Slow Food

Possibly the tastiest movement to have come out of Italy. Delicious food and saving the world in the process.

Same ol' story!

Napoli and its perennial garbage crisis. Deja vu.

Good ol' Deccan Chronicle!

Hyderabad's favourite daily comes up with a story of live-in relationships, but what's the photo got to do with it ?

The woman who launched a 1000 tirades

Arundhati Roy's views always cause a furore and if the issue is that of India's northernmost state, emotions are likely to boil over. A sampling from the popular blog Churumuri (1) and news channels (2).

Blackburn Roosters

Possibly the new name for the English Premier league club, Blackburn Rovers, after they have been bought over by Venkateshwara Hatcheries.

Tourism Tip

According to the Times of India, the CM of Karnataka has visited at least 32 temples in the last 15 days seeking blessings to defuse the political crisis in his state. It also obliges with a short list of the temples. That is indeed a useful to plan an itinerary for the next trip to South India.

Walkman retires!

Sony has ceased production of the classic Walkman in Japan.

Living it up

Welcome to Aurangabad - tour the Bibi ka Maqabra, the fabulous Ajanta and Ellora caves and watch 150 Mercs flit by!

Rough patch for Korea's staple dish

Believe it or not, South Korea's most serious problem is not its thorny northern neighbour but the spiralling price of cabbage. As a result, the price of its favourite dish of fermented cabbage, kimchi, has skyrocketed causing a lot of heartburn.

The new map of the world

A social networking map which represents websites and web communities as countries and sized on the basis of their popularity reveals interestng details. For instance, some websites are not as popular as one thinks they are and thankfully, the spoken language still rules.

The mind boggles

Coal India Ltd., almost the Bheeshmapitamah of India's public sector has offered an IPO to collect the neat sum of Rs. 15,000 crores or 15 followed by 10 zeroes. More power to it!

The Blame Games

Now that the CWG in New Delhi is over and done with, the passing the buck fest and investigations by law enforcement agencies has begun. Did it really showcase India? Hopefully, the 101 medals won and their winners will not be forgotten.

Exploring deeper

Another fascinating layer of  the gladiatorial contests in the Colloseum of Rome has now been opened up to the public. Read about it here.

A new Indian language

Did you know Arunachal Pradesh is home to 120 languages? Linguists have stumbled on a new one, Koro, while hunting for an old one, Aka. the bad news: only about 800 people speak Koro.

Chakka jam!

Mumbai (or Bombay for the old fashioned) saw a strike by taxi and autorickshaw passengers. For the second time. While the impact of Meter Jam at best is likely to be limited in a city as big as Mumbai, it might be a something to consider by the average Roman, who is harassed every week by some sciopero or the other.

Mindblowing but temper the celebrations

India's growth rate is predicted to go past China's by as early as 2013, according to the Economist. Two billion people plus economies booming is good news for the world. The sobering thought, the Global Hunger Index finds the nutrition situation for Indian children alarming at rank 67 out of 84 countries. Time to channel the trillion dollar economy into addressing their basic needs.

What's on in Italy?

As autumn builds and winter approaches, art exhibitions are the perfect place to spend chilly weekends. Here is a list of art exhibits over the next quarter.

Where do you want your kids to study?

The world of education has changed enormously. Young talent from a country going abroad to study is no longer 'brain drain'  but 'brain exchange'.

Stereotyping....eh!

Indians have been worried about the national image being cast in the bad old dirty-toilets-and-rope-tricks mould in the run up to and during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. But probably no Western country is as stereotyped as Italy. Pasta, pizza, scooters, Mafia, pickpockets - from 'Roman Holiday' to 'Eat,Pray,Love', from travel books to Ipad app-the same images flit across. No wonder, Italians are complaining (oops, that is a stereotype too!).

A home in the wall!

This former porter's closet in the heart of Rome is currently the smallest apartment in the world and costs

€ 50,000. One person may be one too many for what the French would call a petite pied-à-terre (or foot on the ground)!

Van Gogh in Rome

An exhibition of more than a 100 works by this Dutch artist will be showcased at the Vittoriano (also known as the Big White Building in Piazza Venezia) from October 9,2010 to Februarr 6, 2011.