Recent Posts
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Why is the Mainstream Media Silent on the (il)legality of the UID Project?
Why is the Mainstream Media Silent on the (il)legality of the UID Project?- II In my last post on the UID project of the UPA government, I had raised a few issues about the manner in which the UPA went about implementing the project by circumventing constitutional protocol. In this...
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Dum Aaloo – The Kashmiri Flavor
Kashmiri Pandit cuisine is one of the least known cuisines in India. Most people think of ‘Wazwan’ when they think of Kashmiri cuisine, but that is primarily cuisine of Kashmiri Muslims. Pandit cuisine is quite different from Wazwan and also distinct from Dogra cuisine of Jammu which tends to be...
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The Price of Failure
Early this week, news broke that China would provide Pakistan with Chashma-5, a 1000-MW Pressurised Water Reactor. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, not surprisingly, rejected the notion that Beijing stood in violation of several Nuclear Suppliers Group and International Atomic Energy Agency norms, claiming that Sino-Pakistani nuclear cooperation was only for peaceful purposes. The Chashma Nuclear Power...
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Konaseema Food Carnival
Konaseema is a region in Andhra which has lush green paddy fields, quaint villages dotted with homes having tiled roofs, endless stretches of coconut groves, canals crisscrossing and the Godavari delta spreading out, creating mini islands or Lankas as they are called. It is a land where life moves at...
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Handvo
Known for its economics, entrepreneurship and off late political leadership, Gujarat has a lot to offer in terms of food. The most common myth with Gujarati cuisine is that it is always sweet and all Gujaratis love some sugar in their food. The cuisine is much more than that and...
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Plurality rule vs Runoff. Which one’s better for India?
This is a page of the general elections of 2009 in India. I had some ideas lurking in my mind for a while and I finally have got down to penning it down. The idea is really simple. As everyone knows, in India, we follow a standard plurality voting rule i.e. the winner...
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Journalism and standards: An insider’s take
It isn’t exactly news that the various ‘out of the box’ ideas suggested by Justice Katju in his post-retirement avatar are, to put it mildly, thoughtless. From his statistical conclusions on the intelligence of average Indians to his pitch for a pardon for convict Sanjay Dutt, his ideas only prove...
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A Bengali Vegetarian Feast
As a Tamilian married to a probashi Baangaali or Bengali emigrant, for over 25 years, I’ve acquired a few tastes. Mishti doi was the hardest thing for this tamarind, chilli, pickle and thayirsaadam type. My family although Tamilian, has wandered that broad swathe of the South from Tiruvannamali all the...
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World on Wednesday – Deepak Singh
World on Wednesday is a new initiative by CRI. This series will contain audio blogs which will be scheduled every Wednesday. Deepak Singh, a market analyst with politically right views will present the show. Voice: Deepak Singh – who is a market analyst with politically right views. Episode 2: Left...
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Lamb Biryani
The biryani has its origins in Persia, now Iran, and was brought to India by the Mughals in the sixteenth century. The etymology of the name for the dish comes from the Persian word, بریان (biryani), which means “fried.” Apparently, chefs in Safavid Iran used to fry rice in clarified butter and...
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The UID: Why is the UPA Reluctant to Debate and Legislate- I?
“What is so wrong about the UID project? It isn’t like the Government is asking for details that are not publicly available or which we haven’t furnished to tax authorities or for getting a driving license. In these days of social media where all our details are there for everyone...
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Thalipeeth
Maharashtrian cuisine and food habits are unique like its topography, grace and hospitality. As the topography changes so does the cuisine have dramatic changes as one crosses over from the Konkan region and the steep Sahyadris to the desh or plateau region. In the Konkan region fresh water as well...
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Ragi Kali
Ragi has always been much derided millet – at-least in southern India. It has always been seen as the poor man’s staple, and when former Prime Minister Deve Gowda went out of his way to retain ragi in his diet the humble millet was subject to still more humiliation. It...
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A Critique on Proposed Food Security Bill
Yet another pearl drops from the basket of the ignited minds that hover over the decision making process of India donning the cloaks of the NAC. Where economics fears to enter, electoral politics rushes in. I have just gone through the draft of the Food Security Bill, 2011 and the...
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The one where Narendra Modi can’t cry.
That Indian liberals harbour same sentiments for NaMo as vampires did for Buffy Summers, is possibly one of the most uncontested facts of Indian politics. Now, with the caveat that I am hardly a neutral observers to this, for many of these liberals, Narendra Modi is just a scapegoat to...