LION OF THE DESERT, Anthony Quinn as Omar Mukhtar (holding child), 1981, © United Film Distribution We had reached the theater late that day. A temple procession on the main road made it impossible for…
When you speak Tamil to someone from Madurai, you will notice that they use the word donkey quite a lot -- but they will say "kaluthai." I don't understand their fascination with donkeys - but…
Centum is Latin for hundred. I don’t know if Italians use the word anymore, but some people in India still do. To them, centum is what a smart kid would score on a math test. In…
There is precious little for me to do in Chennai anymore. Most places I liked in my old neighborhood are gone: the quiet corner of a temple with a cannonball tree, the store that…
When I set off to graduate school in the US, the Internet had not yet taken over the world. I actually spoke to people to gather information about life in America in general and my…