India

What A Horrible City (and I am not talking about Calcutta)

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Calcutta is known worldwide as a terrible place. The infrastructure is crumbling, there are no proper roads, and the transport system is in a mess and so on. And how has this impression been carried all over the country and the world? Mainly by the efforts of the Calcutta newspapers, media and the self disparaging [...]

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Is there a political instability in the country?

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As the 13-day long fast of Anna Hazare ends with the ‘sense of the House’ with a resolution in both houses of the Parliament accommodating (though arguably) all three sticking points of contention, it seems we are passing through a grim political situation in the country. The UPA government at the centre is apparently baffled [...]

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Tagore Stories on Film

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To celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, has come up with a special 6 DVD collection titled ‘Tagore Stories on Film’. The five films in the set are: Khudito Pashan (Hungry Stone) | Tapan Sinha | 1960 | Bengali | 106 min | [...]

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Tagore was the Greatest Literary Figure of All Time

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We Bengalis are sometimes accused of being inordinately proud of our cultural accomplishments and in particular, of raising Rabindranath Tagore to the level of an unchallengeable icon. I was fortunately in Calcutta and Siliguri during the run up to the 150th birth anniversary of the Poet and managed to catch many [...]

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The New Opium of the Masses

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“World Cup provides Momentary Distraction to Indians” This was the headline of the New York Times on Sunday, 3rd April 2011- morning after India won the Cricket World Cup. No, no…wait…don’t exile me from my country just yet! I am happy, excited (?), glad, India won the World Cup. I watched the match, I cheered, [...]

Of Freedom for Women

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Yesterday I got into an argument with one of the Indian residents of the condominium where I live. This young man, while discussing living conditions in Malaysia nd how it compares with life back home began to bemoan the lack of independence for Malaysian women, particularly of the Muslim faith. As proof of this he cited the widespread use of the tudong, the head scarf, which is widely, though not compulsorily used in Malaysia among Muslim women.

Is India Fit for Democracy?

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India – the land beside the river Indus, is a large country with different hues and shades of opinion . This very existence of different shades of opinion can be attributed to the migration of different races to this part of the world over different periods of history. As the ancient Indian history goes, overtaking [...]

The Soul of India

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A doctor explores the soul of India while in abroad, in post Mumbai terror attack scenario.