Media-harassed Rahul evades reporters

There was a time – in the 70s and 80s – when newspaper reporters enjoyed a reputation of being a hard-boiled lot. Many of them had an ‘attitude’, and simply walked out from wherever they were unwelcome. Now, they sulk, and shout slogans against event organizers. The media persons in Mangalore did just that the [...]

Illegible hand, a doctor’s trademark

Poor handwriting and the medical profession are  closely associated in our mindset. Which is why I was amused to read about Mysore pharmacists representation to the government about crappy handwriting of doctors. The medical shop guys want local doctors to issue prescriptions, with a printed list of drugs (striking out those not applicable).
Though it has been [...]

A horse story

Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Hawaii, is pretty liberal when it comes to visitation policy. They allow visitors to bring in cats, dogs and other pets that are certified by a vet. But Lani Yukimura brought a horse to cheer up his grandfather, admitted in the hospital.
The man brought his animal up the elevator to the third-floor, [...]

Who moved Manivannan’s file ?

I know Mr Manivannan wouldn’t want us making a fuss over his postings & transfer. True, it’s an administrative matter, and transfer-of-job goes with the turf, for IAS or any other govt. officials. Moreover, Mr M doesn’t have a personal stake in holding to or giving up any particular post. His pay & perks remain unaffected.
Knowing him a little, [...]

MRV: Reporter, friend, and now, an author

M R Venkatesh’s slim volume – in tribute to Ramachandra Gandhi and Daya Krishna – tells me more about its author than I had ever known/found out about him in our two decades of friendship. We were colleagues in my Chennai newspapering days; we used to meet on a daily basis; and have been together on many media [...]

Karnataka train tour in five-star comfort

A passenger on board the Golden Chariot luxury train is reported in The Hindu as saying, tourists in Vienna get to dine inside the palaces there. She wished the Karnataka train tour organizer had lined up some such thing at the Mysore palace, instead of taking her and other tourists round the place for a couple of hours.

The [...]

Hertz self-drive cars for Bangalore airport

Is this the thing one would want to do, I thought as I read about self-drive car hire they plan to put in place at Bangalore international airport (BIAL).  Hertz will provide 30 vehicles initially, on self-drive basis to air passengers who are used to taking a chauffer-driven vehicle from HAL airport. Idea is new to [...]

Kalyanaparisu: Not a movie, a cascade of memories

My sister Bhagya, visiting us from New Delhi, and the others in our household – wife and mother – watched Kalyanaparisu the other day. I can’t recall the last occasion when we sat together in the living room to watch a movie. This Tamil film of the fifities brought back student-day memories in us, senior [...]