Blah"sphemy"

2011-12-31T01:44:00.000-08:00

Blah Book Awards of 2011Fiction1) We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver. I'm not saying it's "greater" than the books by Marquez, Llosa, Saramago etc I read. But reading this book was like being punched in the gut. Harrowing, emotionally draining, raw... nothing came close to it in terms of impact.2) Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It just may be one of the best love

2011-12-31T00:52:00.000-08:00

Books Read in 20111) Tinker,tailor,soldier,spy - John le Carre2) The Outsider - Albert Camus3) The Big Short - Michael Lewis4) Obama's Wars - Bob Woodward5) The Time of the Hero - Mario Vargas Llosa6) Tokyo Vice - Jake Adelstein7) 24 Akbar Road - Rashid Kidwai8) We Need To talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver9) Life of Senna - Tom Rubython10) Poor Economics - Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo11)

2011-12-31T00:49:00.000-08:00

3 must reads...http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/12/18/coming-home-a-marine-officer-remembers-his-tours-in-iraq.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/12/18/iraq.htmlhttp://www.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Ne311211NikhilDey.asp

2010-12-27T22:47:00.001-08:00

Blah Book Awards 2010For the first time in many many years, this was a year of where fiction overshadowed non-fiction... where I read 3-4 extraordinary works of fiction...where I know my list when I revisit it will look very different in a few years, including a tie for number 1. Anyway here we go....2010 Top 4: Fiction1) Never Let Me Go- Kazuo Ishiguro... haunting and heartbreaking, Ishiguro

2010-12-27T22:28:00.000-08:00

Books Read in 20101) Wolf Hall-Hillary Mantel2) Descent into Chaos: How the War Against Islamic Extremism Is Being Lost in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia- Ahmed Rashid3) The Road-Cormac McCarthy4) Liar's Poker-Michael Lewis5) Fear and Forgiveness: Stories from Gujarat- Harsh Mander6) Welcome To Our Company-Yolanda Nave7) The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House- Neil Gaiman8) The Sandman Vol.

2010-12-17T06:56:00.000-08:00

Bomras magical dinner:14/12/2010Vodka with lemongrass and ginger.Ox tongue skewer.Batter fried sardine,piquant lime and soya sauce.Crispy pork,pomelo and pomegranate salad.Slow roast sucking pig,pumpkin,spinach.Grilled tiger prawns,garlic,chilli lemongrass butter.Ginger and lemongrass creme brulee.

2010-06-10T02:44:00.001-07:00

PLAYERS TO WATCHWhile the obvious stars to watch are the Ronaldo's, Messi's Rooney's... this is my list of people who I will have an eye on.I think the best player of the world cup will be one of Zavi, Xabi Alonso or Iniesta.David Villa I think will be the top scorer.Sneijder I think will have a huge world cup while Higuain will be more effective than Messi.Schweinsteiger will power Germany to

2010-06-10T02:42:00.000-07:00

WORLD CUP PREDICTIONSMy original thoughts were Spain to win, Brazil 2nd. Ivory Coast and Holland in the Semis. Brazil hasn't lost a single competitive game under Dunga as far as I recall... Copa America, Confederations Cup and World Cup qualifying. Spain probably needed the wake up call of last year's defeat against the USA but it's hard betting against a team that has lost 1 match in 45 and that

2009-12-29T03:05:00.000-08:00

BLAH BOLLYWOOD AWARDS 2009Top 5 films:1) Dev D2) Gulaal3) Wake Up Sid4) Rocket Singh : Salesman of the Year5) 3 IdiotsDidn't see Firaaq unfortunatelyTop 5 Albums:1) Dev D2) Wake Up Sid3) Love Aaj Kal4) Delhi 6Songs of the Year: Iktara from Wake Up Sid and Emotional Atyachar (Rock Version) from Dev D

2009-12-29T03:01:00.000-08:00

BLAH BOOK AWARDS: 20092009 Top 3: Non Fiction1) Heroes – John Pilger 2) A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson (I wish every school made reading this compulsory)3) Curfewed Night – Basharat Peer (there were other better books, but none more important for me as an Indian)4) Delhi : Adventures in a Megacity – Sam Miller (THE definitive Delhi book for the Delhi I know and love, much more

2009-12-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

BOOKS READ IN 20091) The Assasin’s Gate: America In Iraq – George Packer2) The Little Drummer Girl – John LeCarre3) Downsize This: Random Threats From an Unarmed American – Michael Moore4) Blink – Malcom Gladwell5) The New Killing Fields: Massacare and the Politics of Intervention – Kira Brunner6) Outliers – Malcom Gladwell7) The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes – Neil Gaiman8) The Places

2009-02-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

Suhel Seth's article praising Modi... and a counterpoint by Jayati Ghosh along with some preliminary thoughts from me..The moment i saw Suhel Seth's article in praise of Narendra Modi, i wanted to forward a recent article i had read that was a bit more in-depth and well-researched than Suhel Seth's armchair analysis but it took me some time to find it online. People in Delhi and Mumbai with some

2009-02-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

Lasantha Wickramatunga's editorial about his death written before he was killed...EditorialAnd Then They Came For MeNo other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism. In the course of the past few years, the independent media have increasingly come under attack. Electronic and print-media institutions have been

2009-01-11T21:26:00.000-08:00

HOW TO PUT ON 4 KILOS IN 9 DAYS (YES I DID IT!!)1.Tandoori chicken stuffed with sausages,peas and potatoes served with finger chips. 2. Coorg pork curry with chicken mince, idiappam and sanaas. Kesar kheer with raisins and nuts fried in ghee.3. Liver on toast. Pork sausage. Roast pork. Pork vindaloo. Smiley fries with spicy mayonaisse. Cold coffee 4. White mutton cooked in egg and milk. Bengali

2008-12-25T08:21:00.000-08:00