Posted inPeople
Oh, Street Child O’ Mine
The first Indian to win a gold at Rio in 2016 was R Hepsibah, a street child from Chennai. There were no coaches for this child prodigy. Instead, she got her start running away from cops.
Posted inPOV
Why Millennials Should Read the Bhagavad Gita
That the Gita is given a religious connotation which limits its reach, is a pity. Much before Twitter threads told you that your biggest enemy is within, the Bhagavad Gita had already got it covered.
Posted inEarth
What If Glaciers Melted?
Experts have been sounding warnings about glaciers melting at an accelerated rate for decades now. Kerala's disastrous floods prove how destructive a watery disaster can be. What should we expect in case of a glacial meltdown?
Posted inSports
The Tale of the India-Australia Test Series Cannot Be Told in Statistics
The scorecard can never do justice to the historic India vs Australia Test series we just witnessed. This is not the story about great tons and wickets, it’s a story of heroics and emotions – of Cheteshwar Pujara’s bruises, Mohammad Siraj’s tears, Hanuma Vihari’s hamstring, and Ajinkya Rahane’s grit.
Posted inPOV
Back Off Chennai, Let a Lady Smoke in Peace
In Chennai, I have to pay 200 rupees at a posh café, every time I want to smoke a 16-rupee cigarette. Not that chauvinism doesn’t exist in other Indian cities, but it is especially pronounced in my home city.
Posted inSports
“Run Faster!” Said the Couch Potato to the CWG Athlete
We are quick to jump for our Twitter accounts whenever an athlete wins at an international event. The pride is great and necessary. But beyond the celebration of individual achievement, shouldn’t it inspire us toward deeper engagement with sports?
Posted inPeople
I Know What You Did Last November
After the demonetisation of the ₹1000 and ₹500 notes last year, panic struck Mumbai’s richie-rich. With zipped gym bags, they descended upon jewellery stores.
Posted inPOV
The Rise of Communal Porn: What the Kathua Girl Search Says About Us
The eight-year-old who was gang-raped in a Kathua temple, today became the top trending search on a popular porn website. But we’ve been purveyors of “Hindu-Muslim” porn for a while now. It is easier to blame Sanji Ram for the perversion, but the real perversion lies in our minds.
Posted inPop Culture
Friendship Cancel with Twitter, Announces Amitabh Bachchan
It boggles the mind to think that India’s most adored superstar could be so touchy about something as superficial as a Twitter follower count. But losing those followers seems to have hurt AB more than the Bofors allegations and Nishabd combined.
Posted inPeople
The PT Sirs of Our Childhood: Pot Bellies and “Lep Right Lep”
All through school, Kumar sir and his PT “exercises” combined all the beauty of flight attendants making safety announcements with all the grace of Sunny Deol dancing to “Yaara O Yaara”. To this day, my Pavlovian reaction to the sound of a whistle is breaking into march past.