Bestsellers touting the benefits of globalization are a regular feature of our times. Case in point: Tom Friedman’s The World is Flat. The title is supposed to shock the reader. “Damn! I thought the world was round. Thanks Tom, you are a bloody genius.”

I have been described as a typical brooding intelligent introverted Bengali. Perhaps I am but I do have a couple of very Bengali traits: an obsession with food, and love of adda. What is adda? An intimate free-ranging discussion with a bunch of friends. The New York Times has more.