The Gita on Good Friday

Gandhi's thoughts on ahimsa and the Bhagavad Gita's message of selfless action are to be incorporated in Good Friday prayers this year by the Vatican. This is the contribution of the Catholic Archbishop of Guwahati.

New Year Greetings

Ugadi and Gudi Padwa greetings to all Indians from the Deccan Plateau and Maharashtra.

Ferrari country

A Mercedes E-class driven by a company driver was clocked at 270 kmph in morning traffic between Rome-Caserta. He was snapped by 4 speed cameras and fined. In true style, his lawyers are arguing that he should pay only one fine and not four!

Two books/Due libri

'An entire generation converted into what it was supposed to end' says this review of two books about the political classes in Italy. A summary of the current political situation and how it was arrived at.

All the election colors

The first phase of the General Elections is more than 3 weeks away but the color, controversy and clamour is in full swing. Follow it all on MSN orIBN or any other news source for that matter. Great fun to be had with juicy news like 'Kolkata will be London' or 'Murder Naidu, NTR said’ .

The Nano is here

All yours for just about 6 figures in rupees.

Looking for comfort food for a recession?

'Trattorias in Rome follow unwritten rules: The bread must be stale, the room must be bright, the wine should be a dry house red, and the wait staff should be a bevy of old men.'
To read this delectable New York Times article on trattorias in Rome, click here.

Carry your library

Time was when dog-eared copies of books (often handed down through generations) by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters or Daniel Defoe were religiously guarded and preserved in teh family collection. Now a good number of them are online, thanks to Google books. The next step, all of them in your digital reader. Now, if we only could read more instead of watchin TV or surfing the Web!

A typical Italian scandal!

Some 100 doctors in Trapani are suspected of prescribing drugs for dead people and pocketing the money. More here.

Festival della Mathematica 2009

The Parco della Musica hosts the annual maths festival from March 19-22. Here is a list of events celebrating numbers.

Gentleman's sport is now terrorist's game

This picture is the end of innocence, if at all there was any, for cricket in the sub-continent. No more platitudes will be heard about how the game unites rival nations. Plain and simple, everyone needs to be vigilant, all the time.

Election map for 2009

The Election Commission of India has announced the start of the world's biggest democratic exercise - the general elections 2009. This map courtesy 'The Hindu' newspaper.

यथा प्रजा, तथा रजा!/ La casta!

Which is the highest paid profession in India?
Politics. Good to have that confirmed on the eve of General Elections 2009.
Makes us feel even better that Italy is no different!