Caminho das Índias or "India a Love Story" is a popular and award winning soap opera that ran in Brazil in 2009. We won't get into the plot but it has all the masala of a good Bollywood film including trite illicit affairs between characters from different castes. However, there are Brazilian women in saris (every mans fantasy?) and attractive Brazilian men. And so as Indians we might have to reserve our judgements lest we be guilty of double standards as.. doesn't every desi exoticize BrazilianS as well?

If this is not absurd enough, its very hard to prove that you are alive once dead! Showing up to court and acting alive won't help. For example, there was a guy called Lal Bihari who after being "dead," tried all methods of proving his "aliveness" such as running for parliament, getting arrested, threatening to murder people, doing sussu in public etc. and only after 18 years did "dead" status get revoked!

After winning his case, he decided to emancipate other alive dead people and went on to found the Association of Dead People ("Mritak Sangh" in Hindi). To be a "Mritak" therefore is to be one of these people.

On! Straight on!
On, Cottonians, On!
Driving through the foaming main,
Buffetted by storm and rain,
Answering to the helm again,
Nec dextrosum Nec Sinistrorsum.

On! Straight on!
On, Cottonians, On!
When you leave the good old school
Be no coward, knave, nor fool;
Yours be still the grand olf rule,
Nec dextrosum Nec Sinistrorsum.

On! Straight on!
On, Cottonians, On!
See this motto on your scroll
Point you to a heavenly goal,
Seek it body, mind and soul,
Nec dextrosum Nec Sinistrorsum.

Words by : Rev. Herbert Pakenham-Walsh
Warden, 1907 - 1913
Music by : N. M. Saunders, ESQ

The Bhajan Mandali are a group of people who basically break into devotional songs on their train ride to work. The stock of songs usually depends on the day. For instance, on a Monday they sing Shiva bhajans. On Tuesdays it is Ganpati. Wednesdays are for Panduranga Vitthala (a form of Krishna) and so on.

Like all things in India, one mans Timepass is another mans poison. Recently, the police have cracked down on the signing on nuisance value grounds.

Historically, usurious companies like Western Union, MoneyGram and/or banks would help with the movement of this money; oftentimes charging exorbitant prices. The money would also arrive on IST.

Xoom is a disruptive cross-border money transfer or remittances company that makes it fast and cheap for Indians abroad to send money to India. They are have gained so much traction that they now have Big B dressed up in a blue velvet jacket, supporting the brand.

The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. Indian-Russian JV to show the Chinese that we got dum in the bum.

Of course, shy is coming for a lot of solicitors of porno and so there is an emerging street lingo of euphemisms for smut. "Daal Gosht" is one such euphemism.