My husband and I had a very brief discussion on the subject. I asked if his family would take it as a rejection if I didn’t change my name. He told me they wouldn’t, and then told me it shouldn’t matter anyway. He said, “I don’t care if you do or you don’t. I mean, I wouldn’t change my name, so it would be stupid to expect it from you.. Your decision.”

In the end, I kept my name, for a few reasons. 1) It sounded like a pain in the ass to change it. 2) Professionally, everyone knows me by this name already. 3) Even though they never said anything to me, it’s a small way of honoring my own parents.

Having said that, be forewarned. Be prepared for many people you meet to see it as some leftist political statement, even if you don’t mean it as one. Both of you will find that you explain more than you’d care to. Some people will assume that you are Mrs. Hisname. Some will assume that you aren’t married. Some will be gracious about it. Some won’t. Pay no attention. Myself, I will answer to Mrs. Hisname, and won’t bother to correct people unless I’ll be seeing them a lot. My husband is more likely to correct them than I am.

At the end of the day, a certain amount of good-natured patience is required. As for life in general.

So use the name that “feels” like yours. In the end, I kept mine. My best friend changed hers, in part because to her, it sounded like a pain in the ass to constantly explain it people. Feminism is the freedom to pick your poison.

Enjoy married life.

It’s great as a layover on the way to AND from Mumbai!

On the way there, when you might have energy: It's a party place, the casino is easier to find than the bathroom. Also: giant duty free mall, for time wasting and learning what’s new in the world of adult entertainment.

One the way back, when you are keeling over from exhaustion: They have canvas deck chairs, which, unlike coach seats, can be SLEPT in. Also, there are copious amounts of coffee, beer, and Texans in bolo ties that will buy a girl either at 6 AM.

Man, I love flying! My first memory of being on the plane was when Eastern flight attendants gave me cards and a little "wings" pin. I probably still have it. When I was a kid my dad used to take me out to Lindbergh Ave (yes, that Lindbergh) to watch the TWA jets take off at Lambert Field. I couldn't get enough. As an adult, I work in the gas turbine industry, and now that I know what's happening in those engines, it's even more exciting. I still get chills when the engines spool up and hurtle the plane down the runway. Even though I'm kinda tall, I'll still take a window over an aisle so I can watch the ground fade away, and then, hours later, come rushing back.

So it's even more heartbreaking and maddening that airlines, airports, and the TSA have conspired to make the rest of it suck so much.

All right, maybe I’ll defend it to the death because it hits kind of close to home. But I honestly think the Namesake is an incredibly well written story, and the best one written about the lives of 2nd generation immigrants. Well, maybe except the Godfather...

My parents immigrated to the US from Bombay in 1967, and I’m about Gogol’s age at the end of the novel. I’ve gone through the same identity crises as him. The distancing from the parent culture has be written about ad nauseum, but the truly compelling thing is how Gogol gently comes back to his roots and begins to blend his life as he becomes an adult. I find myself doing that more and more, and I bet I’m not alone. Also, the novel gave me a certain window into what my parents’ lives must have been like 40 years ago, before they had close “Western” friends and took up golf and ballroom dancing. It’s the first novel that made me love and respect my parents even more.

I agree that Ashoke and Ashima are the most compelling figures in the story, but I’ll always have a soft spot for Gogol, because he’s me. I’m looking forward to the film.

And Rajarshi, it’s a good idea to read a novel before you comment on it, so you don’t say unfortunate things like “Lahiri's novel appears to be…”

I think most people who like to play around in the kitchen probably have some cookbooks lying around. The best cookbooks are either references (like JoC), travelogues, pseudo-biographies, or sources of culinary inspiration. A really good cookbook is like porn to me.

Practically speaking, what I find is that my cookbooks give me focus when I am planning, and help me generate ideas. There's just too much information on the web for me to sort through if I don't already know which direction I'm headed. But once I've gotten some ideas, then I look around on Food Network's website and Epicurious.com for variations. At the end of the day, I usually wind up culling bits and pieces from print and the web, and then adding my own spin.

I would say that if you are a strict recipe follower, you probably have no use for most of the gorgeous books in the food section. But then, they aren't written for you in the first place.

Here in Cincinnati, at CVG, as we pass thru the bomb-detecting "puffers," one can't help but notice that they are emblazoned with the giant GE "meatball" logo. Security-industrial complex, indeed!

BTW, Patrick, I enjoyed the conveyor belt column, but admittedly, it's probably because of my engineer-geekiness.