Behind the seats
Vote shares are a good way to read poll politics. But the ways they matter can vary wildly A first-past-the-post electoral system never fully captures keen contests on the ground. Because victory, seat...
View ArticleIs the danger as spicy as headlines suggest?
Ethylene oxide (EtO) in packaged spice seems terrible. But science has a more nuanced view: EtO inhalation is bad, small residues in food not so much When Hong Kong and Singapore suspended the sale of...
View ArticleAdinath’s first meal in 13 months marks Akshaya Tritiya
Authored by Bhagchand Jain Baisakh Shukla Tritiya is highly significant in Indian culture. In common parlance, it is also called Akha Teej or Akshaya Tritiya. In Jain philosophy, it is considered as...
View ArticleFusion India: In our speech, food, fashion, we mix and match to get the best...
I notice an ad for a supermarket sale and automatically read the message: Full Paisa Vasool ke Offers! It takes me a millisecond to realise that the message is couched in two different languages, Hindi...
View ArticleColoured questions: That not all Indians ‘look’ the same isn’t news. But...
We, humans, trace our genetic ancestry to Africa. But, also, we “look” different. This looking-different business is, however, a minefield created by egregious bits of past and present. So, even...
View ArticleBlood feud in yellow & blue
Authored by S V Srinivas In Andhra, polls for assembly matter more than for LS. Jagan vs Naidu is a vicious enmity but both are friends with BJP. And parivar is everything on both sides...
View ArticleThe phenomenon of helicoptering candidates on voters
The invention of a helicopter with its vertical takeoff and landing was a game changer in the history of aviation. Surprisingly, the helicopter concept has become part and parcel of Indian politics...
View ArticleA question of survival!
It was peak afternoon on a hot and sultry day and I had to drive to a nearby town for some work. Ever since the moment I stepped out of my house, it was a...
View ArticleLesser Citizens
A baby-formula by a transnational company has been in the news recently for its sugar content in India vis-à-vis that being sold in the developed countries. While it resulted in justifiable indignation...
View ArticleModi’s critical Akshay Tritiya
Akshay Tritiya is known for many boons, one of which is success. Amongst all Indians, Akshaya Tritiya is most celebrated amongst Gujaratis, and at a modest estimate, billions of rupees business is...
View ArticleDemystifying the science Of Bekhudi
Sumit paul Remember the immortal number, ‘Hum bekhudi mein tum ko pukare chale gaye,’ sung by Mohammad Rafi from the Hindi film ‘Kala Pani’. No human emotion is confined to a specific belief system or...
View ArticleThe election argument
SC had indicated last week that it may give Arvind Kejriwal bail because of elections, and it followed through yesterday. AAP is a national party, in govt in Delhi, which votes on May 25, and...
View ArticleBreach in Dahod
A polling booth in Gujarat’s Dahod LS constituency will today go through the election process again. Gujarat’s LS polls concluded on May 7. But EC declared polling at the Parthampur polling station in...
View ArticleCan you handle the truth?
“A study finds that”.”There is clear academic evidence that”. “Research shows that”. These are meaningless phrases today, when you can rustle up a report to support almost any claim you want, even if...
View ArticleGo local, or Telangana won’t listen
Bhangya Bhukya When I asked a Koya tribesman in Bhadrachalam what he thought about Ram’s new temple in Ayodhya, he said, “We worship Seetaram, not just Ram; there is no Ram without Seeta; they are...
View ArticleKohli, Gavaskar & what social media’s done to cricket
It is a sign of the times we live in that self-proclaimed cricket lovers on X and Instagram are not just asking who Sunil Gavaskar is, they’re suggesting he has no locus standi to comment...
View ArticleBloodsucker City Book Review
For my first book review on the site, it was only fitting that it ended up being a horror novella with clear influences by my favorite author: Stephen King. Remarked as a “Shawshank Redemption with...
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Silent Night, Deadly Night Novel Review
A monster in the garb of holiday merriment, Billy Chapman (Robert Brian Wilson) slashes his way through 1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night. This cult classic among horror fans was as controversial as...
View ArticleHeeramandi’s stereotyped courtesan world is a missed opportunity
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s new show was a wonderful chance to fictionalise the powerful cultural legacy of courtesans: be it Mah Laqa Bai Chanda (d.1824) of Hyderabad who was the first female Urdu poet;...
View ArticleMuslim quota row deepening fault lines among Dalits
With parliamentary elections underway, BJP’s invoking of the familiar Muslim appeasement charges against Congress has reopened the Muslim quota debate. In this complex debate, some prominent anti-caste...
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