Author Archives: rgeeta

Dilli o Dilli, Or, The World of MTNL

Posted on July 26, 2015 by rgeeta

24 July, 2012 I grew up in a pre-liberalization India where the public sector ruled. Things changed, of course, and the transformation of Chennai Telephones (?) to BSNL was unnoticed by me because I had left Chennai and India by … Continue reading →

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Panju-Harajuku

Posted on July 24, 2015 by rgeeta

2 March 2013 I am in Kamla Nagar, have just got the new Airtel SIM card that, everyone assures, will usher me into a new level of connectedness, a veritable new avataram; now I look for a place to eat, … Continue reading →

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Dilli o Dilli, Or, I KNEW that North India was a different country

Posted on July 24, 2015 by rgeeta

14 July 2012 Dilli o Dilli Or, I KNEW that North India was a different country Moving is not to be taken lightly anywhere. But in Delhi, it takes on a whole other dimension. Having moved to a different flat … Continue reading →

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Wah re wah, MCD*!

Posted on July 24, 2015 by rgeeta

12 December 2012 On Monday, on my way to work, I saw a dead dog on the pavement just beyond Patel Chest Institute and before Geology. Sad, I thought, and walked on. And assumed that someone would do something about … Continue reading →

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Sambal, Thuvaiyal, Pachadi

Posted on July 12, 2015 by rgeeta

Sambhar (southern Indian) and sambol (Sri Lanka, Malay): are these really connected? What about chammandi (Malayalam)? Does sambal simply mean sauce? Interesting, isn’t it, that sambal finds itself in South Africa? What does sambal have to do with thuvaiyal (Tamil? Presumably … Continue reading →

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Plants and People — random stuff

Posted on July 12, 2015 by rgeeta

Sugar and … Sugar in history The refining process: one account and another … Spice and … Everything you wanted to know about spices …other things nice Palms Palms and humans South Asian palms Palm-leaf documents Rayon (much modified from wood fibre) … Continue reading →

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Chennai Water and Sewerage Board

Posted on July 12, 2015 by rgeeta

12 July 2015 Time to renew the water tax card. Uma went yesterday but the line was long and time was short, so she put it off until today. Go at 9 am, she tells me, that’s what they told … Continue reading →

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Hello, world

Posted on July 11, 2015 by rgeeta

This is an experimental foray into the blogging world. Like most experiments it may flop, lead somewhere unexpected … or confirm that this is “just another WordPress page.” The pages are now public.

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