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….

Southern actor Prakash Raj has landed in legal trouble after his remarks on the Ramayana resurfaced online, sparking outrage and a formal complaint alleging that his statements hurt religious sentiments. He described Lord Rama as a North Indian migrant ‘stealing fruits’ and Ravana as a South Indian tribal – a flourish that may have pleased…

There was a time when the occupant of the White House spoke and the world listened. Now, the world listens, checks the time, and waits for the next version. US President Donald Trump has turned war into a daily bulletin – like weather, except less predictable and far more dangerous. At breakfast, the war with…

For a brief moment, the US–Iran talks in Islamabad were sold as the new Geneva. Quiet backchannel talk became loud primetime certainty. Some familiar opposition voices were quick to applaud Pakistan’s ‘initiative’ and ask why New Delhi was not in the room. Well, the room has now emptied. Quietly. After long hours of talks and…