At two o'clock in the afternoon, I boarded the Tirupati Express from Chennai Central station to Tirupati for the 90 mile journey that I fully expected to take almost four hours. Indian trains are not renowned for their speed but at least I had a First Class, Air-Conditioned ticket and the compartment was relatively empty. I settled back with a book and prepa...
Somewhere in the unknown eastern hemisphere in the Indian Sea, beyond Mauritania and the Ganges, was a place that the ancient geographer Ptolemy called the Isle of Satyrs. Legends say that no one appeared on the island during daylight, but at night great fires could be seen and the confused and barbaric sounds of flutes and drums could be heard. The nature o...
"Salut, comment vas tu, Mr. Sylvain Joubert?" Joanna Villeneuve says with a smile, that adorable Montreal accent of hers adding to her charm. And I smile for the first time that day, pleased that someone is inquiring about my well-being. I'm going through a hard time right now. Alright, so I'm not the first guy in this universe to experience heartbreak but d...
When I met Rakesh and Sarika, their marriage was in a bad shape. The problem was not uncommon. Both were mid 40's. And like many husbands, Rakesh's interest and capability in sex had reduced while Sarika was still very much sexually active. Rakesh used to be busy with his work and could give hardly any time for his wife. Their kids had grown up and Sarika h...
My job on the tennis circuit has become very boring. I have spent twenty years covering from the famous Borg V McEnroe match right till Sampras's triumphs in Wimbledon. One day I am in Indian Wells the other day at Eastbourne and still another in Dubai. The players have it tough but at least they have their entourages. While I have to plough a lonely furrow....
That night Aunty Sutinah, Julianah, and Harlina sat together at the dining table after dinner and talked all about their family. Aunty Sutinah spoke about life in Australia while Harlina talked about her work. They spent some time looking at photo albums and aunty Sutinah showed the picture of her friend Rohaiyah to Reymon. “Vow what a classy beautiful wom...
The next day I made a call to the Jones residence. I spoke to Jane and briefly introduced myself as an attorney and would be grateful if she could spare a few minutes to meet me at my law chambers. I gave her the address and set up an appointment for the afternoon. I cleared my desk and showered and shaved and waited. I asked Rahul my Indian assistant to sta...
The judges at the contest had the literally "hard" duty of finding the 7 hairiest women for the second round of the competition. The two judges were the hirsute Sean Connery and Brad Pitt. They were dressed only in their underwear showing enormous bulge probably in appreciation of the beautiful hairy women on view. The master of ceremonies announced the win...
It was a family business and Rajani had been working there ever since gaining her doctorate at Cambridge some six years ago. SHORTS was an accounting firm of some standing in the city. Founded just before the war it been handed down through three generations to her own father who had worked himself to an early grave some two years past. Rajani, being the mos...
Roshni 05 -- The Train When I first met Roshni I had thought her to be indifferent to, or even proud of, her body hair. But what I had taken to be self-assurance and confidence was actually Roshni's way of managing inner doubts that were quite the opposite. Roshni dealt with her fears by facing them daily. December. Roshni and I had made a trip into the ci...