The Swastika: Not Beyond Redemption

For the first time in 20 years, I held the Swastika in my hands during Diwali in India this year (2017) without feeling a twinge of concern. Last year, when the priest drew out a Swastika on the wall of the entrance of my new home in India, I confess I experienced a...

Walking with Papa III – Sports Talk

When I thought about reading this book, I honestly didn’t expect much. I assumed it must be Bollywood oriented fluff with cheesy descriptions of stars and their lives surrounded by obscene excess, especially Taimur and his parents. After all Bollywood does not really...

Walking with Papa II – Medical Talk

Today Papa and I decided to walk to the market, about half a mile away. We wanted to buy some knick knacks that were not really necessary, but we had convinced ourselves that they were critical to our existence, just so that we could go shopping. We crossed the street...

Walking with Papa 1 – Trash Talk

Papa and I always have a good time together. We are like two peas in a pod. He is 80 and quite frail but mentally 100% there. One of our favorite things to do is go for a walk in the community. During this 30-60 minute walk we talk absolute nonsense. Don’t get me...

The Enraged Hindu Male

Toxic Hindu masculinity in India is being challenged in many ways these days – by feminism, by homosexuality, by casteism, by non-Hindus. Male chauvinism has never been more insecure than it is today – it is deathly afraid of losing its dominion, its supremacy, its...

Bioterrorism: Ten Facts About Sarin Gas

As the civil war in Syria shows no signs of de-escalating, worrisome evidence points towards the deployment of chemical warfare with banned agents recently, resulting in almost a hundred deaths with more than a quarter of them children. Chlorine and Sarin gas are...