Mar 19, 2019

March 20, 2019 Do people need to die for Swachh Bharat even if it is the Prime Chowkidar`s pet project? That, at least, was the excuse being bandied about after the foot over bridge (FOB)…

Mar 16, 2019

The deadly terrorist attack in Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir last month has triggered renewed questions about China’s continued protection of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed. Will China continue to block international sanctions against JeM's leader,…

Mar 14, 2019

Stephen Daldry is not a writer. But he is a storyteller, often being inspired by literary works such as in The Hours or The Reader. He uses the actor as his pen and the stage…

Mar 13, 2019

“Does a thousand-year-old sculpture worshipped in a thriving religion belong to a foreign museum or to the temple from which it was extracted?” That`s Shashi Tharoor in his Empire-bashing mood. The British Museum had just…

Mar 04, 2019

There are two challenges when you talk about Pakistan today. First, whether you focus on the history, geography or politics. And second, whatever tack you choose, where do you begin? I could have begun this…

Feb 28, 2019

  Our understanding of human pre-history is completely dependent on the material objects we uncover at archaeological digs. We attempt to reconstruct complex societies based on designs on a shard of clay or remains in…

Feb 18, 2019

On Stage Anil Dharker March 2019 “Does a thousand-year-old sculpture worshipped in a thriving religion belong to a foreign museum or to the temple from which it was extracted?” That`s Shashi Tharoor in his Empire-bashing…

Jan 01, 2019

Goodbye 2018! by Anil dharker How do you define a year? A good way is to look at the buzz words that dominated conversation over its 12 months. The buzziest word was Disruption. We saw it…

Dec 17, 2018

There are 1324 black spots on Maharashtra roads, more than double the previous year`s. Actually that`s a huge underestimation: there are billions and billions of black spots in Mumbai alone. In fact, the whole of…

Nov 26, 2018

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut is being disingenuous in claiming that it took only 17 mins for the Sena to bring down the Babri Masjid just like Bal Thackeray had when he claimed credit for…

Nov 22, 2018

Mumbai Notebook November 21, 2018   The word ‘legend’ is too loosely used, but no one will dispute that Alyque Padamsee deserved to be called that. Not once, but twice over. First, of course, as…

Nov 19, 2018

Mumbai Notebook November 16, 2018   ‘Judicial overreach’. It`s a phrase heard often, and I have written articles on it, as has every single columnist in the land. With some justification too, because the courts,…

Nov 13, 2018

The Taj Mahal Palace & Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest bring to you an afternoon to remember. TEA WITH AUTHORS! Here’s your chance to be in conversation with your favourite writers! Join Carlo Pizzati,…

Nov 04, 2018

As the RSS-BJP’s initial expectations to build Ram Temple were dashed by the SC decision to defer hearing to January, Sangh Parivar will now outsource the Ram Mandir agitation to seers and monks The best…

Nov 03, 2018

The City by Prakhar Pathrikar (Jury Chosen) I hear this city. It's puffed sighs on an empty belly. Wind chiming dreams and responsibilities together, spooking timid titanium hearts from behind. I gush through these crowded…

Nov 03, 2018

Anam Fatima (Jury Choice)   I wrote this piece for children. It is dedicated to all the differently abled and to all the people associated with these beautiful human beings. It is dedicated to understanding…

Nov 02, 2018

October 29, 2018 Royal Opera House, not so long ago abandoned and derelict, seemed ready for the demolition squad’s hammer blows. But the Opera House`s owners, the erstwhile Maharaja and Maharani of Gondal proved that…

Oct 24, 2018

What’s The Scene   [Tied for 1st Position] “Hi, Dad!” Afia Ansari & Aishah Shekhani I had a rosy childhood. My parents loved and pampered me. All their attention was mine. My mom was caring…

Oct 23, 2018

Story and Poetry Writing Contests were held at Hinduja College in South Mumbai and St Andrew’s College in North Mumbai  and were open to students from all over the city.   Participants were given prompts which…

Oct 16, 2018

On Stage November 2018   If you are a famous person – and many of you who read this column are really well-known – would you like a film done on your life? That`s not…

Sep 29, 2018

JAMES BOSWELL’S LEGENDARY biography of Samuel Johnson was based on first-hand experience of living, working and travelling with the great man for most of his life. Ramachandra Guha, denied that privilege, has done the next…

Sep 23, 2018

The Modi government has run out of intellectual capital and this explains its stall in key sectors and fading momentum. Let’s set it up with three questions. Is the Narendra Modi government talent-averse? Second, if…

Sep 12, 2018

You may or may not know that the National Ease of Living Index was released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs last month. Now that you know, you may or may not care.…

Sep 09, 2018

Someone should calm Virat Kohli down and make him study the situation instead of screaming at it “We made England earn their win.” That and similar other uncharacteristically modest statements formed the gist of Virat Kohli’s…

Sep 09, 2018

Nearly seventy-one years after adopting one of the world’s most liberal constitutions, India can finally celebrate the expunging of a nasty colonial-era provision in its penal code, Section 377, which criminalised ‘whoever voluntarily has carnal…

Sep 03, 2018

Those who worked with him and those whose lives he touched knew the former United Nations Secretary-General possessed a rare ingredient not always found in successful men – he was a wonderful human being.  …

Sep 01, 2018

The latest news about self-driving cars is that they are not coming to India any time soon. This is not because we have an unlimited supply of drivers for hire which makes automated cars unnecessary,…

Aug 31, 2018

I was a student in London when I read Naipaul`s An Area of Darkness. It was a mistake, because as anyone who has experienced it, being away from your country makes you rosy-eyed and nostalgic, and…

Aug 30, 2018

Never has the separation of powers between executive and legislative organs been more necessary than today. It has become increasingly clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi runs a parliamentary system in a presidential style. This gives Indians…

Aug 28, 2018

Some four million people in Assam state, nearly all of them Bengali Muslims who have lived in India for more than four decades, are at risk of disenfranchisement after being excluded from the National Registry…

Aug 27, 2018

A brilliantly-researched book says that free trade under colonialism served India’s economic interests wonderfully. Nehruvian socialism did not. What a delight to find a history of Indian capitalism pac­ked with enough econometric and statistical data…

