There's something about TOI

I never thought it would come to this but I have to admit that I found myself missing the Times of India. My hotel in Kochi gave me a choice of either the Hindu or the Indian Express both of which I found dreary.

The Hindu is still the same drab old paper that I remember from years ago and I found that it has even more advertisements than news articles. There are hardly any supplements on weekdays and though my relatives in Chennai swear by it, I found it boring. The Indian Express, on the other hand, has improved from the time we used to get it in our home before we switched over to the Times of India but somehow, it lacks the spunk. As someone who reads the newspaper for more than half-hour daily, Indian Express didn't have more than a few minutes worth of news.

On the flight back to Bangalore, I finally got hold of a Times of India. On seeing the lead story in the Bangalore Times about a film star's wedding and the half-naked women on the last page, I wondered whether this was what I was missing in Kochi, but, when I started doing the Daily Crossword, I got my answer.