Category Archives: Culture

Strange Name Discrimination

Researchers have found that the easier it is to pronounce your name, the better your chances of getting promoted. From The Telegraph The team of American and Australian scientists concluded that the easier a person’s name was to say, the … Continue reading

Posted in Culture | 12 Comments

Tiger Moms and Indian Parenting

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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