BAAN IN THE USA
Baan Roy has done Indians proud. He has done what very few Indians have done in the US—he has got under the skin of the country’s establishment. While the average IIT topper and the IIM management types would go, make a splash and come back rich, Baan has defied the stereotype and made a difference to the way that country is run. He has made a small but crucial contribution to the US by making a difference in the way people see woman firefighters.
Nikhil Seth
Atlanta
Woman firefighters have a new voice thanks to Baan Roy. We all thought of American firefighters as warriors who went to their doom while the Twin Towers burned on 9/11. But that was just one half of the story. The real picture is there were rednecks among them who wanted the force to remain a male-only bastion. Roy has exposed such double standards.
Sunny Deshpande
Los Angeles
ACHTUNG, YOGA
The Germans are indeed in a trance. Dhyan Foundation’s stall at the Berlin book fair has played a superb role in winning the Germans over to the Indian way of life. It’s good to see them getting interested in yoga, meditation and so on even as many Indians copy the Western lifestyle without taking into account its demerits.
Sanjay Singh
Vienna
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TAGGING ALONG WITH PREZ
Power Trips was superb. It’s interesting how protocol works when the President is on tour. A whole battalion of officials, flunkies and journalists accompany him on these tours that cost the exchequer a packet. But I guess these junkets are part of the package that keeps the President in Rashtrapati
Bhawan. Anyway, what Presidents say these days is unlikely to be drowned by the aircraft engines—they make a lot quieter ones nowadays.
Jagdeep Singh
London
ON TOP OF THE WORLD
The article on the journey to the northernmost point in the world was superb. This is a place not many people knew existed. It’s stories like these that make India Empire different. My only grouse is that you guys should have written more about the story. Half a page was too little for a voyage that not many people outside Europe take.
Aveek Sarkar
Kolkata
CATNAP KILLERS
Catnaps may have their benefits and every year some new study will extoll their usefulness, but how many people can afford to take them? If you are at work and you are seen taking a catnap, the result may be a smaller wage hike than usual. At home, the family is likely to brand you as a lazy bum. The only person who can legitimately take one is a person who is laid off, laid back and single.
Amit Ramavat
Mumbai
MODEL CONDUCT
Nikita Anand’s column on modelling is just what the doc ordered for all those starry-eyed young folks with Bollywood dreams. For some it might be a rude wake-up call but the fact is unless you have commitment and patience, modelling isn’t your street, baby.
Arjun Jayaram
New Delhi
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