Blogs

8am: After 20-odd years of yoga, I’ve started lifting weights. This whole personal trainer business baffles me. I invite someone home, offer him tea, and then pay him to torture me.‘Come on, give me 60 Russian twists,’ he says, handing me a 4 kg weight. ‘Is there a neutral name for this?’ I ask, ‘You…

With Lok Sabha seats frozen to 1971 Census numbers, India has moved far from the principle of one person, one vote. Today, an MP in Bihar represents 3.1 million people, a Kerala MP only 1.75 million. The same vote cast in Bihar carries less weight than in Kerala. What are the consequences of moving away…

A year after Operation Sindoor, the contours of India’s response in May 2025 appear less as a moment of rupture and more as a confident consolidation of an evolving strategic outlook. Triggered by the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians, New Delhi’s actions were not simply reactive; they were measured, deliberate, and designed to…

Two years ago, when we set out on a three-month peace journey, people in many villages of Bastar had organised meetings in their village’s gauthans (common cattle yards). The gauthan was the flagship scheme of the previous Congress government, so at that time it had fencing, water, and good seating arrangements. The tribals who have…

The judge who probed Kerala’s deadliest fireworks tragedy says commercial interests, not religious sentiment, are keeping unsafe practices alive. Former high court judge P S Gopinathan, who headed the judicial commission into the Puttingal fireworks tragedy, talks about how his report continues to gather dust, even as unsafe practices keep causing accidents, most recently in…

Indian breads are far more than accompaniments to a meal; they are a reflection of the country’s history, geography, and culinary imagination. From the soft, flame-kissed naan of the north to the wholesome rotis prepared daily in countless homes, each bread tells a story of tradition and community. Ingredients such as wheat, millet, rice, and…

Predatory loan apps have been linked to at least seven suicides in Kerala. For many victims, the harassment arrives when they are already cornered The true cause of a suicide is often obscured by the most obvious. A single event may appear to be the primary motive, but it is frequently nothing more than the…

A Kozhikode native working in Kolkata travels back to document what Kerala’s traditional art forms carry beneath the surface In a state where traditional art forms are increasingly repurposed as visual motifs in pop culture—from themed merchandise to stylised cinematic sequences—the deeper histories and living traditions behind them risk being reduced to being overlooked. Seeking…

Voters’ SIR anxiety raises questions on the exerciseA turnout of almost 93%, in first phase of Bengal polls, sounds like a win for democracy. It’s a record for any poll, ever, in India. Sceptics say this is a sleight of numbers. Since massive deletions during SIR reduced the voter base, turnout percentage was bound to…

A warning from Western Ghats. But who’s listening?In India’s monsoon folklore, dragonflies arrive like whispered promises – tiny aviators that signal rain, renewal, and a farmer’s cautious hope. Their flicker over fields has long been read as a good omen, a living forecast stitched into the sky. But all of that is in danger. A…