Jason Staines | jason.staines@me.com | 81 posts
India likes its gold, buying up an incredible 800 tonnes of the yellow metal each year – a quarter of the world’s consumption. A lot of that gold is bought by the Indian government, which purchased 200 tonnes from the International Monetary Fund in October, and is already considering stocking up a little more. I […]
December 7, 2009
Even here in Delhi, the Christmas decorations are on sale, so it’s probably time to take a look at the past year – my first in India. This week marks one full year since we stumbled, bleary-eyed and full of champagne, from a British Airways flight and into the early morning chaos of Bombay airport. […]
November 27, 2009
A friend once accurately described Indian butcher shops as “interactive” – and there is possibly no more interactive place in Delhi to buy your dead animals than the INA Market. Tucked into the back lanes of the market, past the overflowing fruit and vegetable shops and grocery stores, is a section of the market that […]
November 18, 2009
They do things big in India: big mountains, big buildings, big moustaches. They also do big family squabbles that, luckily, spill out into the public arena for all to enjoy. Currently occupying India’s business media, as well as a large proportion of its legal profession, is the fraternal spat between two of the country’s […]
September 29, 2009
Walking around Old Delhi can be like being in a Dickensian version of Ulysses. All five senses get such a constant workout that the brain’s only option is to hit record on its own organic VCR, go to sleep and hope to deal with all that shit later over several stiff drinks in a quiet […]
September 22, 2009
I threw a lot of things into my backpack when I left Australia for India. Oddly, a dinner jacket was not on the packing list along with the dental floss and iPod. So when an invitation for a charity ball said “black tie” I was in a bit of a fix – the one and […]
August 26, 2009
For the past couple of months we’ve been enjoying the services of a fantastic driver who has been an invaluable asset, and not just for his intimate knowledge of Delhi’s short cuts or his willingness to wait for us while we’re at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club. He’s been brilliant dealing with household headaches such as […]
July 12, 2009
Television commercials really can sum up a country. In Australia it’s beer ads where beefy blokes – or more likely these days, moisturised metrosexuals – enjoy life to the full on a diet of lager and sport. To be Australian is to be male and like a beer. In the UK I remember confectionary ads […]
July 5, 2009
There’s one thing worse than sitting in a sweltering office for weeks with the temperature hovering around 30º Celsius. It’s sitting in a sweltering office with the temperature hovering around 30º Celsius after enjoying fresh, cold air conditioning for all of one day. My new job – the one that brought us to New Delhi […]
June 8, 2009
India has been asking that question a lot lately in the wake of attacks on students in Melbourne. It’s a tough topic that requires a serious debate – unfortunately much of the coverage in India has, to date, bordered on the hysterical and the “racist” tag has been thrown around with gay abandon. Unfortunately, calling […]
December 17, 2009