By Josh Arnup
I’ve read just about every, single, positive review of Black Panther, and the more I read them, the more I despise the movie. Black Panther isn’t perfect, nor is it bad, but it’s most certainly not great. Continue reading Why Black Panther didn’t work for me
By Afzal Hasan
Dear Eager Aspirant of Public Office,
Take heart. Even if you are someone who is a feral village bumpkin, with ideas about his legendary importance to the world that might be better passed off under the category of ‘Hallucinations’, we can transform you. Prepare to become a colourful city slicker, suitably equipped with all known clichés and stereotypical views, for swift political ascendancy! Continue reading Don’t underplay the power of a spin doctor in a democracy
By Sushmita Bose
I’ve always been in a bit of a quandary when it comes to gifting. I know, it’s far easier selecting a gift for a woman — jewellery, perfume, a nice scarf/clutch, household items (for those who are interiors-driven), etc — but men pose a big problem… I once had to ask a male friend his shirt size, and he obviously cottoned on: “Oh, you’re getting me a shirt/T-shirt, is it? How unoriginal!” Continue reading What do you get two pets for their birthdays in one week?
By Allan Jacob
Thank God, they weren’t so reckless as to squander their hard-earned money. They only hid it in some distant paradise. The reaction from an acquaintance two years ago when the Panama Papers revealed the names of the rich, famous and powerful who parked their cash in offshore havens haunts me to this day. How prescient he was, I thought when the Paradise Papers came out in 2017 with more names. Now with diamantaire Nirav Modi’s elevation as a sparkling charlatan after a massive hit on an Indian bank, I thought I’d revel in the afterglow with a piece on corruption. Continue reading It’s simple to get away with corruption. Here’s how
By Bikram Vohra
Someone who smiles too much may well be making faces behind your back. Have you ever had that uncomfortable feeling that this colleague, partner, staffer, is just too nice, too flattering — oily little sod — but it is still a nice sensation to be given such homage and even if he is a bit transparent in his adulation, what the heck, give him a raise.
Continue reading Sycophants and soda water… with some cynical rocks in it
By Suresh Pattali
My daughter just joined the #MeToo movement.
Sadly, the incident happened while the ink of a column I wrote in this space was still wet. It was headlined: When will they learn, women are not their birthright? There were letters of angst, agony and shock from our readers after reading that article. And one of them, Sherley A Varghese, a mother so paranoid about her ward’s safety, wrote: “Every word sent shivers down my spine. I refuse to send my daughter to India for doing her undergraduate course.” Continue reading Why is this an everyday experience for women?
By Nivriti Butalia
Earlier this week, #ObamaPortraits was trending across social media. On February 12, the official portraits of the former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama were unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (#myNPG) in Washington. Continue reading Like? Love? What do you feel about the Obama portraits?
