I grew up in an India that was barely a generation old. Looking back over the decades, what strikes me most is not merely how much the country has changed, but how much time we lost before discovering what India could actually become. The India of my childhood was poor, insecure and hesitant. We inherited…
Pallaburusu may not sound particularly appealing. It may even make you chuckle if you are unfamiliar with the Telangana usage. For many Telugu speakers, particularly in rural Telangana, pallaburusu is simply a toothbrush. And it becomes the unlikely centrepiece of a village drama that is far less about dental hygiene than about an ageing father’s…
Responding to the editor’s appeal to reflect on Bharat’s 80-year post-Independence journey, I find myself returning to a subject close to my heart – Indian cinema. What stands out today is not merely its technological evolution, but a deeper shift in its narrative confidence: the move from formula-driven escapism to storytelling that engages with contested…
Artificial intelligence is supposed to make us smarter. There is, however, a lurking danger that it could make us intellectually lazier instead. A new Gallup survey in the US has an interesting finding: about one in five Americans who sought financial advice in the past year turned to AI. Yet only about three in 10…
The question may sound like science fiction, but governments across the world are taking it seriously as climate change makes rainfall increasingly erratic. For Hyderabadis, the question became particularly relevant after weeks of sweltering heat, cloudy skies and frustratingly brief showers. If the clouds are already there, why can’t we persuade them to rain? Countries…
A viral Facebook video has been making the rounds in recent weeks, leaving many viewers stunned. It presents a side of Mughal emperor Akbar rarely encountered in school textbooks. For generations of Bharatiya taught to remember him almost exclusively as ‘Akbar the Great’, the video comes as a surprise, even a shock. Whether every assertion…
When every controversy becomes a reason to sack Modi Every Opposition has the right – even the duty – to hold the government accountable. It must question, protest and expose wrongdoing wherever it finds it. But accountability and resignation are not synonymous. For LOO (Leader of the Opposition) Rahul Gandhi, however, they increasingly seem to…
Judging by the breathless coverage in sections of the media, we would think the Narendra Modi government is on the verge of collapse after the Cockroach Janta Party’s show at Jantar Mantar. Throw in the customary endorsements from a few familiar celebrity activists, and the impression sought to be created is that India is witnessing…
For millions of people born in Bharat after Independence, Jawaharlal Nehru was simply ‘Chacha Nehru ’-the benevolent architect of modern India whose vision shaped a young nation. School textbooks left us with little reason to think otherwise. They celebrated his achievements, his ideals, and his affection for children. Rarely did they encourage us to examine…
The Telangana High Court has raised uncomfortable but necessary questions over the constitutional validity of the state’s marriage assistance schemes. While hearing petitions challenging the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes, Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar questioned the legal authority under which public funds were being disbursed through executive orders and directed the government to explain…