Aug 26, 2018

The govt has succumbed to myopic political benefits in a bid to garner NRI votes by hastily passing a poorly drafted bill. On 9 August 2018, the Lok Sabha passed The Representation of the People…

Aug 25, 2018

Next to where we live in the city`s South, Metro work (‘Mumbai is upgrading’) starts at 6 AM. That’s by their clock, which more often than not, has no relation to other time-pieces. The banging and digging…

Aug 14, 2018

By the time I have sat down to write this, just a day after VS Naipaul's death, every publication and every writer in the world seems to have paid a tribute to him. But ‘tribute’…

Aug 04, 2018

“I love Hindu” was how Donald Trump put it, speaking to a cheering audience of Indian Americans at an election rally in 2016. “We are going to be best friends,” he added of his hopes…

Jul 24, 2018

VR is a new technology that already seems rather old-fashioned. We've had VR headsets for years, which never seem to take off. There have been a bunch of virtual worlds too. I read an essay about Second Life recently— remember…

Jul 22, 2018

A Rahul Gandhi who hugs his inner Pappu is Narendra Modi’s clear challenger and target for 2019. This Friday’s debate on the Opposition’s no-confidence motion answers several questions. First, should the Opposition let the BJP…

Jul 19, 2018

The Prime Minister of India boasts of his government`s achievements whenever and wherever he speaks. Following His Master`s Voice, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra does likewise. Here`s his latest statement, delivered to the Assembly with…

Jul 17, 2018

Who called it the ‘Beautiful Game’? There are many claimants but the one who made it synonymous with football was the legendary Pele with his autobiography, My Life and the Beautiful Game. Tonight when France plays Croatia in…

Jul 09, 2018

Hindi cinema is the richest, starriest business in our popular culture, way ahead of even cricket. Why is it also the most pusillanimous too, and also going with the wind? Since this argument is about…

Jun 29, 2018

IT’S A SAD reflection of our times that smearing and libelling our now-distant colonial past have become a popular substitute for soul-searching about our own failures, abuses and atrocities in the present. With popular and…

Jun 20, 2018

If the Royals are here, can the paparazzi be far behind? Stating the obvious perhaps, so ubiquitous have the massed photographers become that they are now an accepted part of the scenery (Sadly, everyone seems…

Jun 12, 2018

The story of the last four years is one of missed opportunities and dashed hopes, of waiting for achhe din that never came, of seeing expectations raised to the heights by lofty rhetoric, only to come crashing…

Jun 12, 2018

The longest running play in the world in not a musical. In fact, it is a murder mystery called The Mousetrap which has been running in London`s St Martin`s Theatre since 1952. That`s 68 years! Based on Agatha Christie`s…

Jun 12, 2018

A series of bypoll losses has pushed the Modi government into panic mode. Uncharacteristically, it’s letting events dictate its actions. Throwing good money after bad money is an old truism. But throwing good money after…

Jun 10, 2018

I have long immodestly considered myself the inventor of the term 'prepone'. I came up with it at St Stephen’s in 1972, used it extensively in conversation and employed it in an article in JS…

Jun 08, 2018

“When I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun.” So Paul Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s right hand man and Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda is supposed to have said. As it happens…

Jun 06, 2018

The sun rarely shines on Hay. I know that's a poor pun, but the literary festival's name lends itself to such wordplay, besides which the weather often plays spoilsport. Not that it deters the crowds,…

May 28, 2018

From top banker to shit. Sounds like a good tabloid headline, doesn’t it? But Naina Lal Kidwai, former Chairman, HSBC India, won’t mind, because she has taken up the cause of sanitation in right earnest.…

May 21, 2018

My mother drove me to excellence, writes Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor [caption id="attachment_3798" align="alignnone" width="760"] Sweet victory: Shashi Tharoor with mother, Lily, after winning the Lok Sabha seat from Thiruvananthapuram in 2014 | Manoj…

May 11, 2018

From top banker to shit. Sounds like a good tabloid headline, doesn’t it? But Naina Lal Kidwai, former Chairman, HSBC India, won’t mind, because she has taken up the cause of sanitation in right earnest.…

May 01, 2018

As 53 world leaders prepare to gather in London for this year’s edition of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting(CHOGM, 2018), it would be all too easy for some to dismiss the biennial event as a byproduct of…

Apr 27, 2018

  On the first evening of last month, Tata Theatre was completely packed, with a buzz that was almost palpable. It wasn’t for a performance: instead, a thousand people, most of them young, came to…

Apr 23, 2018

If there was ever any doubt that the current dispensation is compromising all institutions in this country three judgments of various courts across the nation in the last week have decisively proved that both individual…

Apr 02, 2018

Opinion by Shashi Tharoor | Congress Must Point Out That We Too Share Hinduism We can turn the tables on the BJP by making them accountable for all the economic failures on their watch –…

Mar 26, 2018

“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed into a gigantic insect.” You might recognise the opening lines of Franz Kafka`s novella Metamorphosis: these are some of the most famous opening lines…

Mar 18, 2018

Barely a year ago, as the Bharatiya Janata Party swept the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, 2019 seemed like an open and shut case for the rest of the political firmament in India. Yet a…

Mar 14, 2018

Sophia and Tariq were part of a large, noisy family. There were plenty of cousins with foreign accents and grand aunts with loud cackles. They gathered in Mumbai every couple of years to attend weddings,…

Mar 12, 2018

British efforts led to the discovery of Sanchi stupas, Ajanta caves, and deciphering of the Brahmi script thus enabling reconstruction of a good chunk of our history. [caption id="attachment_3674" align="alignnone" width="1268"] Southern gateway of Stupa…

Mar 07, 2018

If big politics is now mostly about headline management, BJP has emerged its unassailable practitioner Look back on the headlines screaming out of your front pages and causing prime time shoutrage about a week ago.…

Feb 28, 2018

Strand Bookstall closed down just a few days ago to much sadness and many tears. But it did have a long innings. Tekkate Narayan Shanbhag – to give his full name -- started his store…

Feb 24, 2018

For India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, religion is not a matter of personal belief, but a key feature of traditional identity politics and crucial to maintaining social order, ensuring discipline and conformity, and preventing radical…

Feb 14, 2018

Two of Mumbai`s biggest public events happen within one month of each other. There`s the Mumbai Marathon in January (described in the last Notebook) and there's the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in February. Just concluded,…

Feb 07, 2018

The big and stately Gulmohar in our driveway hasn’t shed a leaf this winter. I hadn’t paid attention to its rebellion until I browsed through my Instagram photos. Two identical photos of the Gulmohar (one…

Feb 06, 2018

A candle for Ankit ... and his lost love and a flickering secularism. A worrying silence echoes in the public sphere by Teesta Setalvad It was an act of violence and terror, albeit of a…

Jan 29, 2018

  This article was originally published in Lokmat Times.

