Blog Posts for Oswald Pereira

It happens all the time!

Oswald Pereira — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:53:03 -0700

One of my students from the Times of India School of Journalism, travelling by auto rickshaw was robbed of her hand bag by two motorbike-borne thugs on the crowded Dhaula Kuan road in New Delhi, yesterday evening. It seemed that the rickshaw driver was in the robbery as he deliberately slowed down the vehicle to let the robbers snatch the bag. The brave student had resisted the robbers and tried ...

There's Lots in a Name

Oswald Pereira — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:32:09 -0700

Though my name is Oswald Pereira, I am often called Mr Singh. That’s because my wife Reena Singh has retained her maiden name and people who know her and don’t know me, assume that the husband of Mrs Singh would be Mr Singh. When people call our landline asking for my wife, they often say, “Mr Singh, please tell Mrs Singh I had called.” When I try and correct them and affirm that “I’m ...

Revenge of the Naked Princess

Oswald Pereira — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:41:05 -0700

This is a story on the dark age of forced conversions. It shows how nebulous the lines between religion and carnage can be. When the joint forces of Portugal’s ‘Grocer’ King John III and the Holy See, with an eye on the market for spices and sacred crosses, set out to spread the message of love and compassion, they leave behind a deathly trail of murder and mayhem. ...

Give me back my old typewriter

Oswald Pereira — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:57:56 -0700

Oh! How I wish I could get back my old, mechanical Remington Rand typewriter. I miss its musical clang as its majestic carriage responded to my strokes on those seductive keys that inspired me to write words that I can never recreate on my hi-tech but cold laptop. It was the typewriter that my father gifted to me when I turned 18 with the fond hope that I would become a writer. Its notable ...

Stockpile of Racism and Casteism

Oswald Pereira — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:48:37 -0700

What is worse? Is it racism or casteism? Both are equally malevolent social evils, I would say. India has the double, dubious distinction of being home to both evils. If you add communalism, regionalism, extremism, jingoism and other isms that are present in huge measures, then what we have here in India is a stockpile of evils, almost like a hydra-headed monster. That’s sad for a ...

Red Room Rising Star

Oswald Pereira — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:53:13 -0700

I may sound like a school kid. But I was thrilled to be featured as Red Room Rising Star this week. I didn't expect this to happen so soon after I joined Red Room. I know, I know, there are many others who have been featured as rising stars. But this is indeed special for me ... back home in India, especially. You know we Indians haven't really cured our colonial hangover. Everything that is ...

Excerpts: Revenge of the Naked Princess

Oswald Pereira — Sun, 17 May 2009 10:22:43 -0700

Revenge of the Naked Princess By Oswald Pereira Chapter ...

Revenge of the Naked Princess

Oswald Pereira — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:24:29 -0700

REVENGE OF THE NAKED PRINCESS: SYNOPSISThis is a story that happened 450 years ago. But the messages that it conveys are relevant even today. To know why, read my story of a courageous tribal Princess Darshana Kamya Kathodi who was raped and killed because she refused to yield to forcible religious conversion. The brave 18-year-old princess returned to avenge the crime against her and the ...