Roshan Radhakrishnan's Blog, page 56

What you see first

"How could you fall in love with someone like her?"
"Why do you say so?" he replied, arching his eyebrows at this unexpected assault on his girlfriend.
"Well... come on. Look at her and look at you. You're an actual model who's been on tv, Raghav. Whereas Anushka? The first thing anyone will notice when they see her is that horrendous vertical scar on her face!"
Raghav turned towards his sister angrily but stopped as he spotted Anushka across the room.

She stood there by the living room sofa, cha...

Indireads anthology: Voices, Old & New

There is a lot to get excited about for me and quite a few authors this week. A new anthology featuring a story of mine is officially launched, the first in 2015. "Voices, Old & New" is the second short story anthology e-book by Indireads after "The Long & Short of It" which was released earlier in 2014.

A compilation of winning entries from the competition held last year, "Voices, Old & New" has 26 tales from across four genres namely Crime & Mystery, Drama, Paranormal a...

TATA BOLT - A step ahead of the game

These are fascinating times for the Tata family. Above us, they have taken to the skies once more with Vistara, eschewing the frugality other airlines promise nowadays to provide a premium service. This change from the old school thinking of using cost-cutting measures was evident last year too when, after three years of hard work (and a bit of soul searching, I might add), they released the Tata Zest. A car unlike any other from their stable, this one stunned critics and the public alike by...

Can the words of Atheists save the world's most religiously diverse country?

"Who really knows?Who will here proclaim it?Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation?The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe.Who then knows whence it has arisen?"
One of the first documented stances questioning the role of God comes from none other than the Nasadiya Sukta (Creation Hymn) in the tenth chapter of the Rig Veda. 

In an alternate world, you would not fear the length of my long beard or the shades of my clothing, be they saffron or green. Yo...

#LandRoverExperience - Unleash your inner adventurer

"You have got to be kidding me, mister!"
That was the first sentence that came out of my mouth when Abel told me to take a left. I had been driving through some pretty patchy roads for less than a kilometre when he made his request. My response had little to do with him – it was because I had spotted the ‘left’ he wanted me to take. And it was an extremely steep uphill climb through a ragged rocky road, one that I would barely consider going on foot, let alone an actual vehicle.But more on tha...

Don't sit on the fence. Take a bold stand.

Is pre-marital sex okay?
“It is okay provided the couple are in love and in a deeply committed relationship.”“ As long as they are planning to get married, I guess.”“It is today’s world. After seeing all these Western shows and movies, today’s youth would be influenced…”
You know what the scary part is? That the above statements are from those defendingpre-marital sex. You are defending it and yet you add so many caveats. Contrast this to the naysayers and defenders of mankind’s pre-nuptial virgi...

Semmelweis' legacy in present day India #SwachhIndia

Ignaz Semmelweis.
You have never heard his name. And yet, you and I are probably alive today because of him and his perseverance.
Born of Hungarian ancestry, Semmelweis initially joined a law college back in 1837 before switching over to the medical field. While working in the Vienna General Hospital, this young man in his twenties doing his surgical training noticed a very curious fact. The hospital ran two maternity clinics, one run largely by medical students while the other was largely atte...

Vattayappam / Steamed Rice cake

That my mom is a wonderful cook is pretty much apparent from my 'never shrinking belly'. She has arguably the largest collection of recipes in the district and I honestly don't feel I am exaggerating when I say that. I can picture her cutting recipes from Femina and Women's Era back in the 80's when I was a small kid in Dubai and now three decades on, she's still at it even today, taking down notes from online cookery sites to try out at home.

Over the past few months, she has indeed been tryi...

When opportunity knocks, are you ready for it? #WillYouShave

Like most Indian males, I have experimented with my facial hair a lot – A LOT – over the years. I have oscillated between a long early adult phase of being clean shaven to having an Arabian beard for a few years (mimicking my dad) before finally reverting back to being clean shaven.
That middle one was during my brief phase as the
Mexican Superhero 'El Loco de Burrito'
Of course, as anyone will tell you, it is not easy being clean shaven all the time. Especially when you work 24/7 as a doctor in...

Speak up for better healthcare within hospitals #AbMontuBolega

Over the last few months, we have all been watching a steady increase in the awareness of keeping our country clean. The Swachh Bharat campaign and the subsequent photo-ops by various ministers trying to out-do each other appeared on all our front pages, sadly in some cases, bringing the dirt with them to pour onto the streets. I really could write volumes on what I thought of such deliberate acts by ministers to be relevant but the truth is I do wish to talk on an aspect of our lives that de...