Bachi Karkaria's Erratica and its cheeky sign-off character, Alec Smart, have had a growing league of followers since 1994 when the column began in the Metropolis on Saturday. It now appears on the Edit Page of the Times of India, every Thursday. It takes a sly dig at whatever has inflated political/celebrity egos, and got public knickers in a twist that week. It makes you chuckle, think and marvel at the elasticity of the English language. It is a shooting-from-the-lip advice column to the lovelorn and otherwise torn, telling them to stop cribbing and start living -- all in her her branded pithy, witty style. Less
... MoreAugust 15, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
Big B’s old tryst, small b’s new wish-list Hasina’s inglorious exit triggered recalls of India’s glorious role in freeing Bangladesh. Alas, too many countries have squandered their hard-fought for independence. Net-net, we’ve kept our tryst,…
August 15, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
August 8, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
GenABC is Brat too We are a community all our own. The golden-oldies of our complex. We live up to its name. We get ready companionship from the Dostis we forge here. At our communal…
August 8, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
August 1, 2024, 7:50 AM IST
Welcome to the Monsolympics in the City of Shove. Two billion desi eyes are fixed on Paris with hope; almost as many are trained as expectantly on India Meteorological Department’s daily forecast. Like a second…
August 1, 2024, 7:50 AM IST
July 25, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
Forget disabled, this babe is very specially able Disclaimer: Any reference to any person living or dead is purely intentional. This column is entirely a work of faction. Nothing in it is meant to hurt the…
July 25, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
July 11, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
Cash flows in for cricketers. What about our stars from other sports? Sharm-ati hai to admit it, but my eyes aren’t Kohli-lined. But, just because I’m not cricket-crazed doesn’t mean I didn’t fist the SKY…
July 11, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
July 4, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
Thank you, but hope to never need you again Since my column doesn’t appear on Mondays, I’m saying ‘Happy Doctors’ Day’ to all my wonderful saviours now. I could add ‘Better late than never’, but never…
July 4, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
June 27, 2024, 6:00 AM IST
Maha CM: ‘Make yoga part of daily life.’ Netas do so too As an Iyengar practitioner, I’m weary of International Yoga Day’s usual bakwasana. Last week, our no-longer-Maha CM instructed us to make yoga a…
June 27, 2024, 6:00 AM IST
June 20, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
Bet you can’t rattle off the number of zeroes in ₹111L cr. Bet you are already rattled by infrastructure being constructed, bankrolled by this allotted investment. We have to bear the hardship because it’s for…
June 20, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
June 12, 2024, 9:20 PM IST
Ayodhya showed bells toll louder for civic issues There’s been enough ‘Ha-ha-ha!’ over Ram-baan in BJP’s armoury turning out to be a paper arrow in Ayodhya itself. What chuffs me more is the victory of…
June 12, 2024, 9:20 PM IST
June 5, 2024, 11:13 PM IST
The curtain’s dropped on one more dance of democracy. Over seven phases, it heaved up and down like, erm, a mujra-walli’s bosom. It ended with the audience rising to its feet – and voting with…
June 5, 2024, 11:13 PM IST
May 30, 2024, 4:00 AM IST
The answer (can’t keep) is ‘blowin’ in the wind’. Four times in under a fortnight we’ve been shaken by catastrophic – and totally avoidable– tragedies. 68 lives were snuffed out. Parents, siblings, breadwinners, children, even…
May 30, 2024, 4:00 AM IST
May 23, 2024, 8:10 AM IST
Random musings of a marked woman On Monday I voted for only one of the two candidates I was legally entitled to choose. The Efficient Commission of India had accepted my ‘change of address’ application…
May 23, 2024, 8:10 AM IST
May 16, 2024, 8:48 AM IST
A galaxy of film stars is always co-opted in the hope of being votebloc-busters. Secondly, this time ‘Gaali Boys’ seems to be playing at every theatrics near you. Therefore, current Bollywood faves are the perfect…
May 16, 2024, 8:48 AM IST
May 16, 2024, 4:00 AM IST
Bollywood hits script poll campaigns A galaxy of film stars is always co-opted in the hope of being votebloc-busters. Secondly, this time ‘Gaali Boys’ seems to be playing at every theatrics near you. Therefore, current…
May 16, 2024, 4:00 AM IST
May 9, 2024, 8:41 AM IST
Neta rhymes with pheta, no? That’s why all those addressing election rallies resemble bridegrooms – or bearers. Both looks are valid. One will arrive to baarat-grade band-baaja; the rest will have to remain wait-ers. Having…
May 9, 2024, 8:41 AM IST
May 2, 2024, 8:12 AM IST
My metaverse is currently less Zuckerberg, more Iyengar. What began with Zubin Sir culminated with Birjoo Sir. In the early ’90s, I signed up with Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh. The unlikely name was attached to an appropriately…
May 2, 2024, 8:12 AM IST
April 25, 2024, 8:10 AM IST
Every polling day, every media carries the photograph of a beaming first-timer holding up her marked finger. Mandate 2024’s too-hot days and too-cool dudes may make finding one as challenging as, erm, finding an alternative…
April 25, 2024, 8:10 AM IST
April 18, 2024, 8:20 AM IST
Scary to read about bike-borne gunmen firing at Salman Khan’s house in blood-for-blood badla. Blackbuck-worshipping Bishnois keep trying to avenge the macho actor’s killing of two of these beasts in the forests outside Jodhpur during…
April 18, 2024, 8:20 AM IST
April 11, 2024, 8:09 AM IST
Grand ‘open-box’ sales mark all festive seasons. But nothing beats the ongoing ballot-box sale. Everyone is up for grabs; the greater the need, the bigger the bonanza offered. Here too electrical appliances are the most…
April 11, 2024, 8:09 AM IST
April 4, 2024, 8:04 AM IST
At its Sunday rally, INDIA again demanded a level-playing field. Beleaguered Sonia G with the wives of jailed Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand ex-CM Hemant Soren made for a pointed photograph. The electoral field…
April 4, 2024, 8:04 AM IST
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