Many years ago, when we were working in the Middle East, we had a friend of ours who would lug a case of bottled water on his trips to Kerala for holidays. We would pull his legs about this with great mirth telling him how fickle his gut had become and he would counter with a grand argument that th…
Bacteria – Friend or Foe?
Many years ago, when we were working in the Middle East, we had a friend of ours who would lug a case of bottled water on his trips to Kerala for holidays. We would pull his legs about this with great mirth telling him how fickle his gut had become and he would counter with a grand argument that th…
A cursory look at the name of one of the costliest bits of real estate in Bombay (nowadays called Mumbai) signifies its relationship to the South West coastal area of Malabar. There is a reason to that, and I thought I would cover that interesting bit of history for the benefit of all, mainly to er…
Everybody enjoys reading a tale of intrigue and if it is one that figures a classic chase and escape caper with spies, counter spies, double agents, assassination plots, people like Hitler and spymasters like Peter Fleming (the brother of the 007 creator Ian), your senses can tingle in juicy antici…
തമ്à´ªി à´®ാമന്à´Ÿെ à´¤ാà´°ാà´Ÿ്à´Ÿ് - Uncle Iravivarman Thampi’s Royal Lullaby
One could go north or south in Kerala, through the various regions, where they talk different dialects, think somewhat differently even, where the Malabar aristocrat sometimes subtly expresses his mistrust of the Travancore person or…
A Hindu colony in ancient Armenia
Many years ago, an article in the TDN (Turkish Daily News – our English newspaper in Istanbul) mentioned a village in Turkey where some Indians had once lived. I faintly recollect that it had something to do with people from Malabar and possibly Khilafat, but I ha…
The debate about Ophiuchus I seem to have developed a healthy fondness for Punjabi heroines, first it was Juhi Chawla, then it was Priety Zinta and now Priyanka Chawla Chopra. Ah! well, this has nothing to do with Priyanka’s role in the movie ‘what is your rashee’ or the other heroines, but I do pro…
