His ashram hosted disciples from the world over. He probably chose Rishikesh because it provided the right address for gurus with spiritual credentials. His ashram, not an open house, was run like a gated spiritual community.

Whatever happened to putting in your apprenticeship, learning your craft, developing your skills and then trying to make it? Now it’s a case of almost instant fame after having come through some preliminary rounds…

Business moms and dads send their heirs to US B-schools. Would Kharagpur sound as good to them as Wharton or Stanford?

Janet’s trust identifies vacant spaces and seeks permission from authorities and site owners to have saplings planted on their land for free. Residents can sponsor saplings to be planted at specified spots, to mark special occasions…

Our mindset is not amenable to taking risks; our business mentality finds failure unacceptable. Maybe when they next hold Bangalore-IT or a global business summit, the organizers should have a session on the dynamics of failure, inviting speakers who have flopped in business…

Wonder what Sanjay Dutt made of such fanfare. A sensitive mind would have felt awkward and acutely embarrassed by it all. It wasn’t as if he was coming home with an Oscar…

When I am back in Britain, I will only realise that I am there for sure when I see shopkeepers and cashiers caged in behind reinforced glass, and when I walk down the road, or enter a shop or a railway station, only to see CCTV cameras pointed at me…