Can you stand long months without a sun, with the temperature dipping below minus 30, with every vista out there laminated by an unnatural sheen thrown in by auroras, those fluorescent solar waves peculiar to polar skies, followed by long months without any hope of a pitch dark night when we could slough off our worries and bitterness gathered over a day, leap into cozy beds, and gravitate slowly down into the cushy bosom of slumber? In short, can you live in Finland? … Continue reading
The long wait that began from autumn finally comes to an end. Amidst all apprehensions, the temperature finally hits -8 degree Celsius at night. The men sigh, rise from their benches, emerge out of the building and begin to shuffle unhurriedly towards the vineyard along an earth now plastered in thick wads of December snow. The vineyard covered in net – to dissuade the birds of autumn to dip their beaks into grapes – is buffed to an ethereal white … Continue reading
First published in ‘The Economic Times.’ It is a storm that the high court of Kerala has kicked up recently when it observed why the government should consider banning toddy, a traditional beverage of the state, given the kind of spurious liquor that flows galore by its name. Can a drink be wiped off with the swish of a wand? Have we ever witch-hunted any other drink like this before? That Green Fairy A pair of green eyes peers us … Continue reading
RRR is sad. RRR regrets about the stories he has told you on alcohol. He bites his tongue hard and presently mulls over getting the first ‘R’ expand into something else other than ‘Rum’, hmm…say, ‘Railway’? No, railway sounds dull. Hmmm…got it! ‘Ram’! Yeah, that’s good! Ram reflects our culture! RAM! The symbol of noble manhood of our nation. The Maryada Purushothaman. Prayers on my ears. Ram will sure wash away half the sin of singing paeans on alcohol until … Continue reading
