremacy of their mental prowess. http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1145381
He backs the concept of “male hubris, female humility” effect wherein male IQ is not at higher [...]