N Nagarajan Names in our multicultural India can often play havoc with our official lives. The mere mention of the Election Commission’s SIR—Special Intensive Revision—now sends shivers down the spine of many people who have discovered, sometimes rather late, that their names do not remain the same across different records. Let me begin with my…
MS Sparsha When one hears of the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), the first thought that comes to mind is gold. But buried deep beneath those famous gold mines lies a remarkable chapter in India’s scientific history—a story in which Indian scientists went underground not in search of precious metal, but in pursuit of one of…
Is the global economy once again approaching a point where its shock absorbers are wearing thin? That is the uncomfortable question the latest warnings about recession, stubborn inflation, geopolitical conflicts, elevated asset valuations and mounting sovereign debt should force policymakers and markets to confront. Nobel laureate Michael Spence’s warning that the world could be only…
On 15 August 1971, the United States closed the gold window, ending the convertibility of the dollar into gold at a fixed price and marking the effective collapse of the Bretton Woods system established in 1944. Fifty-five years later, US long-term interest rates have returned to levels last sustained in the early 2000s: the 30-year…
The battlefield of Kurukshetra had become a theatre not merely of physical conflict but of human psychology, political calculation, moral uncertainty, and destiny. As the two armies stood prepared for war, every movement, every formation, and every word carried significance. The opening verses of the Bhagavad Gita reveal that the war was already being fought…
Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, associated above all with Sri Rāmānuja, represents a profound attempt to unite philosophical knowledge, spiritual devotion and responsible human action. The word Viśiṣṭādvaita is commonly rendered as “qualified non-dualism,” although a more illuminating interpretation is the “non-duality of the qualified whole.” Rāmānuja affirmed the unity of ultimate reality without denying the reality of…
Lakshmanrao Upadhyayula The revered sage Vishwamitra, invoking the majestic cadence of the Tristubh chandas in the hymns of the Rigveda, offers a profound invitation to Indra, the sovereign of divine strength, protector of righteousness, and guardian of cosmic harmony. The Vedic sacrifice is not merely an external ritual but a sacred communion between humanity and…
King Yudhishthira, the embodiment of righteousness, stood consumed by anguish. His eyes, reddened with grief and indignation, were fixed upon Arjuna with a gaze that pierced deeper than any weapon. His words, born from humiliation rather than hatred, flowed with the weight of unbearable disappointment. “If your resolve has come to this,” he declared, “then…
Sri Veetrirundha Perumal Temple is a rare and little-known ancient Vishnu temple at Veppathur, near Kumbakonam. It is particularly important for its early brick architecture and surviving traces of mural paintings from different historical periods. The temple stands as a remarkable reminder of the temple-building traditions of the Kaveri region before the widespread use of…
New Delhi: Fast bowler Akash Deep is set for a Test recall as the selectors prepare to pick three India squads for the upcoming New Zealand tour, which begins with the T20I series on October 22. The 29-year-old Akash, who was out of action for seven months due to a lower back stress injury, made…