Jan 22, 2018

2018 may unfold a politics of performance over identity, of hope over fear in India Gazing into a crystal ball is never easy, especially since these days the image tends to get cloudy rather unexpectedly.…

Jan 19, 2018

Mumbai Notebook January 16, 2018 Delhiwallas love Mumbai in winter. For one thing, our temperatures are quite balmy compared to the capital`s – a ‘Cold Wave’ here means 13 degrees. For another, Delhi`s smog is…

Jan 15, 2018

Sixty eight per cent of the time of the previous Lok Sabha was lost to BJP-led disruptions. It is hardly surprising that UPA members have decided to emulate their predecessors. As Parliament’s delayed winter session…

Jan 12, 2018

Mumbai Notebook by Anil Dharker January 3, 2018   For the first column of January one should begin with best wishes for a happy new year. Unfortunately, 2018 has started on a sombre note. Just…

Jan 08, 2018

No one should be surprised at Union minister of state Anantkumar Hegde’s remark on Sunday that “the BJP had come to power to change the Constitution” and that it would “do so in the near…

Jan 06, 2018

The battle over Bhima-Koregaon is not just one of history, it is a battle for identity and equality. The late Kannada writer U.R. Ananthamurthy once told me a story. His PhD guide and he were…

Jan 03, 2018

Mumbai Notebook January 3, 2018 For the first column of January one should begin with best wishes for a happy new year. Unfortunately, 2018 has started on a sombre note. Just as 2017 was about…

Dec 27, 2017

On Stage January 2018 An odd thought struck me when I went to Prithvi House in Juhu to bid farewell to the mortal remains of Shashi Kapoor: Here was the man universally regarded as Indian…

Dec 25, 2017

The only way we can confront him is by rebuilding our democracy into one which protects the likes of Afrazul and Akhlaq. Shambhulal is the middle-class protagonist of Hindutva who destroys our secular dreams and our…

Dec 22, 2017

Mumbai Notebook December 18, 2017 How would I like to remember Shashi Kapoor? I was privileged to have him as a friend, and so saw him at many stages of his life. But as a…

Dec 07, 2017

Mumbai Notebook by Anil Dharker December 6, 2017   Almost a decade ago, a group of prominent citizens of Mumbai came to me and said, “Isn`t a literary festival in Mumbai a good idea?” Of…

Oct 23, 2017

These days I long for a daily which just gives good news. I propose to start a daily and will be shortly writing to Mr Adani and the two Ambanis for financial support. Am thinking…

Oct 17, 2017

[caption id="attachment_3393" align="alignnone" width="1240"] Harvey Weinstein after the 2016 Academy awards ceremony. Photograph: Axel Koester/Corbis via Getty Images[/caption]   How did he get away with it? We have to make sure it doesn’t happen again.…

Oct 16, 2017

WINNERS LIST What’s The Scene? Noyonika Goswami and Maschio D. Unnati Dholakia and Saksham Jain Shekhani Aishah and Christopher D.  Script Your Tales Tanay Kadel and Dhruv Verma Mitali Muralidhar and Tanvi Chamboowala Sujay Choksey…

Oct 16, 2017

  LITERATURE LIVE! 36O@CAMPUS  STORY AND POETRY WRITING CONTEST RESULTS (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY LAST NAME)   STORY WINNERS KANIKA JAIN ANINTHITHA NATH SHIFA ZOYA POETRY WINNERS JINIYA CHATTOPADHYAY SAHIR AVIK D'SOUZA ROHITA RAJU    CONSOLATORY MENTIONS…

Oct 16, 2017

On Stage : November 2017 by Anil Dharker A word one hears more and more often nowadays is ‘dystopian’. You come across it in book or film reviews: ’the writer`s/director`s dystopian vision of the world’…

Sep 19, 2017

The Presidential Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Ashwani Kumar   [caption id="attachment_3344" align="aligncenter" width="940"] PM Narendra Modi in the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort | Source : @narendramodi[/caption]   There is an unconventional…

Sep 14, 2017

Literature Live! 360@Campus announces its Story and Poetry Writing Contest 2017! Prompts will be provided on the spot on the basis of which participants have to craft their entry. Participants can come any time between 1:30…

Sep 04, 2017

Monologues of a Selfie by Ashwani Kumar Hey, you love me. Does it matter? I don’t need anyone. I love me. I say it loudly. I love me. I am not someone. This is my body-made…

Aug 30, 2017

On Stage September 2017 by Anil Dharker As I sit down to write this in mid-August, news has just come in that Pahlaj Nihalani has had his scissors taken away. To say that Nihalani was…

Aug 23, 2017

Mumbai Notebook August 8, 2017 There are mentalists in many parts of the world. But for some reason, many of them are from Israel. This may have to do with the fact that the ‘father’…

Aug 21, 2017

Profound transformation and extraordinary stories: India's incredible journey from independence to modern nation by Shashi Tharoor As India turns 70 today, politician and acclaimed author Shashi Tharoor writes about its past and its present. [caption…

Aug 17, 2017

Article for The Independent August 15, 2017 Anil Dharker   Mine is a family of hoarders. Nothing worth any money sadly, but perhaps full of precious memories? Yet what memories can old bank statements (in…

