New ways for India to succeed at the Olympics

An Indian commentator in the press recently bemoaned the lack of success of the nation’s athletes in Rio. He suggested that howking and spitting were two things at which India excelled. True, the pavements and walls of Delhi are spattered with red spittle. This isn’t blood; it’s paan masala. This is a mixture of betel…

Shalimar Bagh Club

One of the legacies we Brits passed on to India was the “Club”. One of my neighbours in Leicester recommended the Gymkhana Club in New Delhi, but that is too far away for me to use regularly. Our locality has its own club, in less salubrious surroundings than the GC, but quite impressive nonetheless. You…

Happy Janmashtami

Today is the birthday of the Hindu deity Krishna. Every year, it falls on the eighth day of the “dark fortnight” in Shravaana. He is often depicted as a blue-skinned young man playing a flute, standing on one leg (just like Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull), with a group of adoring milkmaids nearby. The celebrations…

Staring Can Get You Arrested

It can be menacing when you are being stared at by a crowd of locals. I’m used to it and smile vacantly back at them. But if I was a woman and felt  I was being mentally undressed by a lecherous gang of men, I would hate it. It is a form of sexual violence…

Olympics

Cable television in our apartment in Delhi may have a hundred channels, but none of them allowed us to view the Rio Olympics. I was gutted. The BBC news showed still photographs of the events, but no action. Trying to watch the coverage on line didn’t work either, with “This video is not available in…

Mamagoto

Sometimes I need to eat something else other than rice, chapatis and dhal. I went out for Pad Thai Gai noodles at a fashionable restaurant in South Delhi. It was called Mamagoto, “a funky Japanese chain with a lively vibe”. Quite. The music was so deafening, we asked them to turn it down a few…

Raksha Bandhan

Did you fight like cat and dog with your siblings? If so, perhaps this Hindu festival might encourage you to bury the hatchet. Strictly speaking, it celebrates the bond of protection between brothers and sisters, but it can also apply to relationships outside the family. A sister ties a sacred thread, or “rakshi”, onto her…

Independence Day

Sixty nine years ago today, India became independent. I remember being captivated while reading “Freedom at Midnight”, Collins and Lapierre’s book of the events leading up to the 15th of August 1947. I was hoping to go to the Red Fort in Delhi to witness the celebrations, but the whole area has been cordoned off…

Delhi Belly

“You’ll probably get the squits while you’re here,” said my boss. “Most expats get something like Giardia every three months, lots of gas and gripes. We don’t know what it is, some kinda protozoa, Blastocystis or something similar. Gets better with a couple of grams of tinidazole. You’ll be right, mate.” Yes, he is Australian.…