Child marriage, preference for the male child, ‘honor killings’, forceful marriages, caste system and child labor- pertinent social evils and stories woven around them. There has undoubtedly been a paradigm shift in Indian television in the past 5 years. Television is addressing real issues. The era of the saas bahu sagas, repeated in almost every single show on air- has concluded with the launch and subsequent success of shows like Balika Badhu, Bhaagya Vidhaata, Mitwa, Abke etc

Once Haji Alimuddin,the late owner of legendary Karim hotel of Delhi, in a very candid admission said ' It was Kundan Lal Gujral who had introduced Mughali cuisines like butter chicken,dal makhni,sikandari raan and chicken biryani to Dilliwallas after he came here post partition of the country. It was a big tribute to Gujral from somebody whose brand was equally famous.

Good for us, Lalit Modi one fine day decided to tweet about the Kochi team. Even a free for all round in the World Boxing Championships cannot beat this one. Hey! but in the Boxing Championships you cannot hit below the belt but in this one, the rule is to hit below the belt.

What media masala…choicest ingredients of rice, spice and tadka…two sensational sporting stars…two rival nations…an alleged wedding with a not so pleasing Hyderabadi lass… allegations and counter allegations…bickering...crying…loathing and loving… not a single spice was amiss in the Sania Shoaib Saga – a perfect recipe for across media – cheap tabloids to the classy – to cook and sell!

Those were the days when you could not hear what your companion says as the parrots talk (they do not chirp) so loudly and without break with their friends and family members. The old trees at Tolstoy Marg, Tolstoy Lane and other areas in Connaught Place were their abodes since long. In the evening when people wait for their charted buses, that was also precisely their (parrots) time to return to their homes (Jamun trees).

When talking and taking the cause of common man (aam aadmi) has become a fashion statement these days, one dearly miss the legendary cartoonist Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman's (RK Laxman), Common Man. While he is recovering in Mumbai's hospital after suffering from three mild strokes, our very own cartoonist at the News24 channel, Madhav Joshi, last week took one day off from his busy office work and flew to Mumbai to meet his hero and wish him speedy recovery from all of us.