Category Archives: Culture

Tiger Moms and Indian Parenting

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Basab Pradhan

Amy Chua made waves with this piece in the Wall Street Journal. She also had a very successful Davos visit where she found herself debating Larry Summers, which is a daunting task, even on a subject that you might think … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Economics, India | 1 Comment

A Leg Up for Indian English

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Basab Pradhan

In the mornings when I drop off my daughter at school, I generally have BBC on the car radio. (It’s Disney if I pick her up. That’s the deal with her. I can subject her to BBC in the mornings … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, India | 3 Comments

Failure 2 Communicate

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

We’ll be going to see a very interesting play this weekend in San Francisco called Failure 2 Communicate. The play is written by Valerie Fachman and directed by Scott Baker. Valerie describes the play Based on my work experience in … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | 1 Comment

Indians and Unpredictability

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

A notice at a neighbourhood Postal Annex. Truly, a picture is worth a thousand words. The proprietor is, you guessed it, Desi. The notice is a microcosm of Indianness. If you get past the English (hey, its a foreign tongue, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, India, Offshore Services | 1 Comment

Hinduism and Evolution

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

Today the Texas Board of Education voted on how American history will be taught in Texas schools. It is a version of history that fits the conservative world view. From the New York Times The conservative members maintain that they … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, India | 14 Comments

An Indian Passport and Indianness

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

M. F. Husain surrenders his Indian passport and takes up Qatari citizenship. As the drama plays out and now peters out in the media an interesting question to ask is what is it that makes one an India. Now one … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, India | 1 Comment

Europe is Getting Less Secular

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Basab Pradhan

The latest flap over halal meat served in a restaurant in France A French fast food chain’s decision to serve only halal meat in eight restaurants with a strong Muslim clientele has sparked a wave of criticism from politicians decrying … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Government | 3 Comments

Another Ladoo for my Ladla

Posted on March 18, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

This trip, for some reason, I have been noticing a lot more obesity in India. From the just overweight to the can’t-get-out-of-their-airline-seat-themselves obese. Sedentary lifestyles have something to do with this, of course, but I sense that there is another … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humour, India | 18 Comments

Open Letter to the Bollywood Music Industry

Posted on March 12, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Dear Mr./Ms. Music Executive, First of all, let me compliment you on your pricing strategy so far. You have aced the test on how to price information products. Information products like music are tricky – the content is all in … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Culture, India, Information Products, Technology | 21 Comments

Water, No Ice

Posted on March 7, 2007 by Basab Pradhan

Indians are known to waiters in restaurants as the “Water, No Ice” people. Most Indians that I know don’t like to order a drink at lunch since the water is free. And no one likes their water with ice cubes … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, India | 17 Comments