Aug 07, 2017

Mumbai Notebook July 26, 2017 by Anil Dharker Victorias may finally ride into the sunset. For outsiders that sentence will make no sense, but Mumbaikars will know what it means: that the familiar clip-clop of…

Jul 31, 2017

Sixteen million dollars – roughly Rs 104 crore – would be a modest price to pay for a Picasso or a Van Gogh, such are the crazy amounts auction houses run up nowadays. That`s probably…

Jul 30, 2017

  Elegy for E She’s dead, you still dial her number. You dial Fix, you dial Dutch Painting, you dial Almond Leaf. It always connects. She always answers the phone herself. How does she do…

Jul 05, 2017

On Stage by Anil Dharker They don't use the proverb 'Make hay while the sun shines' as a slogan for one obvious reason - the sun rarely shines at the Hay Festival. The sun could…

Jul 03, 2017

London Notebook by Anil Dharker Not by design but by pure chance, I happened to be in Londonduring two important events - the Brexit vote, and now the general elections. The results of both were unexpected…

Jun 23, 2017

Oh Romeo, Romeo by Keki N. Daruwalla What next for UP police? Keeping a headcount of legit butchers, and confiscating meat cleavers? I am told there is much excitement in Firenze, Milano and Roma over…

Jun 21, 2017

A dearth of designers by Quasar Thakore Padamsee Since theatre activity was sporadic and also cash-strapped, designers find it virtually impossible to make a living off of it. There is no question that theatre in…

Jun 19, 2017

Garima and a Buried Fragrance by Keki Daruwalla Taken from Keki Daruwalla's book  'Daniell Comes to Judgement'  I wake up at four in the morning. Bad time to go to the loo. When you come back…

Jun 16, 2017

Mumbai Notebook by Anil Dharker Because of travel deadlines, this is being written before June 2 which is (or ’was’ when you read this), World Environment Day. I don`t think I am sticking my neck out…

Jun 07, 2017

Time for a change by Shashi Tharoor Back in 1974, as a teenage collegian, I spent a summer holiday at the tea estate of a classmate’s father near Jorhat in Assam. One of the first…

Jun 05, 2017

The shadow of the past by Keki Daruwalla The past is destiny in a way. The past also embodies the concept of determinism, something that cramps elbow room, free will of the present. In politics,…

Jun 02, 2017

Modi Tries Hard, But Foreign Policy Needs More Substance by Shashi Tharoor As Chairman of Parliament’s External Affairs Committee, I have always proudly articulated our tradition that political differences stop at the water’s edge –…

May 31, 2017

  One of the late R K Laxman`s best ‘You Said It’ cartoons featured the city`s favourite subject, its roads. Laxman`s befuddled Common Man, umbrella in hand, glasses in place, is peering into a large…

May 29, 2017

School’s out, what should our children do? by Manu Joseph As children spend summer vacations preparing for the serious business of life, are they losing their ability to practise boredom? In the summers, city children…

May 25, 2017

Aishwaryaa on the apple box... by Shobhaa De A ravishingly beautiful young woman  with fresh mehendi  drying on her palms, walked upto me at a high profile wedding in Udaipur recently, and whispered, “I am…

May 24, 2017

The Last Bastion of a Profitable Press by Shashi Tharoor NEW DELHI – Around the world, newspapers seem to be facing imminent extinction, as a mass exodus to the Internet causes their circulation to slump…

May 22, 2017

Is the future of design industry collaborative? by Aparna Piramal Raje The emerging trend of multidisciplinary collaborations provides opportunities to innovate through unconventional means. [caption id="attachment_3132" align="aligncenter" width="621"] Sculptor Durga Gawde and Vaibhav Chhabra at…

May 19, 2017

Japan’s Greatest Novelist Junichiro Tanizaki’s “The Maids” presents a servants’-eye view of upper-class life. By Chandrahas Choudhury   Novels, like life, tend not to take much notice of maids. In most novels domestics serve only to…

May 17, 2017

Lessons I have learned post 40 - The stretch that transformed perspective by Gauri Sinh Stepping out of one’s comfort zone, especially post 40, is no doubt stressful. But sometimes, going beyond boundaries, as my…

May 15, 2017

A year of reading Adam Smith by Chandrahas Choudhury The founding father of liberal economics was also a brilliant philosopher, historian and prose stylist. After many months spent in his company, the reader learns of…

May 12, 2017

MUMBAI NOTEBOOK By Anil Dharker Mumbai has a weighty problem. Her name is Eman. By now, of course, everyone who keeps up with news would know about Eman Ahmed Abdulati, the Egyptian woman who was…

May 08, 2017

JUDICIAL OVERREACH By Anil Dharker   For the first time ever, a river has been recognised as a living entity with the same legal rights as a human being. Last month,Te Awa Tupua, New Zealand`s…

May 05, 2017

On Stage. May 2017. by Anil Dharker When is a black actor black? And when is a black actor not black? These questions arose out of my last On Stage column which was about Mozart and Salieri,…

May 03, 2017

The City and the Writer: In Mumbai with Chandrahas Choudhury By Nathalie Handal [caption id="attachment_3078" align="aligncenter" width="530"] Chandrahas Choudhury. Courtesy of the author.[/caption] If each city is like a game of chess, the day when…

May 01, 2017

Britain's Empire was a matter for pride, not guilt - as we Indians know by Zareer Masani The Queen’s 91st birthday, last Friday, was an opportunity to reflect upon her reign and to replay those…

Apr 28, 2017

Gabriel García Márquez, The Art of Fiction No. 69 interviewed by Peter H. Stone Gabriel García Márquez was interviewed in his studio/office located just behind his house in San Angel Inn, an old and lovely section,…

Apr 26, 2017

Mumbai Diary by Anil Dharker Do other cities have famous landmarks, so famous that they are recognised even by the notoriously ignorant tribe of taxi drivers, yet do not actually exist? Mumbai had three: Kemp`s…

Apr 25, 2017

Book Review :  Age of Anger: A History of the Present by Pankaj Mishra by Ashwani Kumar Age Of Anger is vintage Pankaj Mishra, the literary iconoclast. He is also a maverick political thinker—edgy, sly…

