Madras Musings

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Virtual Walk Through Sowcarpet

Sowcarpet is often described as Chennai’s “Little North India,” in tourist book style. Bustling and bazaar-like, this old neighborhood is not too far from the city’s iconic Central Station. This area is home to the city’s first Jain temples and shops and eateries that...

The Way We Use English in India

Had fun doing a review of this book. The “issueless” couple – who might they be? If you are thinking it is partners with no marital woes, a couple on some kind of permanent honeymoon, you’d be wrong. In the Indian context, at least,...

The Lady With The Diamond Nose-Stud

Vermeer, the Dutch master, was famous for his “Girl With a Pearl Earring”. In South India, an artist would have portrayed a “Lady with a Diamond Nose-Stud.” The Rolls Royce purred to a halt outside the legendary physician’s clinic in Madras. A middle-aged couple stepped...

Frozen Water, Warm Memory

I am an early riser. In the dark winters of New England, I am up even before the sun, and that, you’ll agree, takes some doing. But though I am up, I am, usually, not about. Venturing out before the neighbors have had a chance...

Meterpodu: Fare Game

Once upon a time, auto rickshaws in Madras had functioning meters, so the legend goes.Asking the auto drivers to turn on that boxy contraption today is like committing a small crime. The unrevised, state-fixed fare is blatantly unfair to these men in khaki. But pay...

Unknown Bestsellers

Supermodel Padmalakshmi is in town this week, according to The Hindu. She has traveled from the east coast of the United States -- just like me -- for a brief visit to the hometown. And that is where the similarity ends. She’s visiting her...