Swine flu in schools: A cruel irony

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Swine flu has found the perfect breeding ground in Pune. What better place for the virus to spread than in our schools... where we teach our children to sit together, study together, play together and most importantly share their belongings with each other. Finding a weakness in our strength, this disease has affected more than 80 students in Pune and more than 100 children in Maharashtra. A health official at the Pune Municipal Corporation once explained to me how it was becoming increasingly difficult to stop the virus from spreading to other schools. He told me how an infected child from one school, unaware of his condition, had spent an entire afternoon frolicking in the rain with his friend from another school. Both had shared the same umbrella. As we journalists kept an eye on the rising numbers in Pune, on August 3, the numbers....

It’s written, no?

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Four Golden Globes, 11 Bafta nominations and 10 Oscar nominations later, India is rejoicing! As TV screens beamed an ecstatic cast and crew of Slumdog Millionaire, I knew I had to get to the nearest cinema hall as soon as possible. So with my leg in a plaster, I limped to the silver screen... more to whet my curiosity than to watch the film. I guess that's how films gross huge returns during the first weekend of their release. In Slumdog's case, the hype was well-deserved. And I have to admit that as we groped to our seats in the dark, I was a feeling a little taller than usual- with pride for the recognition of Indian artistes. After all, the cast of the film is Indian or of Indian origin. It's been shot in aamchi Mumbai. The star music composer is Indian. So....