Columns Archives

Why the Year Hasn’t Begun Until You’ve Barfed

The new year barges in every January, demanding that you become better. It demands of us things that I’m not sure we have left anymore, and in return it offers only kale smoothies.

Sharan Saikumar July 27, 2016

Columns

Rearview: Pulwama Attack & the Difficulty of Being an Amol Palekar in a World of Arnabs

In the backdrop of the Pulwama attack, whose freedom of expression should we be concerned about? We don’t shut down the folks propagating #TerrorismHasAReligion, or journalists who purportedly declared Aligarh Muslim University, a “university of terrorists”. But we shut down people like Amol Palekar.

Karanjeet Kaur June 5, 2016

Columns

Longing for the Other Punjab: A Search for My “Jhelum Kinare” Pind on Google Maps

I am from a post-Partition migrant family, but I have no idea where my roots lie. My grandfather, my last “sarhad paar” connection, passed away and I grew obsessed with the idea. I pined away for a name, but all I had to go on was a “Jhelum kinare” village. How do you feel a longing for a place you’ve never been to?

Karanjeet Kaur June 4, 2016

Columns

The View at 40 | Why We’re Silent About Rajkumar Hirani & Outraged Over Gillette’s Advertising

The View at 40 is a weekly column about ageing disgracefully. This week we try not to outrage at razors that piss us off.

Sharan Saikumar June 1, 2016

Columns

Rearview | Manikarnika, Priyanka Gandhi, and What Indian Women Do When the Men Fail

Rearview is a column that draws connections between the events of the past week. This time, two much mythologised Indian women occupied our timelines. The legend of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi was brought to life by Kangana Ranaut’s blustery Manikarnika, while the legend of Priyanka Gandhi came alive in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Karanjeet Kaur May 17, 2016

Columns

SummArré: Sabarimala, #MeToo Part Two, and a Look Back at the Week That Was

In India, every day presents a new diversion, a new amusement. This week, we discovered the Kauravas were “test-tube babies” in a giant leap backward for science, and Kerala’s “Women’s Wall” protest against the violence at Sabarimala, showed us how to do solidarity.

Karanjeet Kaur May 17, 2016

Columns

The View at 40 | Why Is Everyone Having Really Loud Sex in Four More Shots Please!?

The View at 40 is a weekly column about sniping at youth. This week, we watched the new web series, Four More Shots Please! and heard lots of orgasming.

Sharan Saikumar May 8, 2016

Columns

Rearview: Hardik Pandya, Rahul Gandhi, & Bipin Rawat are Just Shades on the Pantone Card of Misogyny

Is there really much of a difference between the comments made by Bipin Rawat, Rahul Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor, and Hardik Pandya? At this point they just seem like hues on the Pantone shade card of sexism and ingrained patriarchy.

Karanjeet Kaur May 1, 2016

Columns

Rearview | What Unites the World Record Egg and Weeping Users of TikTok India?

Earlier this week, the participative nature of the internet peaked, when people all over the world gathered to make a stock of an egg, the most-liked post on Instagram. Yup. The same internet that led to the proliferation of the Arab Spring bonded over an inanity.

Karanjeet Kaur March 28, 2016

Columns

Rearview | A Pariksha Pe Charcha for Hindu Mahasabha’s Pooja Shakun Pandey & Co

Rearview is a column that draws connections between the events of the past week. This week, a government that is committed to optics, with initiatives like Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0, has to contend with runaway elements like Hindu Mahasabha leader Pooja Shakun Pandey who reenacted the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Karanjeet Kaur March 7, 2016