Of Hindi Guides and Visible Hickeys

For people hailing from the North East, adapting to life in the Hindi belt is no easy task. And David Lalmalsawma is no exception.

The trauma of tackling invective-spewing bus conductors and paan-chewing vegetable vendors has sent him rushing to a Hindi-speaking guide for help.

Yes, David carries around this book with him wherever he goes. He's assiduously learning the North Indian tongue and it has already started showing results.

TV Monitoring sessions, usually fraught with nondescript monologues of political bigwigs like Lalu, no longer give him nightmares.

And if you spot a hickey - that mark of amorous kissing - on his neck, don't you dare ask him anything. Coz it's likely to make him blush from head to toe.

Of Advertising Dudes and Umbrella Pics

We found it surprising that Setuka Mahajan was unfazed by "uncle" Pramod's 12-day battle for life at Mumbai's Hinduja hospital, but was devastated by the untimely death of the dude who created the Hutch You and I ad.

Indeed, Setuka is an ardent fan of stalwarts in the field of advertising. But what of her recent 'Page 3' appearance in The Hindu?

It seems an enterprising photojournalist captured on his lens the image of Miss Mahajan wielding an umbrella to protect herself from the summer sun. And it was good publicity for us too, considering the office notepad was clearly visible in Setuka's hands.

Of Bird Flu and London Cooking

Debjit da is back from his month-long official stay in London and unlikely his previous sojourns in the UK, the Bengali babu hasn't returned with any snazzy electronic gadgets.

"Arre, London is very expensive, baba," he says.

And with Britain being in the throes of a bird flu scare, Debjit also had to forgo his favourite chicken dishes. Instead, he and his two Sardarji housemates shared kitchen duties to churn out rajma-chawal day in, day out.

No wonder Debjit is delighted to be back in India killing two birds with a single stone - enjoy wifey Ruma's cooking and spend more time with baby daughter Sreejoni, who by the way has just completed six months on planet Earth.

Of New Dudes in Our Office

Meet ex-IANS dude Rezaul H Laskar. The man from Shillong is here to take over the reins of the domestic news desk. This Chevening scholar has 16 years of experience as a scribe and took to our style like a fish to water.

Laskar has spent more than five years each in The Asian Age and IANS. And he put in an impressive performance on his very first day here - making the leads on the Doda and Udhampur massacres.