Book Talk: The tale of an arranged marriage in Pakistan
NEW DELHI, March 14 (Reuters) – Shazaf Fatima Haider was
always interested in how it happened. How strangers met in
contrived settings, were expected to like each other and get
married.
Eventually, the 30-year-old teacher from Karachi saw the
funny side of arranged marriages and cultural backgrounds in
Pakistan and decided it was the perfect subject for her debut
novel, “How It Happened.”
The comma that let a Malaysian airline sneak in
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily of Thomson Reuters)
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has big plans for his budget airline. This week, the government approved the Malaysian carrier’s proposal to set up a new airline in India with the Tata group – and it happened thanks to a comma.
Chidambaram may use Morton’s fork to make rich pay
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and not of Reuters)
The countdown to Budget 2013 has begun, and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram must try to keep India’s fiscal deficit from gaining weight.
One idea we’re hearing a lot lately is turning to India’s super-rich citizens to boost tax revenue and improve the tax-to-GDP ratio. In a television interview aired in January, Chidambaram’s comments on the subject didn’t reveal much, but led to media speculation over higher taxes for the well heeled.
Childhood memories come alive in 81-year-old’s debut novel
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Writing a novel wasn’t the tough part for Srikumar Sen, a sports journalist. He just didn’t have the time – for a long time.
In fact, it took nearly half a century after he had his idea before he sat down to write. But when he did, the first draft just poured out.
India’s North Korea envoy: experience preferred, but not essential
Asking someone to represent India in North Korea is a little like belling the cat. Everybody knows they need to pick someone, but no Foreign Service officer wants to go to “godforsaken” Pyongyang.
Finding someone to take the job must have been hard, but was it so hard that they finally had to settle for a stenographer? India’s ministry of external affairs might be wondering the same thing. It is reviewing the appointment of Ajay K. Sharma after some officials raised questions about his qualifications to represent India in the isolated country.
Earning $1,613 per month and poor? Only if you are Parsi
How poor do you have to be in India to get the government to say you’re poor? The Indian government used to say that 28.6 rupees (51 cents) a day or less for urban Indians — about 858 rupees or $15.30 a month was about right. Activists for the poor said that it was unrealistic to think that people who were making more than that amount a day were well off.
As a government-appointed commission works on defining a new poverty line, it might want to consult India’s Parsis, descendants of Zoroastrians who migrated to India from Persia (present-day Iran) several centuries ago.
Book Talk: Rupa Bajwa on ‘Tell Me a Story’
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Eight years after her acclaimed debut with ‘The Sari Shop’, Rupa Bajwa is back with a novel about the daily lives of India’s lower middle class.
Set partly in Amritsar and partly in New Delhi, Bajwa’s ‘Tell Me a Story’ focuses on Rani, a young woman who works in the local beauty parlour and is in love with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. Rani’s dreams are shattered when her family is torn asunder in their struggle to make ends meet.
Who wants to be India’s next president?
It’s probably easier for actor Amitabh Bachchan to become India’s president than your average politician.
The ruling Congress party coalition looks like it will at best limp its way to general elections in 2014, stung by a rash of corruption scandals that have tarnished Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s second term in office and led to a dismal performance in state assembly elections earlier this year.
“Vicky Donor” sheds inhibitions on sperm donation
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Talking about sex is still a cultural taboo in conservative India, but a Bollywood filmmaker is hoping to usher in change with a light-hearted take on infertility and sperm donation.
“Vicky Donor”, a romantic comedy about a sought-after sperm donor at a fertility clinic, is part of a wave of recent films tackling subjects rarely addressed in Indian cinema – gay relationships, biopics on sex symbols and now sperm donation.
Bollywood film sheds inhibitions on sperm donation
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Talking about sex is still a cultural taboo in conservative India, but a Bollywood filmmaker is hoping to usher in change with a light-hearted take on infertility and sperm donation.
“Vicky Donor”, a romantic comedy about a sought-after sperm donor at a fertility clinic, is part of a wave of recent films tackling subjects rarely addressed in Indian cinema – gay relationships, biopics on sex symbols and now sperm donation.
-
About Tony
-
Follow Tony
