India 11
Writers’ rights
Before one writes on the apparent war between liberalism and conservatism, it may be wise to define what we are fighting for. Is liberalism the right to use profane language in books and expound on graphic sex, even that of the alternative kind? Does liberalism state that to denigrate your own country, whether justified or not, is defensible? Is liberalism defined by books which attack gods and religion?
The future of god
Off and on for 20 years I’ve thought carefully about how my relationship with God has changed. I’ve been acutely aware that his survival is at stake (for “His” you can substitute “Her” or “Its”, since an all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present deity doesn’t have gender). I don’t approach the future by asking whether God exists, with believers declaring their faith on one hand and non-believers expressing their doubts on the other.
Shubh Griha
India Shining was born in 1991, the year India liberalised its economy. It is an archipelago, a collection of islands where the middle class Indian dreams of leading a life at par with his cousins in America. And now they can, in Orange County, Beverly Park, Regent Park, Malibu Towne, thanks to the government finally realising the failure of state-controlled planning and allowing private players to step in.
But it’s so messy in the middle
Off a side lane behind Peddar Road is the home of one of Mumbai’s wealthiest men. Italianate statuary across a secluded private road carries you to a Baroque mansion with some of the finest collection of art. Unlike Mumbai’s business elite, the owner is a recluse, enjoying his wealth without ceremony or flash. A few miles away, lies the world’s largest slum. A warren of alleyways that house the city’s poorest, in densities so desperate that it is difficult to establish boundaries or ownership.
I Tweet, therefore I am
The jury is still out on whether Lalit Modi lined the pockets of his Armani suits during his IPL reign, but there’s no question he’s an innovator and an original thinker. At the height of the BCCI’s campaign against him, Mr Modi got himself interviewed by a PIO journalist in London and uploaded it on YouTube. It was a smart move made more dramatic by the medium. Anyone with a PC, laptop or smartphone, could watch it, and not have to wait for the TV channels with their beady eye on TRP’s.
New athletes of new India
It’s a bleak winter in a small town in Germany but the conditions for training for the Beijing Olympics are the best. The months of seclusion with no distractions eventually helped Abhinav Bindra get into the zone and the world-class support systems during training were instrumental in his achieving peak form to perform the way he did to win India’s first individual Olympic gold.
Welcome to the new India.
Money should not be bigger than the game
It is an eye-opener in more ways than one to compare the days when I started playing the game and the way youngsters go about their job today. In the mid-1970s cricket was still an amateur sport and I can only talk for myself here as I took it up for the sheer pleasure of going out and having a good game. Accolades and money came later but unless an athlete enjoys his sport, no amount of wealth will be enough to satisfy him.
The year El Bulli died
2010 will be remembered most as the year Ferran Adria shut down the iconic El Bulli, rated best restaurant on earth by the magazine Restaurant and the subsequent elevation to number one of René Redzepi’s Noma, a Nordic cuisine restaurant in Copenhagen.
Closer home, the garden city of Bengaluru is maturing past its status as pub-hopping hub of the South. From its humble cantonment of early days it is now a bustling, evolving centre of international cuisine — a cornucopia of different tastes and textures.
A taste for fine dining
Mumbai’s big-gest food trend in the recent months has been the emergence of restaurant chains. Not commercial fast food joints or mall-food-court chains — these are proper restaurants that offer a variety of cuisines at reasonable rates and a standard maintained at all outlets across the country.
Just Chinese, no Manchurian
A year of fruitful experimentation on the Indian food scene can define the year 2010. I came across several interesting recipes and ingredients making an impression on our palates. The introduction of high-end chocolate brand Lindt was one of the most significant culinary trends of 2010 because it indicates people’s willingness to spend more to access great quality ingredients.
