Sepia Mutiny

The private equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Advent International plan to acquire credit-reporing firm TransUnion LLC in a deal valuing it at over $3 billion. The transaction, expected to close late in the first quarter or early in the second, would see TransUnion swap private owners. Current stockholders include private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners and Chicago\'s Pritzker family. The Pritzker family sold a 51% stake in TransUnion to Madison Dearborn in 2010. The firms on Friday said TransUnion President and Chief Executive Bobby Mehta and the rest of its management will remain with the company following the ownership shift. \"TransUnion is a high-quality organization with market-leading product offerings and a strong management team. We are very excited to partner with Advent and the management team on this investment,\" said Sumit Rajpal, a managing director at GS Capital Partners.

:: via wsj.com

In the final analysis, then, market players find the recent pop in CLO activity encouraging. But they are not ready to call the turn. Therefore, Street analysts are holding their CLO forecasts to year-end levels of $12-25 billion, with David Preston of Wells Fargo putting the figure at $12 billion; Justin Pauley of Royal Bank of Scotland forecasting $12-14 billion; Rishad Ahluwalia of JPMorgan estimating $15-20 billion; and Vishwanath Tirupattur of Morgan Stanley estimating $15-25 billion.

:: via leveragedloan.com

Her eyelashes have been painted with mascara. Her nails are shiny pink, lips outlined carefully in brown, and there is a faint blush on her cheeks. Shalini, to give her a name not her own, lives on the second floor of a shabby building in Budhwarpeth , Pune. To her, it is home. Others call it a brothel. The ‘girls’ have just woken up, their morning starts around eleven. Now ready for the day’s work, they sit lined against the wall in clothes that walk the line between the risqué and cute, their hair coloured and shining clean, faces made up, feet encased in slippers that try hard to be stylish. Some wear jewellery, others sport watches. We journalists are here on invitation from an NGO team. All of them look alternately curious and shy as we try to engage them in conversation. At the door, the Madame, genial and smiling, her ears and arms bedecked with gold holds guard, wards off clients, so we can remain undisturbed.

:: via firstpost.com

Four years ago, when she was expecting her first baby, Kisabai Biranje wanted desperately to be invisible. She tried for as long as she could to keep her pregnancy hidden behind the crumpled pleats of her floral printed cotton saris. But as the months passed, it became impossible to keep her bulging belly a secret. Becoming a mother was Kisabai\'s greatest joy. But pregnancy in the sixth decade of her life was also her greatest shame. As her stomach began to show, it set off a trail of tarnishing gossip and innuendo in this agrarian town in India\'s western sugar belt: How did she get pregnant in her post-menopausal years? Was the egg her own? Was the sperm her husband\'s? Why would she want to become a mother at the age of a grandmother?

:: via foreignpolicy.com

London: Whether it’s London’s reputation as a ‘World City’ or the number of Indians here, the city is undoubtedly home to some of the best Indian restaurants in the world. Tamarind, in the glitzy Mayfair area, is one such. What makes it special is the fact that the youngest Indian chef to ever receive a Michelin star is heading its team of multi-skilled chefs. (There still isn’t a Michelin starred restaurant in India). “I was young then, and if I wouldn’t have taken a risk then, then when would I? It has worked out brilliantly though,” he quips, giving Firstpost his valuable time on a busy day. In spite of being an expert at Indian food, the executive chef of the largely successful restaurant has an excellent repertoire of other cuisines. “But there was an understanding that it wouldn’t be a great move to come abroad and go make French or Italian food. It would help me more to be a chef at an Indian restaurant.”

:: via firstpost.com

A rare 1968 interview of INDIAN film director Satyajit Ray.He is almost a one-man production team.He produces and directs the films, is often his own cameraman.He writes the scenarios, original screenplays, composes the background music, does sketches for credit titles, has designed sets and costumes, even advertising posters for his films.

:: via 4bubbles.com

Kritika Agarwal\'s review of The Other Indians by Vinay Lal: \"The Other Indians charts the course of the Indian diaspora in the United States from its small origins in the early twentieth century to its status as an affluent, burgeoning, ethnic group today. More than anything, however, it is an indictment of the community’s embrace of the \"model minority\" standing assigned to it by the white, neoliberal state; its politics of Hindu nationalism and disavowal of more radical and progressive politics; and its claims to cultural authenticity and superiority. For its short length then (the text is only 135 pages long excluding the index and sources), The Other Indians packs quite a punch.\"

:: via saadigitalarchive.org

Beyond a handful of WWE tours of the country, India has basically no pro-wrestling history or infrastructure. But it\'s a vast and untapped market, and the people at TNA apparently just figured what the hell.

:: via www.gq.com

Astounding Poverty in the Backyard of Amazing Growth

:: via theatlantic.com

The film Saving Face is nominated for an Oscar. It chronicles the lives of acid-attack survivors in Pakistan. Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy talks to Renee Montagne about what happens to some of the victims.

:: via npr.org