Apr 23, 2017

Imagine being brought up in a two-storeyed house made of exposed concrete and brick. The living and dining areas are airy, double-height rooms with a bridge that runs across, connecting the two wings of the…

Apr 20, 2017

  Nawabs Nudes Noodles …. Nerves and Numbers by Ambi M G Parameswaran  Circa 2000. My team walked into my room a little distraught. The idea they thought was a winner was shot down by the…

Apr 17, 2017

Warren Hastings ‘Loved India a Little More Than His Own Country’.  OPEN ESSAY by Zareer Masani AS WE CELEBRATE 70 years of independence, is it time to acknowledge that it was the first British Governor-…

Apr 13, 2017

High on the Holiday Index Shashi Tharoor I write these words on a long weekend holiday for Parliament. Tuesday is Ram Navami, so the Speaker has obligingly given us Monday off. But I do so…

Apr 10, 2017

India Conquered: Britain’s Raj & the Chaos of Empire  by Jon Wilson Book Review by Zareer Masani Another history of the Raj invites comparison with its two most distinguished predecessors, Penderel Moon’s The British Conquest &…

Apr 03, 2017

The wealth of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation IT IS A truth universally acknowledged that the BMC is in want of good management. For the uninitiated, those initials once stood for the Bombay Municipal Corporation. But when…

Mar 17, 2017

Many modern apologists for British colonial rule in India no longer contest the basic facts of imperial exploitation and plunder, rapacity and loot, which are too deeply documented to be challengeable. Instead they offer a…

Mar 09, 2017

I am disappointed that my cricket hero Virender Sehwag chose to enter the wholly politicised debate over Gurmehar Kaur’s words by saying, “I didn’t score two triple centuries, my bat did.” Not everyone might agree…

Mar 03, 2017

On Stage March 2017   The talking point last month was the Symphony Orchestra of India`s production of Puccini`s La Boheme. The first question was, “Why is SOI calling it La Boheme Revisted?” Opera buffs opined it…

Feb 28, 2017

What Indian politicians can learn from Shakespeare’s play. THE 400TH ANNIVERSARY of the death of William Shakespeare has come and gone and was dutifully registered in our media with a slew of articles about his…

Feb 02, 2017

Catch a shooting star   If you proceed cautiously holding a man-sized kerchief in your hand You might chance upon the shooting star that fell behind the building that faces our house.   That derelict…

Feb 02, 2017

Jaipur Diary January 30 2017 A local newspaper in Jaipur interviewed some of the bright young things thronging the packed central square at the event venue. “‘Festival dressing is the in thing’ “’ exclaims Juhi,…

Feb 02, 2017

TOO MUCH WILL BE LOST IF WE DON’T SPEAK Muslim Women Lead the Way! Dr. Noorjehan Safia Niaz We as Muslims are going through very difficult times. There is Islamophobia on one hand and an…

Jan 30, 2017

Songs of the Ocean A maiden voyage for any new sailor is an unforgettable experience. In my case, I remember getting much more than I had bargained for. My husband’s merchant navy vessel- a seventy…

Jan 28, 2017

SAMPURNA CHATTARJI ‘Why does it have to be a poet?’   A piece dedicated to all the poets I have read, translated, loved   Space Gulliver’s sadness is monumental Monumental her desire for friends Who…

Jan 17, 2017

EDM, as you would know if you are young, ( and are behaving young anywhere in the world), is a happening thing. However, if you are young in Bengaluru or in Mumbai, you would know…

Jan 09, 2017

TRUE LIES Anil Dharker   A new year is a time of look forward to new beginnings, new adventures, new explorations. It says something about human beings’ innate optimism, that however bad the previous year…

Jan 09, 2017

Bombay Diary January 9, 2017   About a month ago, the Maharashtra government changed the name of Mumbai`s Central Railway terminus and its international airport. Again. To recap, the railway terminus at Bori Bunder, a…

Jan 04, 2017

Bombay Diary January 2, 2017   Resuming this column after a mere six weeks, I find that the whole world has turned topsy-turvy. For starters (and middles and enders), Donald trumped Hilary. And Narendra Modi,…

Dec 26, 2016

The road to new Medina. THE YEAR 2017 will mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of India and Pakistan. While official Independence celebrations will no doubt be organised on both sides of the Radcliffe…

Dec 07, 2016

To Kill An Arab A Short Story by Sándor Jászberényi   We put the two machine guns on the kitchen table. “I’ll take them to headquarters,” said the colonel to the boys, who then stepped…

Dec 03, 2016

This article was originally posted in The Huffington Post on 17th November 2016   Anybody who’s somebody in India’s sprawling literary world — author, auteur, acolyte — will be at, or will want to be…

Dec 01, 2016

Shakespeare   Raise the curtain, Shakespeare, Your characters wait in the wings, Adorned in their costumes Their make-up done Their lines memorized – Lines that resonate Four-hundred years later With the same conflicts: To be…

Nov 30, 2016

THE SAME NEWS   Every day the same newspaper column Gulps of the same brackish news Every day the same mouthful of promises; Sentences dissected Each word chewed again and again   How long can…

Nov 05, 2016

Shobhaa De: I will always remain a curious journalist, permanently in search of a story (Interview by Prayag Arora - Desai on November 5, 2016)   You can’t talk about literature in the city of…

Nov 04, 2016

On Stage November 2016   Every November, Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest attaches itself firmly to almost all venues of NCPA. That`s because Mumbai’s international literary festival is not just a Literature Live! event, or a Tata event,…

Oct 28, 2016

1st Prize - Existentialist Conspiracy Club by Kalpak Bhave   Yesterday, I saw you look at the stars, Our bottoms cold on the marble floor, A garden of light above our head, None of us…

Oct 26, 2016

1st Prize - “LORD OF THE RINGS AN UNTOLD STORY” (parody) By Aditya Mewati and Isha Mahajan The irony of life is that everyone is going to die but unexpected things tend to occur at…

Oct 21, 2016

Dad's the Word (Excerpt from the Fatherhood Memoir)   I was sitting in the rocking chair that no longer rocks, twisting myself around so that my book caught the best of the light from the lamp…

