Ashok found Meena fascinating. She, Meena, liked Jethro Tull. Ashok’s tastes were more Donna Summer’s gasping, moaning, sex-drenched disco. But Meena was friendly, liked Ashok’s company and a movie or two together ensued. One day, I was asked if I wanted to accompany them, in my usual role of chaperone for the Other…
In the early summer of the following year (following the on-time, on-budget arrival of Baby #1, (chronicled in this post) financial conditions hadn't really improved. A meager income was being gleaned by teaching. My wife and I took up part-time lectureships at various schools that were mushrooming everywhere. Schools that gave out diplomas…
So this is it then. The end of civilization as we know it. The thin edge of the wedge. The most unkindest cut of all. Remember that song we used to play, Sam? It's almost over. The end of the world is nigh. There was a time when I lived in Calcutta (Kolkata,…
Schools, good ones, were hard to come by in Calcutta. Boys had a choice of St. Xavier's, La Martiniere for Boys, the recently rejuvenated and rising fast in the ranking St. James and my own school, Don Boso Park Circus, DBPC for short. Admissions were competitive and parents stressed over the best ways…
Things went back to normal after An Inauspicious Start. Of course, normal was the new normal which wasn't quite the same normal as the previous normal. Progressing pregnancy dulled the pain of financial doom. Sometime in the 3rd month we had signed up for a 5-day package at Woodlands Nursing Home in Alipore.…
The Slo-Man has decided not to decide whether it is he or them. He is inclined to believe it is them. He is aware that they probably think it is he. Maybe we should step back just a bit and explore this curious state of affairs. First of all, we already know the…
Shortly after the "Hello World" episode, the startup shutdown. Cast into the wilderness, not yet 27 years of age, boasting a pregnant wife and mounting debt caused by 3 months of no pay, I drifted out of the corporate world. Disillusioned by the posturing, the politics, burned out from nearly 5 years of…
By LeggieLefty So the great accumulator is calling it a day. It isn't quite like riding into the sunset as it is slowly fading away like the Cheshire Cat. Except that, maybe, there is no grin, just a grimace. All the die-hard fanatical fans are swearing off cricket altogether now that their hero,…
Please join us in welcoming a new contributor to this blog. LeggieLefty will be bringing his specialized and rare knowledge of the lovely game of cricket to these blogs. For some time now, LeggieLefty has been ghosting cricket posts for the LastWord. The LastWord was never truly comfortable with that situation and he…
I think I may be wired all wrong. Somewhere when they were handing out circuit boards for the human brains, someone seems to have cut corners. "What makes you say that?", you ask. In a recent conversation I was able to go from the starting point of Jude the Obscure to Gary Glitter…