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The guilty pleasure of Jagjit Singh, India’s Ghazal king
Editors note: This article was originally published in October 2011 after the death of Indian ghazal king Jasjit Singh. We reproduce it on the occasion of his 72nd birth anniversary. Every Indian of a certain age probably has a Jagjit Singh album stashed away somewhere. Other singers gave us songs. But Jagjit Singh gave #Chitra Singh #Ghazal #InMemoriam #Jagjit Singh
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Ashwagandha vs ginseng: Why Modi loves his Ayurveda
Among the various bromides, Narendra Modi doled out to the students of SRCC yesterday, the ayurveda reference was a master pill. “China exports the most herbal medicine but India despite its history of ayurveda hasn’t managed to export as much,” Narendra Modi told the audience. The problem, Modi suggested, was not expertise. #Ayurveda #India-China #Narendra Modi #OnOurMind #SRCC #Traditional Chinese Medicine
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And we thought we were special: US snubs India in secret terror war
It turns out that all that sweet talk about India-US “defining relationship”, mango diplomacy and “natural allies” was just that – sweet nothings. When push comes to shove India is nowhere in the United States’ charmed circle of BFFs. Even Djibouti makes it in there! Did the Djiboutians host #Amrit Singh #Barack Obama #extraordinary renditions #JustSaying #Pakistan #War On Terror
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Rushdie ban from Kolkata was preemptive, the mind is with fear
Bengal under the communists banned Taslima Nasreen and under Mamata have banned Rushdie, who’s
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Death tourism in Phnom Penh: The spectacular ritual of grief
The manager at the hotel in Phnom Penh was deeply apologetic. Norodom Sihanouk, the former king had died about a week ago and the royal palace was closed to ordinary visitors. But the Killing Fields were open, he said reassuringly as was S-21 – the school the Khmer Rouge turned #Cambodia #CultureDecoder #death tourism #Khmer Rouge #Killing Fields #Norodom Sihanouk
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Happy ninth birthday: The perils of being a Facebook slut
Editors note: Facebook celebrates its ninth birthday today, amid much fanfare and milestones, but there is also it's 'dark side'. What happens to the perennial Facebook slut. Firstpost had first published this article in May 2011, but given that the 'perils' of the Facebook slut are probably even more exacerbated #CultureDecoder #facebook #Mark Zuckerberg #social media
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We have remained an oddly backward country: Amartya Sen
“They should have called the session the Prophet Meets the Goddess,” quipped a wag at the Kolkata Literary Meet. It was called instead What moves India, What Stops it – Amartya Sen in conversation with Sharmila Tagore. When the inevitable question about freedom of speech in the wake of l’affaire #Amartya Sen #Sharmila Tagore #TheLongView
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Rushdie ban reveals the shameful truth about Kolkata
“I HATE Calcuttans,” the young woman in the row behind me whispered loudly to her friend sitting next to her. We were at the Jaipur Literature Festival and someone had risen from the audience to share a comment. “I am so-and-so from Calcutta,” she had begun. It took only that to precipitate #CultureDecoder #Kolkata #Kolkata Book Fair #Midnight's Children #Ruchir Joshi #Salman Rushdie
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Rushdie banned from Kolkata: Preemptive strike most foul
At the just concluded Jaipur Literature Festival, British historian Timothy Garton-Ash said he had heard the Jaipur police commissioner reassure the festival attendees that he would provide 100 armed police personnel to ensure that no one’s feelings were hurt. “If that’s the case we might as well all shut up and #Kolkata Literary Meet #Mamata #Midnight's Children #Salman Rushdie #ThatsJustWrong
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For Taliban the biggest prize is Pakistan: Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
In 2012 Time Magazine included her in their list of 100 most influential people in the world. That same year Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won an Academy Award for Saving Face. Her other films include Transgenders: Pakistan's Open Secret and Pakistan's Taliban Generation. She shared her fears and hopes about Pakistan #Jaipur Literature Festival #Pakistan #Q&A #Saving Face #Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy #Taliban