It must have been a long, long time ago, when mankind was in its infancy, about eighty or ninety thousand years ago, one Homosapien must have banged against a log of wood, liked the sound it made, then hit it repeatedly producing a rhythmic sound, making it the first musical instrument. The drum was born…
The Worst of Times – The Best of Men Charles Dickens opens his classic, ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, set in the background of the French revolution with the lines, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” History…
I have been blessed with a very good memory, so good that I often wish I could forget much, for a number of those memories have been peppered generously by ghotalas, chabardas and more embarrassing faux pas than I care to remember. Recounting all would fill up a tome but here are few incidents I…
‘Those were the days my friends’, as the song goes, and I thought they’d never end but the days went by, each bringing unnoticeable changes, and over the years came the realization that things have changed, tremendously and the only constant in life is change itself. Of course, making a Socratesian or Aristotalean, face, we…
“When fishes flew and the forests walked And figs grew upon the thorn, Some moments when the moon was blood, Then surely I was born.” Poet G K Chesterton tells us of the condition of the world when the donkey was born. I was born in a world almost as topsy-turvy as a donkey,…
Darabsha has just finished lathering his toast with a generous amount of orange marmalade, after polishing off the two sunny-side ups, a slice of Swiss cheese… all the while complaining about the fraud committed by the Swiss cheese makers who cheat us of cheese by drilling holes in it. “I bet they do it after…
One of the greatest sons of India, and certainly the greatest son of Bombay, Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy was born 237 years ago, on 15th July, 1783, in Mumbai. He lived a rich life, filled with adventure and accomplishments and he passed away on 14th April, 1859 at the age of 75. He was born to Merwanjee…
Last week the world celebrated Father’s Day. It was all hunky-dory with Adarji of A-Block, having had Michelin Star breakfast with his son, Jangoo, consisting of akuri with Parmesan cheese generously grated in, thick slices of baguette, butter, cream and orange juice prepared by his wife, Dhunmai. It was a Saturday morn and he was…
Today is the sixty-third day of my vacation at home. It is almost the equal number of days that my ears have been blitzed with the same old complain – telephonically of course – of being imprisoned at home by many of my family and friends. Ask any politician, any fraudster, any crook about their…
When I was just a little boy, Mumbai was called Bombay. Bombay the beautiful, it was the ‘Urbs Prima in Indis’ and rightly so. It was green, it was clean. There were footpaths to walk on and the roads were for vehicles. It was Bombay upto Mahim, and Bandra was the suburb. Buildings were old…
I had just written the above title and had gone to relieve myself when I heard a scream, “Darabshaaaa!” Normally, my wife Ruttie lets out such a scream when she comes across a cockroach or some such vermin, but this scream sounded in bold fonts, so I realized I was in trouble. I hurried to…