Blowing in the Wind

A remarkable tale – The Japanese Fu-Go There are some remarkable stories from the WW2 period, and this is one of those. Who could have imagined that a few schools girls participated in the mass production of the world’s first Intercontinental ballistic missile? And who could imagine that one of thos…

The Officer and his Batman

When my friend told me the story of the bench warmer tradition in his erstwhile battalion, I was somewhat surprised, though not astounded. The British implanted some queer customs during the buildup of the Indian armed forces, and if you search you can find many. This one comes from a station some…

Once the Promised Land

The Anglo Indians and McCluskiegunge The Portuguese Mestiços had established precedent, when they congregated in Goa though a few remained in little enclaves at Mattanchery at Cochin and Bandra in Bombay. The Moplahs (many claiming Arab descent) attempted to obtain support in creating Moplistan in …

The Chatans of Malabar

Driving lazily last weekend, en-route our local desi grocer, I passed by the Chatam street. We do have several towns and places in the East Coast of America named after locales of old Britain, and Chatam must have come from the ancient Chatam port in Kent. That set me thinking about the name, but …