Page 3 - People Like Us

Kishore Singh: A spring-cleaning disaster

The other day, my wife decided to spring-clean our library which spreads across all the rooms. She began by taking out stacks of magazines going back several years, saved because she wanted to read them before throwing them out, which she now thought to do. "Let me see what I've missed," she said flipping through the pages, exclaiming over writers she loved, recipes she hadn't yet tried, fashion gone unfashionable. She began to read at random, leaving mounds of them on the dining table, by the bedside, in the bathroom, on tables and in cupboards, even in the fridge (where the cook was baffled to find them and put them in the freezer).Then came the books - fiction, memoirs, biographies, poetry, thrillers, humour, cookbooks, illustrated books, coffee table books - some of which she'd read, most of which she'd started but not got around to completing, others that now awaited her pleasure. So, instead of dusting them and placing them back in their shelves, she laid them out in places she n

Kishore Singh: The prospect of a blind match

Having failed to keep up with various cousins over the years, I was suspicious about their sudden interest in my welfare

Kishore Singh: When life gives you no escape

After a year of making workaholic excuses, I knew I needed to find a way of getting back to mainstream life

Kishore Singh: My umbrella woes

New Delhi has a snobbish indifference towards umbrellas, or rain, or both, which is why almost no one else seems to have any

Kishore Singh: Why aunts are a blessed lot

I'm fond of my family, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, but I have to wonder how my aunt managed without her daily tipple on a recent yatra to Mansarovar

Kishore Singh: After a break, back to old habits

On Sunday night, when my wife flew back after a fortnight in London, my son and I dispensed with the services of the driver so we could fetch her home

Kishore Singh: Brexit: A win-win or lose-lose?

It's a confusing time to be in London. If you were expecting chaos following the remarkable verdict to exit from the European Union (EU), there's remarkable calm, at least on the surface

Kishore Singh: Meeting but not spending time

With my daughter in between jobs, I thought I'd surprise her with a vacation in New York as a treat before she got busy again. I was going on work but said I'd find time for rendezvous between meetings, and we could go to some of my favourite places in Manhattan - bars and cafes, shows and stores.She agreed with the caveat that she be allowed some additional days on her own, since she had friends in the city with whom she wanted to catch up.On the afternoon she was to join me in New York - I'd flown in earlier to catch up on urgent work - she said a college buddy of hers would pick her up at the airport, which seemed a fine gesture. Because they had another friend who was having a party in New Jersey, the two decided to stop by there before coming over to the hotel.But from there to a rooftop terrace for some more partying, and then to a club where yet other friends were meeting, and them some pizza because they were hungry, meant it was the following morning that I actually saw her -

Kishore Singh: WhatsApp tips to keep cool

I'm not a keen subscriber to WhatsApp groups where someone thinks to include you usually without your permission, thereby making it seem rude when you exercise your right to exit. I've annoyed various family groups, neighbours, colleagues and school friends by signing out, since estrangement on a social site is a public announcement. Normally, I might have stayed put and lain low if it wasn't for strident messages urging some response to a particularly low example of scatological humour

Kishore Singh: Yoga photo op: Those who got left out

Ever wondered where the thousands of people practising yoga on June 21 sprang from?

Kishore Singh: The ubiquity of gratuity

The American way of life is based on instant gratification that seeks immediate rewards

Kishore Singh: Whose mess is bigger?

I believe the government has been keeping lists too, ticking off its achievements, so I did my own tally to see what I'd hoped would improve from two years ago

Kishore Singh: A diet drained of flavours

Ever since my wife decided that the family must observe cosmopolitan rather than provincial diets, we have been following nutrition regimens that have left us hungry for real food

Kishore Singh: More business than usual

Disguised as working holidays, they're drudgery at which attendance is mandatory - and hell hath no fury like the head of department embarrassed because his team refused to sign up

Kishore Singh: Summer resolutions

To lie, like the pet, flat on my stomach on the marble floor during the day with the curtains drawn, a tub of snack food by my side and a trough of sangria to sink into for an occasional, deep swig

Kishore Singh: The right wrong party

Everyone's heard of wedding crashers but this week, I think, my wife and I crashed a private party without anyone being the wiser

Kishore Singh: The need for incentive

When it became known that Mary, our cook of many years before she decided to retire, had decided to visit us for a working vacation, friends began to call ahead to book themselves a table for dinner

Kishore Singh: Pool (fancy dress) party

Summer parties are no fun unless there's a pool around

Kishore Singh: Jet-setting around the globe

Every summer, as the birds migrate from India, my wife follows in their wake to cooler climes, guarding her eventual destination with all the clandestine nature of a state secret. I know she is in Vancouver as I write this because of a recent post on Facebook that shows her gazing intently at cherry blossoms. Those blossoms have been on her bucket list for as long as I can remember, so I wouldn't have been surprised to learn that she was in Tokyo but for a friend commenting that since she was in Vancouver during the week, she might want to visit her in Toronto over the weekend. It is thanks to the string of comments too that I know she won't be in Toronto over the weekend but in Dallas, where she's holidaying with some newly-found friends, but she could consider a hop to Toronto a little later, which might be before she manages a wager in Las Vegas, or after.I know she's going to Vegas because she asked me to make her hotel booking, and then asked to borrow the credit card with which I

Kishore Singh: Pushed out of the travel case

Indian families pack more than mere vestments when it comes to being prepared for every exigency - and some sleight of hand