Poor Barkha, having often dragged others over the coals, she found herself in the dock, in a bizarre reversal of roles. Seasoned journalists like Dileep Padgaonkar, Manu Joseph and Swapan Dasgupta lampooned her over Radiagate. This was a reportedly “unedited” NDTV debate, which may have been Barkha’s own idea to exonerate and extricate herself from…

Has Aamir Khan’s “Three Idiots” been in vain? Because engineering students continue to commit suicide.  The latest in the series is Madhuri Sale, of IIT, Kanpur (IITK), my hometown. This is the eighth suicide here in the last five years.  The IITK authorities nonchalantly attribute it to excess internet and mobile usage by students! Are…

If you see this sign outside a hospital room you will know that the patient inside is critical, and visitors not allowed.  If you see it outside a hotel room it usually means that there is couple inside who do not relish an invasion of their privacy, their cuddle huddle! But I have been disturbed…

So the latest is Goddess Durga, riding a tiger and tippling Comfort Whiskey, made in America. (Fortunately TOI has conscientiously refrained from publishing the images, to avoid inflaming religious passions). Before that it was MF Hussain’s nude painting of Bharat Mata, and the Danish cartoons denigrating the Prophet Mohammed and Islam in general.      Though…

Guru Greg Chappell has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.  Does he deserve a Second Innings as India’s cricket coach?  I care two hoots.  The Second Innings that caught my attention is from the super hit movie, “Lage Raho Munnabhai”.  The home for the aged, run by the naturally beautiful Vidya Balan,…

A vision is different from a dream. A dream is nebulous, based on subjective experience, and driven either by love or fear. A vision is more objective, rooted in reality; one foresees a situation, based on current trends, and aspires towards a specific goal. We in the ICPA must be visionaries not dreamers. To find…