Pallu, neither Pappu nor Lallu, was a simple villager. He longed to see the Taj Mahal in Agra, one of the seven wonders of the world. All foreign dignitaries visiting Delhi are taken for a mandatory visit to the Taj. Borrowing from Dr Eric Berne’s book “What do you say after you say Hello?” the…

“Pappu Can’t Dance Saala” was a hit song from the 2008 Bollywood movie “Jaane Tu ya Jaane Naa”, a cute romantic comedy featuring the fresh faced Genelia D’Souza and the boy next door Imran Khan. It was also the title of another movie with the same name made in 2011. While penning these thoughts I…

It was a cold winter Beijing night. Joseph Xi and Mary Li were expecting their first baby. The ultrasound test showed that it was to be a boy, a wonder boy. So they had decided to call him Ren-Zi (pronounced Zuh), Mandarin for “Son of Man”, a title that another “wonder boy” had used 82…

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) jointly organized a Dalit Christian (DC) solidarity Sunday on 11th November. I’m not sure if the event was limited to Delhi, because it was certainly not held in my parish on that day. Nevertheless the occasion has spawned some…

The “Me Too” moment seems to have arrived in India, with long suppressed secrets of sexual harassment tumbling out of the dark recesses of memory, to shame and shock the mighty – be they journalists, actors, sportspersons or politicians. Some would have us believe that the Catholic Church in India has also experienced its Me…

In response to my earlier article “Frightening Franco Fiasco” I received a query from a major city in the south. I am reproducing it below: “The view that many priests and seminarians believe that celibacy does not require abstinence from sexual acts, but from marriage, seems quite common. Interviewing an ex-seminarian for a job not…