Papi Menon - Livemint.com
ABOUT RECENT POSTS
Member since 05-11-2009
Last visited 08-04-2009
Timezone 5.00 GMT
Total Posts 4
Post Rank 0
  • Tuesday, August 04, 2009
    Posted at 4:52:00 PM
    America is a wonderful land. When I first landed on these shores, what struck me most was the purity of the colors everywhere. After the well worn, used up looks of the many Indian cities I'd lived in and traveled through, the shining aseptic primary colors of American cities seemed a wondrous thing to behold. Of course, with time, some of the wonder of the looks has worn off, but I still find much to marvel at in this country. This is, after all, the land of the double cheeseburger and the sport utility vehicle, a place where a coffee waiter.
  • Friday, June 05, 2009
    Posted at 11:42:00 AM
    When a few crazed and desperate men flew deadly airplanes into the towering skyscrapers all those years ago, it was like they'd delivered a bare-knuckled punch to America's solar plexus. For days, it seemed as if the entire country could hardly draw breath. A month later, when President Bush addressed a news conference, the shock had barely worn off, and people were still reeling, dazed, angry and confused. And what did the president advise people to do? Did he ask them to reach out to their neighbors, to grieve, to reflect, and to help.
  • Tuesday, May 19, 2009
    Posted at 4:21:00 PM
    I ride the bus around my city whenever I can. Part of the reason is a desire to save the melting glaciers by using more public transport, but the more immediate impetus comes from a desire to preserve my sanity by avoiding parking in the bedlam of downtown San Francisco. Riding the bus or train gives one ample time and opportunity to observe one's fellow human beings, and it makes for compelling viewing. One striking thing I've noticed is that hardly anyone rides the bus without headphones any more. Almost everyone has an iPod or iPhone.
  • Tuesday, May 12, 2009
    Posted at 4:56:00 PM
    I've long cherished the notion that one cannot be authentic as well as cool if one is Indian. It is either one or the other. A cool Indian is like a brave Frenchman – not entirely an impossible creature, but certainly an aberration of nature. Well bred people avert their eyes and talk steadfastly about the weather when they encounter one. So when I first heard the strains of Shammi Kapoor yodeling in my distinctly cool San-Francisco-bohemian neighborhood chocolate store, I thought for a minute I was dead and floating in purgatory, doomed to.
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