If Only A Man Could Spit His

We Are Made Mysteries To Ourselves By The Rooster Coop We Are Locked In.

Indians Mock Their Corrupt Politicians Relentlessly, But They Regard Their Honest Politicians With Silent Suspicion. The First Thing They Do When They Hear Of A Supposedly 'clean' Politician Is To Grin. It Is A Cliche That Honest Politicians In India Tend To Have Dishonest Sons, Who Collect Money From People Seeking An Audience With Dad.

Mangalore, The Coastal Indian Town Where I Lived Until I Was Almost 16, Is Now A Booming City Of Malls And Call-centres. But, In The 1980s, It Was A Provincial Town In A Socialist Country.

If Only A Man Could Spit His Past Out So Easily.

When I Was Growing Up In The South Indian City Of Madras, There Were Only Two Political Parties That Mattered; One Was Run By A Former Matinee Idol, And The Other Was Run By His Former Screenwriter.