Oct 19, 2016

Reading to Borges   THROUGH a series of strange circumstances, I had the opportunity as a  British schoolboy to read aloud to Jorge Luis Borges. I was 16 when I first climbed the staircase to…

Oct 17, 2016

In the 2016 edition of the Tata Literature Live MyStory Contest, we had over 1850 entries and 30,000 votes. Below are the five winners picked by our jury on the basis of merit. They are…

Oct 16, 2016

Mountain Echoes (Written for Dhaka Tribune on September 5, 2016) Nothing quite prepares you for the magical landing in Paro; one of the world’s most dangerous airports. It’s breathtaking setting amid green peaks of Bhutan’s Himalayan range…

Oct 15, 2016

Amish Tripathi: In our culture, we've always believed that even the Gods cannot judge (Published in FirstPost on October 15, 2016, Written by Prayag Arora - Desai and Sohini Guha)     Since his unprecedented…

Oct 13, 2016

Paws for thought Could feeling for one stray cat foster a community in our oft-hard hearted city? By Gauri Sinh   Come to think of it, I cannot even recall his colouring. He came into…

Oct 12, 2016

Something of Nothing (Written for London Library magazine) Rakesh winced as the car lurched into a pothole. A tremor of annoyance radiated through the hand that he rested on the steering wheel. He had taken his…

Oct 10, 2016

In the 2016 edition of the Tata Literature Live MyStory Contest, we had over 1850 entries and 30,000 votes. Below are the five winners picked by our jury from the 25 entries with the maximum…

Oct 09, 2016

The Journey is the Destination © Ashwin Sanghi (Written for the Times of India - Speaking Tree)   What is spirituality? Numerous sages, philosophers and thinkers down the ages have attempted to answer that question. Many…

Oct 08, 2016

Coffee and the Writer   Can it be Tuesday ??  The years days and seconds roll into one as I sit in a small hotel room in Delaware and my non conforming memories try to follow the…

Oct 06, 2016

Patna Roughcuts (Written for Granta on March 31, 2015)   1 When I was a boy in Patna in the seventies, the Boring Road crossroad boasted two businesses that were popular among the locals. One was Quality…

Oct 04, 2016

The Many Faces of Lord Ganesha(Written for The Taj Magazine  in the First Quarter, 2002)     The remover of all obstacles and bestower of wishes, he is worshipped in myriad expressions of form and material…

Oct 02, 2016

Secular Confessions (Written for Mint  on July 8, 2016)   I push open the door of dark, weathered wood. There are always a few seconds of suspense before you enter an unfamiliar church. What exactly is…

Sep 30, 2016

All that Matters (Written for Times of India  on July 31, 2016) For Swachh Bharat, we must teach our kids to pack light, flush right   Dear Mr Modi, I admire the Swachh Bharat campaign. I'm…

Sep 29, 2016

The 'I' in Eve (Written for The Hindu  on April 30, 2016) Why should women artistes be apologetic about the use of the first person singular in prose and poetry? At a recent literature fest, a…

Sep 29, 2016

The Lore of Renuka (Written for mid-day  on April 22, 2012)     A sacred narrative needs to be distinguished from a parable (story with moral ending), a fable (story with animals that express human emotions),…

Sep 27, 2016

Set Kanhaiya Free, Dissent is not Anti - National (Written for NDTV.com on February 24, 2016)   A great deal has already been written about the arrest of JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar and the ensuing national…

Sep 25, 2016

Dear Kanhaiya Kumar (Written for scroll.in on March 16, 2016)     Post Script This is first time I am starting a letter with a Post Script instead of ending with one. Dear Kanhaiya Kumar, I finished…

Sep 23, 2016

LOUNGING ABOUT It's important to be lazy ! To make room in one's life for periods of laziness .. not weeks or months (necessarily) but at the very least happy little blobs of time that are sufficient…

Sep 22, 2016

Evelyn Waugh: 50 years on   In 1933, a group of naked Amazonian Indians who had never before seen a white man encountered a young traveller from North London wrapped in a red blanket, lame…

Sep 21, 2016

Rituals of Writing (Written for Hindustan Times  for May 3rd, 2015) I am writing this on a train. It is dark outside, the dark window reflecting the interior of the bright-lit train car, the beige plastic…

Sep 20, 2016

The sanctioned, sleeping beauties awake (Written for Gateway House  on June 2nd, 2016) There is something about American sanctions on countries. They are thorough. They are brutal. They strangle the financial system and beggar the population,…

Sep 19, 2016

A conundrum called Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India. Kiran Nagarkar (Written for Sueddeutsche Zeitung)   Let me start with an anecdote. Just a few months after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India,…

Sep 16, 2016

The cause of problems - What some Kashmiris owe other Kashmiris (Written for The Telegraph on September 3rd, 2016)   I was reading a recent interview with Adonis, the great Syrian poet who is frequently mentioned as…

Sep 16, 2016

Too many mistakes - What the rest of India owes Kashmir and Kashmiris (Written for The Telegraph on September 2nd, 2016)   In the late summer and early autumn of 2010, the valley of Kashmir was gripped…

Sep 16, 2016

Happy Under the Padishah (Written for Outlook India Magazine)   It’s a measure of Tipu Sultan’s charisma that, two centuries on, an Australian histo­rian has spent most of her academic life studying the man and his reign.…

Sep 16, 2016

The Man Who Invented Poetry The violence and passion of Afzal Ahmed Syed (Written for Caravan Magazine on June 1st, 2016) My first encounter with the work of the Karachi-based Urdu poet Afzal Ahmed Syed left me…

Sep 15, 2016

THE GALLIC SHRUG SURVIVES IN NORTH AMERICA ! How cool it is to see people talking on their mobile phones in the province of Quebec, here in Canada. The only thing that seems to be moving when…

Sep 14, 2016

10 rules of Writing (Written for The Indian Quarterly) Illustration by Hazel Karkaria When I was promoted to the rank of professor, the library at the university where I was then employed asked me to…

Sep 13, 2016

A Lovely Wedding (Written for Day of Reckoning)   There were times when words seemed to have lost their meaning. This was one of them. Vira was on the phone telling Priti about the lovely wedding…

