குண்டி (kuNDi): (of persons) bottom; buttocks; (of animals) rump.

I wouldn’t use it around my relatives, except for my mom (mostly to irritate her) but it is standard with the crew here . . . .

Much Love to My Kundis

It’s funny, however, because I remember there was a time when one’s interest in the articles did go hand-in-hand with the pictorials, as Playboy was once seen as a “socially progressive” magazine for adults, not just pornography. It had good writers and was one of the first magazines to rely on fiction and interviews, not feature articles, for written content and people actually gave it some respect. Of course, the premise of the magazine does have some flaws…

Anyhow, long ago, I do remember going into the office of one of my dad’s colleagues and seeing a Playboy on the coffee-table along with Life, Esquire and National Geographic. I was twelve and because the guy knew I liked books, he told me to read the interview with one G.G. Marquez, (which in turn turned me on to the whole concept of magic realism which I suppose is what it’s like to open up a Playboy in front of your dad at the tender age of puberty)…

I’m not trying to say Playboy’s a great magazine, but it did have some presence in the world at one time and did cause people to do some thinking (when I found out Shel Silverstein worked a stint at Playboy while putting together “Where the Sidewalk Ends”…). In any case, it certainly got the Indian government thinking and, collectively reading, which I’m certain got Nehru thinking, “Hmm, yes, they’re all boobs, I must do something…” and thus began the adolescence of India.