When a couple move from love tomarriage..they begin to navigate the thorny thickets of social customs, unspoken expectations, implicit equations, and the general interaction of personalities...marriage in India is not to one person but to the immediate, and extended, family...and is more complicated than any corporate management job!

As I got it, spelling mistakes and all ( Read more... )

Kanian Chatterjee sent me a rendition of Robindro Songeet ( Read more... )

I am trying to articulate a theory that I have...that one of the reasons we, as a nation, don't accomplish things, is our culture of Letting Someone Else Do It. We always delegate whatever we can (and several things we should not) to others. Power seems to be equal to Not Having To Do Things Oneself. There are always Anonymous Minions to carry out ( Read more... )

I've spoken before of my friend amoghavarsha who has now developed into an excellent professional wildlife photographer. He got together with a team, and directed this video; the images are all from Karnataka:

Click to view

The lyrics are written by H S Venkateshamurthy, and Ricky Kej is the music director.

here is the Deccan Herald write-up about it ( Read more... )

My friend Saritha Rai writes in the New York Times:

click here to read it The first comment is wonderful, and, I suspect, written deliberately in pigdin English to underscore the commenter's point ( Read more... )

I do not often indulge in nostalgia, being a person who enjoys the vibrancy of the present as much as the glow of the past. But once in a while....

It was saddening to read of

the closure of Hotel Brindavan, on M G Road

here is a link, with reviews, to the hotel My cousin got married in this hotel.It was an oasis of peace on M G Road. ( Read more... )

I love rangOli and kOlam, the traditional art of door and floor decoration. Is it art? culture? tradition? hospitality?

...All of the above, I feel!

Here is a rangoli in front of the home of my friend, Alamelu Ramaswamy:


( Read more... )

DnA ....that's shortindiangirl and chaibacca

went to

this dance perforance, Momix in Botanica

in St.Louis yesterday.

here are some more stunning images

here is the review A's words? "It was a beautiful poetic interpretation of the artistry of nature ( Read more... )

Click to view

They talk about 90% of marriages in India and show only the urban, educated people who are equal to each other, which is a miniscule minority in our country. In most marriages, the woman has hardly any say in the process. And the fact that only 5% end in divorce...is often NOT because the marriage is successful....it's because other options are not ( Read more... )