Pride, Prejudice, and Punditry – a review
Seventy-five previously published articles, stories, poems, columns, and excerpts from his books (both fiction and non-fiction) with most having ‘been expanded or updated, or both’ are powerful enough to be more than just snippets of history of things that matter to Indians. Maybe even everyone else around the world. I call these pieces more than...
Political comedy is a show that never ends
Indian politicians are either smart or street-smart and they assume that whatever they say will finally get them votes when the time comes. I use the word ‘assume’ because more often than not these politicians speak things that lie somewhere between being utterly dumb to being absolutely unsavory. When we are in a charitable mood...
Arre Gaekwad, Yeh Tune Kya Kia?
Arre Gaekwad, Yeh Tune Kya Kia? Democracy mein autocratic gussa kiya? Air India official ko thappad maar diya? And then you said: Kar lo jo karna hai, Meri Sena ne mujhe protection hai diya! Arre Gaekwad, yeh tune kya kia? Air India ka sudhaar thappad se kaise hoga Unhone pehna hai besharmi ka choga...
There’s a lot that Modi forgot tonight
The PM spoke at Wembley in London tonight and I listened. So did Cameron. And the British PM applauded more than once… and I could see that he was excited when Modi informed the Indians in London of the jugaad way of knowing the time in India – that is, without having to add hours...
Breaking up cosy cartels
Discussing politics fills us with enthusiasm… and so this is all that we can hear in buses, on kerbsides, in shops and offices, in homes, on the television, on radio, in colleges, and I sometimes suspect, even in the mushy conversations of lovers in some park. But there is another truth that must accompany this...
The predators in Indian politics
Some believe that humans are the most dangerous predators… more dangerous than all the tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, and wolves. To take this analogy further, I’d say that the political eco-system has the potential to produce the most feared predators amongst us. Just look around and you’ll see the lion-like jauntiness, the stealth of a...
The race of his life
My first impulse as I sat down to write an article on Narendra Modi, was give it this title: Bhaag Modi Bhaag… and despite all the defence for it, I kept it aside. Why? This is because Modi is not a mere caricature anymore now. He is a formidable entity in national politics now. However,...
