Basket of Flowers (27th August 2002)
Some people might call me rude and I guess quite a few who know me only recently have secretly wondered why my parents named me Raunak (which means brightness) for as far as they knew I was curt and of sour disposition. I don't blame them but I was not always like this...

Dreams (20th August 2002)
Our professional dreams do take shape in the form of a career or a living (again not necessarily) but what about the other little dreams? Many a dream is smothered in the desperate rush to earn a livelihood...

Holy Cow - II (13th August 2002)
A bullock cart,/A huge cargo,/Both driver and animal,/equally emaciated....

Holy Cow - I (18th June 2002)
...both villages and cows are nearing extinction. Villages are fast becoming towns day by day...

Serenading Sunsets (4th June 2002)
Watching sunsets can be an art in itself as a friend once said. You could sprawl on a grassy hilltop and gaze down at the splendor of the evening sky...

Father of the Bride (Desi Version) (28th May 2002)
It's definitely not a run-of-the mill wedding. To say that it was ostentatious would be an understatement. What makes it all the more newsworthy is the infamous history of the bride's father...

Ashes (21st May 2002)
What was he doing making small talk while my mind was screaming to know only one thing? Why had he come back? He settled himself in the armchair without waiting for an invitation...

Mangifera indica (7th May 2002)
A small penknife pilfered from the house, some salt and powdered chili was all we needed to transport ourselves into a green-tinted sour tasting yet heavenly world...

Cultures and Communities - I (16th April 2002)
All through my childhood in a little Maharashtrian town, I grew accustomed to hearing people mistakenly call our community by as diverse sounding names as a Kannad, Kaanadi or even Madrasi...

Bhagya (9th April 2002)
A gutsy lady living on her own after having separated from her husband years ago, Bhagya always inspired awe in me...

Gulmohar (2nd April 2002)
A set of haikus in the name of that lovely tree called gulmohar...

Summer (26th March 2002)
Summer is on the threshold, like a newly wed bride waiting to nudge that tumbler of rice...

Ad Nauseam - II (19th March 2002)
Just as filmmakers spare no cost in their quest to make a great film, today's ad makers go to great lengths to make an ad stand out. The results however are not always worth the efforts and most often the ad looks over the top with its opulence...

Ad Nauseam - I (12th March 2002)
And so you have all kinds of situations and stories being conveyed within a 15 second or 45 second timeframe that is allotted to an ad. At times, these situations are so ridiculous that you end up laughing at them...

Shadows from Unsung Tribes (26th February2002)
A large amount of our population toils day and night in various small jobs and their work goes unnoticed by most of us. This unsung tribe is so huge that to chronicle the details of all of its members is next to impossible...

All Work and No Play (19th February2002)
Despite making crores of rupees in turnover year after year, a number of companies take their employees for granted. Employee satisfaction is a term they have never heard of...

SpellCheck! (12th February2002)
"Buy God at Mumbai rates" screamed the billboard near the traffic signal. I nearly jumped out of my Best bus seat in shock...

My Hero (5th February2002)
If you haven't heard of Lance Armstrong, it's because he keeps a low profile and does not hog the limelight...

Bheja Vu (22nd January2002)
It was barely a few months ago that a certain new-kid-on-the-block with chocolate-boy looks captured your attention in a television ad. The next thing you knew, his face was being flashed all over music videos...