I was watching ‘Wake Up Sid’ yesterday (ah, the joys of being master of your own time…a Monday afternoon movie with a friend!) when this thought occurred to me. I’ve complained long and hard about the Indian man being a perpetual mama’s boy. I also believe that this ingrained emasculated dependency comes from scores and [...]

I recently saw a movie about relationships and love. In one scene, a man and a woman meet in a department store and strike up a conversation over the cash register which continues till they walk out. Standing on the sidewalk, they talk, like any two strangers who’ve just met, of things that interest the other [...]

I remember reading a review of Honeymoon Travels which described KK Menon’s character as thus:
He isn’t quite a male chauvinist, just an Indian man.
I didn’t quite get that at the time. Then I saw the movie and thought I understood a bit of what the reviewer was trying to say. KK Menon’s Partho is a [...]

There are men who look good with facial hair. Greek gods walk in our midst after all.

Then there are those who’re passably nice looking and on whom the facial fuzz can act like the proverbial Fairy Godmother (oh okay, magic potion a la Shrek) completely transforming their faces into something else altogether!

Of course every once [...]

This might seem to overlap with this chapter but it doesn’t really. That was about the place they live in, this is the colour that runs in their blood (it’s neither red nor blue!)
Gujjubhai : Now I’m going to run against the tide in this city when I rate this man top of my list [...]

Music is an integral part of every youth festival, highlighted by the crowds at Antakshari, and Music Quiz events. The music competition is usually the grand highlight of at least one evening. That we are home to the biggest film industry in the world shows in the fact that the event almost always features exclusive [...]

I’m practically de-sensitized to the trash overload from the television set. After all..
Got thirteen channels of shit on the TV to choose from…
But every now and then there comes along something that makes me sit up and take notice.
It would have been a normal, frenzied rush-hour day just like another. And a TV schedule of [...]

I wanted to write this last week but I’ve been running late on a lot of things and just haven’t had the time. Nnnneeeaaarrrrrggghhh.
Now usually I like to be this one foot here/the other there sort of person who expounds on the scientific reason behind certain superstitions, the validity of ‘old wives’ tales’ etc. But [...]

My dear friends, my poor dear friends that suffer the agony of matrimonial match-making! Aside from the usual agonizing boy-meet-girl-over-tea/coffee ritual, there’s the incessent pressure pressure PRESSURE from the rest of the world.
The prospect’s education (pedigree), employment, family background, hobbies and friends are examined in great detail. And if 3 of these fit then voila!! [...]

I discussed this with a friend yesterday and she asked me,
Do you believe it?
The numbers look suspect to me which may be because female respondents have been more reluctant to talk than males, thus skewing the statistics the other way. However, it raises an important point.
Men are the victims of sexual crimes as well. That’s [...]

And right after writing this, today’s newspaper tells me that Indians have the third-most exciting sex lives in the world. And that we are also the most open lovers in the world when it comes to talking to our partners about sex. Strangely contradictory species, we are, are we not?
A certain little doggie (his description, [...]

I already know this about the Indian man:

He’s a mama’s boy. He actually believes that it is a good thing. And he believes that this state also excuses him from being any sort of decent human being.
He is a male chauvinist. He may be subtle or he may be blatant but there’s no denying that [...]

I saw a re-run of Koffee with Karan’s show with Ekta Kapoor. I had read Sakshi’s observation on the first viewing already so my curiosity was piqued beforehand anyway. I have to say, I was mighty surprised.
Somehow, I’ve always carried an impression of Ekta Kapoor as a rather maudlin, unnessarily brash woman – a power-hungry, [...]

When I was about 17, I was suddenly fascinated by salwaar-kameezes. True to form, I hated the over the counter nice-looking but not-quite-the-perfect-fit ones. My mom, delighted with my sudden interest helped me build a collection of fabrics from Delh, Bangalore and Chennai. Fab India, Nalli and the local markets helped. And the local darzi [...]

My latest obsession is Sex and the City. For the past few days I’ve been wrapped up in the love lives of Carrie, Samatha, Miranda and Charlotte, dazzled by the wardrobes and their lifestyles, amused by their incessant man-izing (!) and thoughtful over the dilemmas they face. Okay, I know I know, I’ve taken the [...]

We have decided that we have seen the world and all its men…..well, not all but what the hell it seems to be a case of ‘ see one and you’ve seen them all’!
Here are our stereotypes of the men we seem to keep coming arcross:
The Bangalore guy: Ah, this one is our favorite by [...]

This is what the stars have to say for me today:
The analytical side of your brain is about to do battle with the emotional side of your brain. Which side do you think will win? This prizefight won’t be bloody, but it will have a conclusive winner. The losing side will have to face a [...]

This is a blog about gender roles and male-female relationships. This time its going to be about a non-sexual (so it is hoped!) relationship.
I am an only child and probably am not really qualified to speak about sisters and brothers. On the other hand, I see and hear, I feel and I forge relationships. Hence [...]

I come from a country that deifies a woman, the mother-figure most of all. All prayers to godesses, in every language, in different religions are sung in praise of Mother.
Yes, it is probably a complex, near-magical bond, the relationship between a mother and son. More so than between a mother and daughter. After all, for [...]

I read an article in the Mumbai Mirror today titled “Find the missing comic”. It listed all the finalists of ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ and surprise, surprise…they were all male! The article went on to ask people whether women had a sense of humour or not.
Of course we have a sense of humour. It’s [...]