By Anupam Varma
It’s difficult to associate a single emotion with Indian Independence Day. Unlike birthdays or religious festivals that bring about joy and excitement year after year, for me Independence Day has been a mixed bag of emotions.
Category Archives: Subcontinent
Why freedom is best celebrated in the morning
By Rohma Sadaqat
Driving down the peaceful roads in Islamabad is an experience unlike any other, especially if you are in no hurry to get to where you need to be.
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Karnad, you are just a thought — or click — away
By Sandhya D’Mello
Better late than never. By now every newspaper and website, blog and social media channel have googled enough information about the sad demise of actor Girish Karnad, who was 81, due to a lingering illness.
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When tea shops in Kerala brewed social networking
By Suresh Patali
What comes earlier than the early bird? They say the worm. Based on the English proverb, the early bird catcheth the worm. But I say it’s the Malayali. Well, a Bengali, or a Marathi, or any other Indian could stake a claim, but yours truly being a Malayali, let him keep the crown for the time being.
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Lesson for today: #WhoKilledArghyaBasu
By Sami Ha Zen
I have been resisting the urge to write. For someone who had been vocal during the beginning of the #MeToo movement and then turned mute, realising how it was being used to wash dirty laundry in public — the death of Arghya Basu shouldn’t have shocked, but that’s exactly what it did. The hashtag #WhoKilledArghyaBasu has been doing the rounds, but a life lost is a life lost.
Message to all haters: what’s wrong with the saree?
By Sandhya D’Mello
“You must be the only woman in the UAE who’s wearing a saree.”
It’s been days since someone told this to me in my face, but these words continue to haunt me. Why? First, it was certainly not a compliment when I was made to endure those harsh words stated in a derogatory way from no less than a fellow Indian woman, clad in a trouser and sleek top. Second, it was obvious that it was blurted out in a tone that implied how on earth could you still be living with such an archaic sense of fashion? Yes, I was angry and hurt; who gives anyone the right to comment on my sense of fashion, questioning the prime importance of making me feel comfortable and be myself? I am comfortable in a saree and I don’t think I owe anyone an explanation. Why do these world’s mortals judge people based on their clothes?
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When language crusaders won a lasting victory
By Abhishek Sengupta
For most people around the world, yesterday must have been just another day.
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