The Wordsmiths
Harmony - Celebrate Age|February 2017

The Suraiyas emanate a sassy charm laced with saucy chemistry, finds Natasha Rego.

Natasha Rego
The Wordsmiths

Bunny and Jug… no, they do have formal names but neither answers to them—that would be almost sacrilegious. Can you imagine one of India’s most celebrated satirists signing off as ‘Jagdish Chatrabhuj Suraiya’? Jagdish, Chatra…who? Yeah, we told you!

It’s 3 pm on a Monday afternoon when we speak to the Suraiyas over the phone. They are at their row house in Gurgaon, where they have been living for 20 years. The walls, we hear, are filled with exquisite art from their many travels, which is all Bunny’s doing, while the floors in every room are adorned with a carpet. The carpet culprit, Bunny says, is Jug! “If I spot a carpet shop, I have to quickly guide him past it, or he will end up spending hours examining the carpets and speaking to the carpet seller.”

The Suraiyas are just finishing their daily ritual of solving the cryptic crossword of The Times (London). Bunny downloads and prints two copies from The Telegraph for each of them every day; working the computer and printer is her forte, for Jug is a sworn paper-and-pen kind of fellow. She has just one clue gnawing at her, which she eventually nails. “Jug has a few more left,” she chuckles.

Words, words and more words have come to define the Suraiyas. Jug, as many Indians know, is never at a loss for them. He has long been satirist-in-chief at The Times of India, an author many times over and, with his acerbic wit, made a career of getting on everyone’s nerves—from Amitabh Bachchan and Shobhaa De, to the late Jayalalithaa and his new muse, the Modi sarkar.

While delighting in picking on the rich and powerful, it helps to have a partner in crime in level-headed Bunny. She has often made an appearance in his columns, alongside Brindle and Mili, the stray pets who adopted Bunny Lady and Jug Fellow.

Bu hikaye Harmony - Celebrate Age dergisinin February 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Harmony - Celebrate Age dergisinin February 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

HARMONY - CELEBRATE AGE DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Wrapped In Love
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Wrapped In Love

My Dadi Meenakshi Banerji was a short and tubby woman with great gumption who raised 10 citizens of the world.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2017
Sharing Her ‘Mettle'
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Sharing Her ‘Mettle'

To me, this bell metal vaarpu, which weighs about 80 kg and is at least 120 years old, is an enduring reminder of my paternal grandmother Aleyamma Abraham.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2017
Medical Overload
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Medical Overload

Your doctor may walk the talk while writing out your prescriptions but here’s the thing: make sure he hasn’t prescribed one too many. 

time-read
2 dak  |
September 2017
An Act Of Faith
Harmony - Celebrate Age

An Act Of Faith

One act of kindness can save someone’s life.’

time-read
5 dak  |
September 2017
Armed For Business
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Armed For Business

The sheer glory and glamour of the Olive Greens motivated me, a third-generation soldier, to join the Army. Thus I enlisted, brimming with enthusiasm, in 1984.

time-read
2 dak  |
September 2017
Capture the fracture
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Capture the fracture

Fracture owing to osteoporosis can have a serious impact on a person’s health and quality of life. Dr Abhijit Y Pawar, consultant orthopaedic spine surgeon at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, speaks about the significance of timely intervention in preventing fractures

time-read
4 dak  |
December 2016
Friends With Benefits!
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Friends With Benefits!

Incontinence need not interfere with life.

time-read
2 dak  |
December 2017
Yellow, Yellow, Gritty Fellows!
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Yellow, Yellow, Gritty Fellows!

It was a nippy Sunday morning but nothing that would keep the rugged Delhiite away from the annual Senior Citizens’ Run supported by Harmony at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Not even the mood-dampening smog that had descended on the capital a week earlier could do that! So said 74 year-old Sarla Rani and her band of regulars at the run who arrived at Nehru Stadium on the morning of 19 November even before the sun did. Soon they were joined by busloads of silvers from all over Delhi, Noida and Gurugram.

time-read
3 dak  |
December 2017
Magic By The Sea
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Magic By The Sea

From Lord Jagannath to oceanside beauty and green initiatives, Braja Sorensen uncovers the many layers of Puri.

time-read
6 dak  |
December 2017
Indian Rhapsody
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Indian Rhapsody

In a span of two decades, Roshen Dalal has attained renown for her painstakingly researched books on history and religions in India. The Puffin History of India and The Puffin History of the World, each in two volumes, have not just received critical acclaim but are bestsellers as well. Her other books include The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths; Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide; The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism’s Sacred Texts and The Compact Timeline History of the World. 

time-read
5 dak  |
December 2017