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Why Chris Hadfield's "Space Oddity" is the most inspiring YouTube video ever
Some will criticise its musicality probably, but that's mere jealousy of someone able to sing and play guitar, in SPACE. You can't help but smile and even get a bit choked up at the beauty of the planet below.
Lessons from those splendid but empty European forests
The tiger is still one of India’s best ambassadors and its thriving presence in our forests sets us apart in an intolerant world.
Time to put the leash on irresponsible pet owners
Dog lovers who refuse to take responsibility have turned man’s best friend into a growling neighbourhood menace
Is this what single ladies were waiting for? A matrimonial channel
From advertisements for courses to hone wifely skills to an entire channel devoted to marriage, Indian television seems determined to make an honest woman of our columnist.
Manto on Iqbal, the writer of 'Saare Jahan Se Achcha'
Manto found himself in the surprising position of having to preside over the annual Iqbal day celebrations in independent Pakistan. Surprising because he had no love for the Islamic state that Iqbal championed and, as he will say here himself, he was not very keen on poetry either. But the one thing he had in common with the man he was eulogising was that both were persecuted.
Share lions, forget cheetahs: layers of hurt Gujarati pride
The SC verdict not only robbed the state of its monopoly over Asiatic lions but also scuttled the royal Gujarati dream of importing African cheetahs to India.
Why 'The Economist's' 'Joy of Reading' campaign matters
With book shops closing down in hundreds, a campaign like The Economist's matters a lot.
Why Surat is India's most interesting city
This month, Surat was judged India's best city. To me Surat is the most interesting city in India. It would be so even if it weren't the place I called home for most of my life.
Manto on what happens when a city becomes a new country
What happens when the city you're familiar with suddenly becomes a new country? Manto tells us this by taking a stroll through the lanes of Lahore, a city that was India and has now become something else.
IPL ads: Paintball, cross dressing and other things that don't add up
Come IPL season, you know you’ll be slapped in the face by a bunch of advertisements. Most bad, some ugly and, if you’re lucky, at least one that’s good. This season there seems to be more of the bad and ugly than the good.
How Sadaat Hasan Manto is relevant to our times
I wanted to write today about why it is important that the non-fiction of Manto be translated as it has been in this Firstpost series, of which only six pieces remain, for the last few months.
Mystery of Maharashtra’s happy sugarcane leopards
Till the water flows in the irrigation canals, these cats will make happy headlines. Then they will be as doomed as any other leopard unless we learn to hold our nerve.
Manto on right questions and wrong
The fact is that the ideological state suppresses the individual through denying freedom of speech. Manto takes this aspect of Pakistan head on.
Ford ad another example of why Indian thinking must change
Having an ad with women tied up in the boot of a car wouldn't matter if the men viewed it as a fiction. The Ford India ad is a problem because too many people CAN'T tell the difference between words and images and their own actions.
Manto's review of PC Barua's Zindagi
this is the only film review Manto ever wrote. The film is called Zindagi and it stars Saigal singing some of his biggest hits, 'So ja rajkumari' and 'Main kya janu kya jadu hai'.
What women want: Manto on eve teasing and flirting
Trust Manto to take up a subject as unusual as the forcible interaction between sexes - what we call eve-teasing and molestation in India - and write this long essay on it.
Partition of India: Manto on why Pak never stopped being violent
Manto thought the violent forces that had been unleashed during that period would remain in Pakistan's society, damaging it. In this piece he tells us the country would become increasingly violent unless the matter was taken up.
Manto's Anna Hazare moment: Who will save India?
This is Manto's Anna Hazare moment. His shriek of protest against politicians he thinks are bringing the nation to ruin.
Business of blasphemy: Manto on Pakistan's colourless future
Manto sketches an apocalyptic, Mad Max-type future for Pakistan in this essay, as he began to recognise its Orwellian trajectory. Who can say he had it wrong?
Cigarette snatchers: Manto on the spoils of World War II
During World War II, the Army had been expanded and used to consume vast quantities of foodstuffs. These were rationed across India, as also were cigarettes, which now had to be got from the black market. Manto here talks about people who bummed cigarettes off him.
Maha Kumbh Mela: Not just about religion, it's about poverty too
The Maha Kumbh mela is the largest congregation of people in the world. No matter what the news reports say or what visuals you might have seen, nothing can prepare you for the sight as you first come across the grounds.
From pillow to pistol: Manto on the meaning of 'deterrence'
Saadat Hasan Manto lived through World War II and his most productive writing years in India were 1939-1945. This was the period where nations had converted industrial factories into armaments producing units.
Manto on his fifth trial for obscenity and his illness
This is the second essay Manto wrote on his fifth trial for obscenity. It was the last time the state would harass him, and he would die soon after the trial.
Beware Inkaar: How NOT to do a film about sexual harassment
If ever there was a worse advertisement for women who’ve broken through the glass ceiling, it is Sudhir Mishra’s Inkaar. It's a sad day when Karan Johar and Abbas-Mustan depict women better than Sudhir Mishra.
The frivolities of justice: Manto on the court of law
Manto was tried several times for obscenity in British India, but it was only after independence that his legal troubles sent him into despair. The essay he mentions as causing him the most trouble is called Thanda Gosht, and is about necrophilia during a riot.
Manto on the violence that trailed Quit India Movement
Manto was probably the best observer of communal violence in Bombay. In this piece, he writes of the mayhem that came to the city during the Quit India Movement.
Boiling milk, freezing ACs: Why are we so callous about resources?
Pasteurised milk delivered to you at your doorstep does not need heating. Of course, nobody told you that.
Manto on the chaos that was the Partition of India
We are fortunate that Manto brought his skills as a writer and an obserer to the days of Partition in Bombay. Manto then tells us, through his experiences in Pakistan, how silly the whole enterprise is.
Delhi rape: No woman will ever feel safe if another does not
If we really seek change, let us stop lying about ourselves. When it comes to gender, there cannot be any hierarchy of safety or sensitivity.
Of bad luck and spring cleaning: Manto on his wedding
In this, the final episode of the story of his wedding, Manto tells us how he eventually crosses the line. Watch out for the personalities who play a part in this drama. Most are now forgotten, but in their day they were giants of Indian cinema.