New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Chandigarh, Pune
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Saturday, December 19, 2009
Vol. 3 No. 50
LOUNGE THE WEEKEND MAGAZINE
YOUR SHOPPING SECRETS DECODED Which day of the week are you least likely to shop? What makes the Indian man special? Why do our stores look crowded? Lounge unravels the art and science of how we shop
BUSINESS LOUNGE WITH GURURAJ DESHPANDE >Page 9
BANGALORE BOYS GO RADIO GA GA
Remotecontrolled car racing revs up in the city, with new tracks, a growing number of enthusiasts, and a national championship >Page 8
SANTA LIVES HERE
For a Christmas with the big man and reindeers, there’s only one place to go >Page 12
>Page 10
THE PANINDIAN PULSE Raju Hirani on his new film, turning big ideas into films, and Aamir Khan’s perfectionism >Page 17
REPLY TO ALL
AAKAR PATEL
WHY WE DON’T PAY FOR CULTURE
I
s India an ancient civilization on the cusp of modernity? Or is it actually a 3,500-year-old civilization in an advanced state of decay? We believe it’s the former, and middle-class Indians take pride in their belief that we are living in one of the world’s great cultures. Manmohan Singh loves to quote the famous lines of Iqbal: Yunan-o-Misr-o-Roma, sab mitt gayay jahan se: Ab tak magar hai baqi naam-o-nishan hamara (ancient Greece, Pharaonic Egypt and Imperial Rome are all dust, but India lives on). >Page 4
THE GOOD LIFE
GAME THEORY
SHOBA NARAYAN
A CHAOS THEORY OF FESTIVALS
M
ore than the national flag; more than debates about immigration such as the one France is having; more than how elections are run and won; the way a nation celebrates and condoles reflects—I would argue—the way its citizens live and die. American celebrations are programmed, demonstrating its belief in and expertise with systems. Weddings have rehearsals. Can you imagine an Indian wedding with a “rehearsal” the day earlier? >Page 4
ROHIT BRIJNATH
DON’T MISS
in today’s edition of
OF CHAMPIONS AND HEROES
I
had heroes once as a boy. Posters Scotch taped to my walls, athletes fastened to my heart. How did they do those things? The footballer running with ball glued to foot, the helmet-less cricketer walking out to fast bowler, the twisting diver. I stood on the couch. God, I said; Gods, I thought. Then I grew up and became a sportswriter and crossed that line that separates us from them. It was a fine education because I am intrigued by what... >Page 5
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