India, Sept. 24 -- By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam

There is a secret Olympic sport that many Indian households have mastered - it is called "Tube Wrestling." It involves squeezing a toothpaste tube to its absolute death, flattening it, twisting it, rolling it and then - just when it should be given a decent burial - cutting it open to scoop out its final breath with a toothbrush. That last speck of Colgate is a national treasure. We may misplace property papers worth crores, but never, ever a half-used tube of paste.

We are a nation obsessed with saving rupees in the bathroom, even while losing thousands in the living room.

Take shampoo bottles. You would think they are made of gold the way we treat them. Just when the pump stops cooperating...