When a friend of mine was a sweet-faced 19 year-old, he and his college mates formed a band. Individuals seemed to become band members if they owned instruments (have drum kit but no sense of rhythm? be drummer and practice.) or if they could organise rehearsal space. This rehearsal space business was pretty curious because [...]
We began the elephant leg of the tour at the Pinnewala elephant orphanage just off the Kandy road – a key tourist attraction for anyone visiting non-coastal Lanka.There are shops here that sell products made of elephant dung. On average you get 4 kg …
Sameer Mishra from Lafayette, Indiana got the word ‘numnah’ (saddle pad) at the National Spelling Bee last night. At first he thought the judges were calling him ‘numbnuts.’ He flashed a secret-brown-handshake smile when they told him the word is derived from Hindi. But here we are nearly 61 years after Indian independence, and poor [...]
The latest political nontroversy as graphic novel:
Eat at Dunkin’ Donuts, even though I despise ‘em.
Death to the kaffiyeh-wearing Satan!
F– you, donuts are awesome!
A certain author soft-launched his book into stores a week ago, just like with that tale of Kashmir and a clown. (Finding a new Rushdie unannounced is like discovering garlic naan in your freezer.) And The Enchantress of Florence is good so far. It reminds me of The Moor’s Last Sigh, though he’s lost some [...]
Am putting the pics up in random order over a few posts, along with some commentary. (Click photos to enlarge.)Nearly everywhere we travel, we manage to do some impromptu “cat tourism” and the pattern continued in Lanka; our guide was befuddled by …
How we started Sepia Mutiny (the first post went up that same night):
—– Original Message —– From: AbhiTo: Vinod; Manish; AnnaSent: Friday, July 30, 2004 12:05 AMSubject: My Fellow Bloggers…
… This past week… the Democratic Convention [was] in the news… When news of that Michigan Republican website hit the streets, you guys blogged about [...]
Anderson Cooper throttles a furry love puppet in front of a backdrop reading Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Hindi version of Sesame Street.
Here’s the title ref. Bollywood rivals American pop for double entendres. (thanks, MV)
Update:
Actress Nitya Vidyasagar, who plays Leela, was at last night’s gala, joined by the Galli Galli character Chamki, [...]
A man carrying a Nepali flag stands atop a statue of king Mahindra, an image destined to be as iconic as the Chinese protester in Tiananmen Square. In formally voting to become a republic yesterday, Nepal became the first country to drive its monarch from office since Iran.
It was also the last Hindu monarchy, an [...]
Well, the vacation happened and it was nice, which is just as well since tough times loom ahead – the family situation is getting more intense generally. Shortly after touching down I learnt that my grandfather had passed away around 36 hours earlier…
The dog days of summer are almost upon us and we at turbanhead.com are taking a well deserved break.
While we are away, go here and think of us.
Three years ago, Julian Barnes’ novel Arthur & George was shortlisted for the Booker. Initial reviews made it out to be a dry work loosely based on a historical crime involving a part-desi lawyer in the English countryside. I found much the same — the book is written with the same tightness and engineer-like detail [...]
A Boston Globe warhorse drew an interesting analogy today between a possible McCain-Jindal ticket and Eisenhower-Nixon. Jindal is 36, Richard Nixon was 39:
For a running mate Ike chose the young senator from California, Richard Nixon, who, at 39, provided a generational counterweight and also a salve to conservatives. George H.W. Bush was 64 when he [...]
In a perfect storm of desi obsessions, Suleman Mirza and Madhu Singh mash up bhangra with Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ in the semifinals of Britain’s Got Talent. It doesn’t lie very far from their first routine, but it kills just the same. At 2:20.