Love Actually
The life of this nation has been studded with grand romances. These are love stories that have caught our fancy and satisfied the voyeur in us. Some have even, in an understated way, set an example by bridging social divides. Sixty years of Indian in
The World Is My Thali
From puri-aloo to McAloo Tikki burger, from Raj to rajma, fusion to confusion, we have run the gustatory gamut.
But The Sari Goes On For Ever...
From the Royal '50s, Casual '60s, Hippie '70s, Gypsy '80s, Designer '90s to the Toned 2000s, it has been a long catwalk home for Indian fashion.
Fly On The Chandelier
The Indian drawing room has been caught between heirlooms and handlooms, cut glass and plate glass, Faberge and Fabindia...
Sixty Years On, More Sinned Against...
The great political scams of the last 60 years reflect their times, but also fit a timeless definition of corruption: abuse of public power for private gain. A trip down murky memory lane.
The Slumbering Pygmies
We've made up for what we lost in the 30-plus years of Nehruvian socialism. Economics on track, the next challenge might be political.
Circle Of Condescension
Proximity is not reason enough for the big brother to consider Bangla bhai a member of his family. The Partition has widened since 1971.
Less Afraid Of The Mirror
India-bashing is out. A post-Partition generation, more comfortable with issues of identity, wants a more profound look at things Indian.
Snake In Monkey's Shadow
Aah... the race of this century. China's breathless, maniacal, cocky pursuit of greatness. Versus our mix of sloth, doubt and free oxygen.
On The Khushwant Bookshelf
So agree or disagree with Khushwant Singh's list of 12 significant books that he rates as the best in the last 60 years?
Queen's Ransom
Desani stirred the first Indian literary storm abroad, later Rushdie smashed a few literary barriers. After Vikram Seth and Amitav Ghosh, the deluge.
The Robot Corporation
Far from spawning mere skilled professionals, education must give us wise, sensitive citizens. Only then will democracy become valid.
How Free Are We?
Just 100 kilometres off the nation's capital, infants die of hunger; in Purulia in West Bengal women are sold as sex slaves; in Juhapura in Ahmedabad Muslim riot victims slum it out; in Jammu, Kashmiri Pandits search for dignity...
What Do We Stand For?
A nation of great entitlement in history is at the crossroads. The ideals it was built on have weakened, contradictions are rampant.
There Were A Million Revellers That Night
August 1947, and a 20-year-old with a camera. A never-before-seen album.
Angst At The Picnic
India is still hyper-sensitive about its sovereignty. This has to be tempered with realpolitik if it wants a greater role in world affairs.
Out-Of-The-Boxwallah
Alive with halftones of Empire, India took a slow hold of the British imagination. Raj nostalgia then played out as a curious re-initiation.
Three Homilies And A Lesson
The prosperity of the nation comes with economic growth and improved quality of life. But, above all, it manifests in the elevation of the minds of its people.
In Camera
Images of hunger and mystics defined India then. Now it's more about a global status, gleaming metros, IT czars
We Clicked. They Clicked
At the stroke of the midnight hour, as the world slept, a thousand flashbulbs popped to capture that moment which was to become the most defining one in the history of independent India...
Sixty Years Of Latitude
No doubt, we deserve the self-congratulation. But how about some reflection too? Can 'inclusive India' be less an abuse, more a priority?