Sushmita Bose

A friend of mine — obviously also a ‘Facebook friend’ — had his birthday recently. I find it a bit odd to wish folks on their walls, so I WhatsApped him ‘Happy birthday, have a blast’ (added emojis of a slice of cake, a bouquet of flowers and a saxophone) early in the morning; but the ‘stalker’ in me logged on to Facebook to see how many ‘friends’ had wished him (yes, I have a pathetic life). I noticed he had deactivated his Facebook account. Temporarily (temporarily, because he was back in action a few days later). Continue reading Heard the latest? Turns out your friends don’t like you →

By Bikram Vohra

Ever so often we hear of some person who has been arrested for touching someone’s child. His defence is always that it was an innocent gesture of affection or that he was struck by a bout of homesickness and possibly that he was thinking of his own children back home and meant no harm. Continue reading Are parents paranoid in not letting strangers touch kids? →

By Robert Klose

I grew up in an age of delayed gratification, when I had to wait for almost everything. The mail came once a day, and I recall the thrill of anticipation when expecting my issue of Mad magazine or some doodad or gag item I had ordered from the Johnson Smith novelty company. Continue reading The old days were slower and there was a charm to waiting →

By Kelly Clarke

If fire drills have done anything for me, they have taught me to treat fire alarms as a joke. That’s a horrible confession — and quite frankly, a stupid one — but it’s an honest admission. Continue reading Here’s why we need to start taking fire alarms more seriously →

By Sujata Assomull

I have never understood the logic of wearing your most grungy clothes for travel — those velour tracksuits and pajama-styled outfits just make me cringe. I understand the need to be comfortable and the practicality of wearing clothes that are both crush-proof and allow your skin to breathe, but that is no excuse for looking like a mess. Continue reading How to look good when you fly →