While end-of-years lend themselves perfectly to navel-gazing it is also an opportune time to tot up, collate and categorise. And with every passing year, what defines us more than our Google searches? We searched a trillion times for a billion different things. Google top charts provide “most searched” information for 75 odd countries.

In India, the most searched sites are IRCTC, Flipkart, SBI, Snapdeal and PNR status. What does this tell us about ourselves? Clearly, we travel, shop shop some more, and book tickets too late. In the most searched people, Sunny Leone remains the most Googled, for THREE years running. In 2011 Anna Hazare piped her to the post. That a desi hardcore porn star promising ‘hot and oily in the tub’ or ‘having fun in the shower’ should be our most searched person for a hat trick tells us that much of this country uses search engines to get hot and heavy. So yes, we are a country that travels, shops and watches porn. Or if you want to nitpick, we can say, we are country that uses the internet for reasons of travel, shopping and watching porn. How is that for Indian culture?

In the most searched people Narendra Modi is sandwiched between Leone and Salman Khan. In Pakistan and Bangladesh the most searched people are Robin Williams and Jennifer Lawrence, respectively. Leone does not even make it to their top five. It is doubtful whether a porn star figures on the top five of most searched person for any other country.

What is curiouser and curiouser, however, is that two Indians make the top five most searched people in the UAE. And these are Sunanda Pushkar at two and Narendra Modi at three. It might be prudent for the sleuths looking into her death to perhaps follow up on these searches. Going by Australia and UK’s most searched ‘how tos’, it seems only Jane Austen’s characters inhabit these countries. Their most searched ‘how tos’ are – How to draw, kiss, crochet, meditate and knit. For real.

At No.6, Australia and UK differ. Australia asks ‘how to pronounce’. Oh, that’s sweet, mate. And UK, how to twerk. In 2009, India’s top ‘how tos’ were How to kiss, HACK and meditate. Jai Hind.

Nandini Nair, Assistant Editor

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