Sep 11, 2016

HANGOVERS (For Independent dated December 13th, 2014) According to Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man Despite authorities tightening their grip on the causes of hangovers, the hangover itself enjoys halcyon days. It can only mean one thing: authorities…

Sep 10, 2016

Australian genius Christina Stead showed me what a novel is for. Anna Funder   Only children can see their parents from the inside. This is what novelists never grow out of: sitting quietly in the…

Sep 09, 2016

Harsingar Catapult - Feb 29th, 2016 “I didn’t want him to be the one who was disrobing Zeenat Aman. No one who was even half-literate in Hindi in the early seventies would have missed the…

Sep 07, 2016

Requiem for the BDD Chawls Kiran Nagarkar (Originally pulished in The Hindu on Jan 24th, 2016) Illustration - Satwik Gade It appears that by now it’s well nigh impossible to de-link my two protagonists, Ravan and…

Sep 05, 2016

Literature Live! is excited to announce the second edition of our Creative Writing Contest - Story and Poetry Writing! Come on over and show off the writer that lives inside you. - Participants will be…

Aug 31, 2016

In her younger days, my sister Minal Dharker was an accomplished Bharat Natyam dancer. Watching her practice, rehearse and perform with her guru, Kubernath Tanjorkar, I became reasonably familiar with the idiom of Bharat Natyam.…

Aug 24, 2016

Regular readers of this column will know that Literature Live!, the little organisation I started, runs the annual Mumbai International Literary Festival every November. In addition, there are fortnightly Literature Live! Evenings when writers talk…

Aug 19, 2016

Students at SNDT College, Churchgate were delighted to be introduced to Literature Live! workshop on Narrative Conflict. Despite the capacity of 25 people, double the number showed up, actively participating in the workshop.

Aug 19, 2016

Students at St. Andrews were delighted to be introduced to Literature Live! workshop on Narrative Conflict. Despite the capacity of 25 people, double the number showed up, actively participating in the workshop.

Aug 19, 2016

To those who are disappointed with India`s Olympic performance, I would say only one thing: what were you expecting? If you know anything about world standards in athletics and field games, you know that our…

Aug 09, 2016

In Bihar, drinking liquor is worse than terror,rape or murder. If that sounds like an outlandish statement, consider the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016 and the revised Bihar Special Courts Act through which special courts…

Aug 02, 2016

Stratford upon Avon in the summer of 2016 is the place to be. After all, this is Shakespeare's birthplace and this is the 400th anniversary of his death. The Bard, as Shakespeare is universally known,…

Aug 01, 2016

Bombay Diary July 29, 2016 A few years ago, when for my sins, I was a member of the Bombay Gym`s Managing Committee, I tried to liven up the club`s library with ‘Meet the Author’…

Jul 26, 2016

When you see photographs of a former Chief Justice of India on the sports pages, it is a clear sign that judicial overreach has reached a new high in our country. From dictating the age…

Jul 22, 2016

Bombay Diary July 22, 2016 A friend said to me, “Your London Diaries are far more entertaining than your Bombay Diaries.” She then added a smiley to show this was a light hearted comment –…

Jul 20, 2016

Polaris kickstarts the Department of mass media festivals in Mumbai and is a much coveted one. This year Lit live! 360 @campus collaborated with them to hold a workshop on Writing Sonnets by Sampurna Chattarji…

Jul 18, 2016

ENGLAND DIARY JULY 15, 2016 "Sylvia and I are delighted to welcome you to our home for the 28th annual Celebrity Cricket Match in aid of Wellbeing of Women." So began the letter from Sir…

Jul 14, 2016

London Diary / July 9, 2016 July in England means the sun occasionally coming out of purdah, locals walking about in flimsy tee shirts while we jettison our overcoats for pullovers. It means children tugging…

Jul 14, 2016

Indian Express What is Brexit about? Is it about Britain leaving the European Union? Is it about the disruption this has caused in the world economy? Is it about hyper-nationalism and the fear of immigrants…

Jul 14, 2016

Bombay Diary July 1, 2016 If you go past Mumbai`s Brabourne Stadium, you will see a sign telling you that the offices of BCCI (Board of Control of Cricket in India) lie in the vicinity.…

Jul 14, 2016

Bombay Diary 24th June 2016 Many years ago, a British literary magazine held a contest for the most boring headline. The winner went something like this: SMALL EARTHQUAKE IN CHILE/ NOT MANY INJURED. What would…

Jul 14, 2016

Bombay Diary 17th June 2016 India must be the most movie-crazy, star-obsessed country in the world. Yet, how many books are there on Bollywood heroes and heroine? Very, very few. One of the reasons could…

Jun 20, 2016

Literature Live, in association with Theatre Group, calls for entries for playwriting for the Sultan Padamsee Award for Playwriting 2016, to recognize upcoming talent in the same field. For more details, write to theatregroup@shunyata.in .

Oct 28, 2015

Here is everything you need to know about attending Mumbai's largest literature festival.   Passes to the festival are available from the morning of the day of the session. Register and collect your passes for…

Oct 22, 2015

Head over to our schedule and pick your literary workshop of choice! Register now as limited seats are available.  

Oct 19, 2015

BY MEGHA SOLANKI SOUND OK HORAN   Do you know that sound? The rumbling monster taking over. Mystical it looks,
Monstrous it feels; There's power in its body,
Force in its thrusts; You feel like ignoring it…

Oct 19, 2015

BY PRAKRITI VASHISHTHA LIQID TEA AVAILABLE HERE   Tea, for Dadi is milky but without the cream Dadi's son, however, relishes the aftertaste of cardamom. Dadi's better half, would deride the drink to be the…

Oct 19, 2015

BY KAAJAL AHUJA Thank You for the Inconvenience   I walked through a garden far somewhere A canvas painted in the month of May But the painting brought me no delight And each step that…

Oct 19, 2015

BY VAISHNAVI PATIL & RYAN D’SOUZA   “Swad Zindigi Ka”, she sighs as she licks away the last crumbs of chocolate layered wafers of her cornetto, lacing the tip of her weathered fingers. “Did you…

