Indian politics periodically develops a sudden fascination for ancient civilisation, usually after election results produce a sufficiently dramatic map. Television anchors begin sounding like archaeology lecturers. Political strategists discover forgotten kingdoms. WhatsApp universities reopen ancient trade routes overnight. This time, the resurrection phrase is ‘Anga-Banga-Kalinga’. And unlike many political slogans assembled in a digital marketing…

Tamil Nadu has always prided itself on being one of India’s better administered states – industrially productive, fiscally disciplined, and socially ahead of most others. That reputation now risks being placed on the auction block of competitive populism. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay’s promise of six free gas cylinders for every household, 200 units…

Every nation has moments when it pauses to remember the deeper bonds that hold its people together. Not politics, not caste, not language, not region, and not religion. But a shared civilisational identity expressed through symbols, songs, flags, and collective memory. India may finally be approaching such a moment with the decision to grant Vande…

Election results, particularly when they unsettle familiar narratives, are quickly assigned a label. ‘Polarisation’ is the most convenient of them all – a tidy explanation that requires little introspection. The recent outcomes in West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry have been similarly filed away. Yet, to describe them as mere polarisation is to confuse cause with…

Television news loves a good set-piece. Election days, in particular, are treated less as exercises in democratic accounting and more as theatrical productions. Studios are redesigned, wardrobes coordinated, and correspondents deployed like battalions. On this occasion, the spectacle was complete. Regional attire, cultural motifs, a sprawling digital dashboard – everything carefully assembled to convey immersion…

There are many ways to respond to a new expressway. You can measure its length, its engineering, its economic impact, or the hours it shaves off a weary journey. Or you can stand at the median, squint into the distance, and ask – what is the hurry? Ravish Kumar has chosen the latter. The reduction…

There was a time when a marriage in India could survive bad cooking, burnt rotis, and even unsolicited advice from both sets of in-laws. Today, it appears, it cannot survive the absence of chicken curry. Two recent reports – one from Kamareddy in Telangana, another from Vadodara in Gujarat – read less like crime briefs…

On the eve of Bengal’s decisive phase, certainty is the only thing in abundant supply. Victory, it appears, has already been claimed – twice over. On one side, Amit Shah steps into Kolkata’s Behala with a promise that stretches beyond polling day. Vote without fear, he says – the Central Reserve Police Force is already…

There was a time when ‘uncle’ was a social lubricant. It opened doors, softened requests, and occasionally secured you an extra ladle of curry. You could be a stranger in town asking for directions, or a neighbour borrowing a ladder – ‘uncle’ did the job with a warmth that neither first names nor surnames could…

If you have ever stopped a quarrel at a public tap, you are overqualified for the Nobel Peace Prize. Two women, three buckets, zero patience – and you step in with a firm ‘enough’. Peace restored. All that remains is a recommendation letter. Preferably from the same people who were just pulling each other’s hair….