Post-mortem: A recent article in the New York Times on pressures facing school-leaving teenagers in India brought back my own personal memories of the Higher Secondary and various competitive examinations. Some things never change. Of course, it wasn't all bad. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right? I mean, those of us that … Continue reading Why are Indians so good at test-taking? India’s first competitive exam
Category: Indian culture
How to write your own biography in Wikipedia. From the renowned author of “Deconstructing Quantum Sufi-Yoga”
Last night, the benevolent god mahi-mahi came to me in a vision and instructed me in a mix of Urdu-sounding Hindi, Hindi-sounding Urdu, Klingon, and C++ to form the Khudbakhud Uttarvedantic Wikipedia Society, a charitable organization exempt from US federal income tax under section 501(c)(3). As you know, articles in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia are … Continue reading How to write your own biography in Wikipedia. From the renowned author of “Deconstructing Quantum Sufi-Yoga”
How to talk with an Indian accent
Having spent many years in the US, I have often been told that I speak "without an accent." Of course it is impossible to speak without any accent. For example, broadly we can say that some people have American, British, or Indian accents which can be further divided into regional accents like Bostonian, Cockney, or received … Continue reading How to talk with an Indian accent
A review of a pre-globalization society as determined from Maine Pyar Kiya
Civilized cultures existed in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Similarly, intelligent life-forms existed in South Asia before the proliferation of cable television, cineplexes, shopping centers, cell phones, and the Internet. Using the cultural keystone Maine Pyar Kiya, I have attempted to painstakingly piece together details about the life of the "common person" as he or she lived in … Continue reading A review of a pre-globalization society as determined from Maine Pyar Kiya
How to get a bank loan in India
Or how to forge your own signature. Our NRI friend Pappu Patligali recently applied for a personal loan from a local bank. He was planning on applying to one of the swank new privately-operated banks, but was advised not to by his elderly patients. "All our lives we have only transacted with the Tropical Bank … Continue reading How to get a bank loan in India
How to make medical decisions based on Bollywood movies
A few days ago, I wrote a short medical article on how Bollywood was an excellent source of information on how to treat bullet wounds. Based on the excellent feedback I received, I decided to search for a suitable venue for publication in a scholarly medical journal. Physicians and life scientists generally use PubMed, a … Continue reading How to make medical decisions based on Bollywood movies
How to kill small animals for no good reason
The dissection. I stared in resignation at the pouch-like underbelly that contained all of the entrails of Rana, the unfortunate amphibian in front of me. It looked so fresh. No matter. Best to get this over with as soon as possible. Singh Sir had a zero-tolerance policy towards miscreants in his class and the orders … Continue reading How to kill small animals for no good reason
Will the real Nithyananda please stand up?
My fellow desi ladies and gentlemen: I stand here humbled by the historic significance of the moment. Last night from the chawls of Chennai to the burbs of Boston, from the galis of Gandhinagar to the gulleys of Galipoli, from the sarson fields of Sasaram to single-flats of Stratford-upon-Avon, we rose together in unison to … Continue reading Will the real Nithyananda please stand up?
How to write an application letter in Indian English
Pappu Patligali, our perennial hero, recently moved to India after spending years abroad working on various IT projects. Pappu studied in English-medium schools before completing his engineering degree from a state engineering college in Karnataka. In school, Pappu enjoyed reading novels written by Enid Blyton, but was not thrilled with studying English. He didn't know … Continue reading How to write an application letter in Indian English
Food at the cultural divide – the burrito and the salad sandwich
There is a very poignant scene in Mira Nair's cinematic adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's novel, The Namesake. Having recently arrived in the United States, Ashima Ganguli, finds Rice Krispies in the cupboard and proceeds to eat it as she would the Bengali snack, jhalmuri. Watching the film again, the scene reminded me of a moment … Continue reading Food at the cultural divide – the burrito and the salad sandwich
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