Oct 19, 2015

BY MAYANK SOOD AND TIGRAN WADIA   THE MAD MAN’S CONSPIRACY ‘‘Jaago grahak Jaago’’, screamt the mad man. Nobody paid heed to him. He continued with his endeavour. All would hear him, none would listen. Sujoy had…

Oct 19, 2015

BY SHASHWAT KARKARE & SAHEJ MARWAH   “Doodh si safai, corruption se mukti yehi mera vaada hai,”the candidate, Mr Goswami, said during his speech while addressing the huge crowd gathered before him commemorating the upcoming…

Oct 19, 2015

BY GIRISH RASAM & SAEE PATKAR   “Dimag ki batti jala de”, said Dr. John Waghmare while offering his joint to Shairlak Khan, the best consulting detective Bhiwandi  has ever seen.   Just this morning, Dr.…

Oct 19, 2015

BY AMALE NARAYAN & MAVIS RODRIGUES   “Thodi se pet puja karoge?” asked Elisabeth as Ramesh drove past her father’s office in Colaba. The Hindi words sounded heavy and uncomfortable on her British tongue. The…

Oct 19, 2015

So story? I've been thinking for two days about a story I'll write here, since I registered for the event. There's nothing interesting I can write and shoot a series of photographs for it. It…

Oct 19, 2015

A small story of a man, who came to Mumbai to make up his dreams. Works hard day and night, doing odd jobs but still have faith in himself. After struggling the whole day he…

Oct 19, 2015

Cindrella Paradie Cinderella in the modern world. He is the step brother of Sheldon, Zenior, Dylan and Calvin. Cinderella is burden with all the work at home and has no social life. He goes to…

Oct 17, 2015

Here’s the thing about smoking in Kasol. You shouldn’t do it.   He took three intermittent breaks to catch his breath, along the - what the locals typically called ‘Pandraha-foot maap’, or The Scale of…

Oct 16, 2015

Amar held my hand firmly. He had a charming smile. Baba trusted him- " You are meant for someone who will protect you." I was a ten year old girl and the only child of…

Oct 16, 2015

Meant for someone else by Sharon It was half past noon and I was lost in Fountainhas. The Goa Tourism brochure urged me to " explore the historic Old Quarter of Panjim on foot" but…

Oct 16, 2015

WALK AWAY by Shalini Mother was furious, he needs to listen to me! " I'm his mother, of course I know better than him...." Father tried his best to convince him, " Son, it's not…

Oct 16, 2015

THE QUICK STEP by Kelly Woller " But darling, I love you!" " Do you really expect me to believe that, you cheating scoundrel?" " Trust me when I say it's over" " She's here…

Oct 16, 2015

MEANT FOR SOMEONE ELSE. – Divya Samtani No amount of books on childbirth you memorise  can prepare you for the excruciating, body tearing pain that comes in the chance circumstance you push another human out…

Oct 16, 2015

ONE LAST DANCE by Lekha Nambiar My crane tipped junk into the landfill. The stench of decomposing waste filled the air. The sky was dark, for a 'bright' summer day. It started to rain- I…

Oct 16, 2015

Sowing and Weeping by Jai Subramanian The last time we met you’d said there was no way to fix something so far beyond dead. “Rotting” was the word you’d used. Rotting for the world to…

Oct 16, 2015

Faded Smiles by Ritu Poddar She sent her son, to far off lands for degrees & better tomorrows She lived alone, & aged alone Behind her wrinkles, hid the sorrows. Over the phone he said,…

Oct 16, 2015

The Heart Knows by Priyal Panchal Why don’t I ever bite that dog in return? Why is that spider spinning webs of sorrow never shun? Why do I give that parasite right over my body?…

Oct 14, 2015

Literature in the Australian Commonwealth characteristically expresses collective values, perhaps more so than in other parts of the world. Even the experiences of the individual are viewed through a representative lens, with the aim of…

Oct 12, 2015

It was more than two hours past midnight, yet Ramulu was unable to sleep. He has been a small scale farmer and the successively failing monsoon and mounting debts were pulling down his morale. Year…

Oct 12, 2015

They looked down upon him. All of them. His favourite time of the day was when the Sun stood behind him. He looked down then, at the ground, to see an almighty long shadow of…

Oct 12, 2015

Revathy "Amma", her voice goes as she strides barefoot towards the entrance door. The inkling of her silver anklets still echoing in the silent dark room. Her forehead kissed with a big red moon placed…

Oct 12, 2015

It is not just worn at weddings, parties and ceremonies It is also worn at a construction site Amidst the cement, sand, gravel Under the ruthless sun Over a parched throat and blistered feet It…

Oct 12, 2015

The pyre smolders wetly under the tin shed, from which grey afternoon rain still drips; echoing a family’s grief. sifting through grandmother’s still-warm ashes, my fingers taste the wood-smoke and sour-milk scent of funeral rites;…

Oct 12, 2015

It was a sultry Kolkata afternoon right in the middle of my summer vacation. The heat had climbed to a level that one might get a stroke just by poking his head out of the…

Oct 12, 2015

It was a sultry Kolkata afternoon right in the middle of my summer vacation. The heat had climbed to a level that one might get a stroke just by poking his head out of the…

Oct 12, 2015

2015: The Year in Literature  There's no denying it. It's been a busy year in the world of literature, and it isn't even over yet. The United States alone published more than 300,000 new titles…

Oct 12, 2015

Alanna Mitchell is an award-winning Canadian journalist and author, who writes about science and social trends. Her most recent full-length book, Sea Sick:The Global Ocean in Crisis, is an international best seller that won the prestigious US-based Grantham…

Oct 05, 2015

Arshia Sattar has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago's Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. Her translations of the Sanskrit texts Kathasaritsagara (1993) and Valmiki's Ramayana (1996) have been published by Penguin Books.…

Oct 05, 2015

Two venues: NCPA, Nariman Point and Prithvi Theatre, Juhu. Germaine Greer, Vikram Seth, Kiran Nagarkar and over 120 celebrated writers and thinkers from across the worl. Presenting seven literary awards. Media registrations open today. Entry…