Dancing Girl cover-up reveals more about us than we thinkEarlier this year, artist Shakibul Islam went to the Lepakshi temple in Andhra Pradesh. He was shocked to find that the stone relief figures of the 16th-century temple, both male and female, had their private... Jun 20 26June 20, 2026Article at IndiaTimes
As voters become trolls, old friendships are poll-arisedEver since BJP ousted Trinamool Congress from office, social media has been up in arms. A friend who opposed BJP is so upset, she is pruning her friends list of those rejoicing at the verdict.... May 09 26May 09, 2026Article at IndiaTimes
How an influencer’s beef raised the stakes over a mixed-up steak orderThere was plenty at stake at a recent food fight at an old drinking hole in Kolkata. Beef steak was perhaps the least of it. Recently, an influencer went to Olypub in Kolkata and ordered... Feb 07 26February 07, 2026Article at IndiaTimes
Salaam New York! How Mamdani is helping close the culture gapWhether Zohran Mamdani becomes the next mayor of New York City or not, his candidacy has been an unexpected crash course in South Asian Studies 101 for mainstream America. His mother, Mira Nair, has explored... Nov 01 25November 01, 2025Article at IndiaTimes
Lobon or noon? The trouble with using language to draw bordersThere is indeed a ‘Bangladeshi’ language. But it’s not what Delhi police were thinking when they put out a notice looking for interpreters “proficient in Bangladeshi national language”. Nor is it what BJP IT cell... Aug 09 25August 09, 2025Article at IndiaTimes
End of mom-dad’s American dreamDecades ago I went to a modest university in the United States. It wasn’t an Ivy League school but it offered a teaching assistantship and a tuition waiver. My proud mother called all the aunts.... May 31 25May 31, 2025Article at IndiaTimes
A fishy tale of love, loss and longingThe first question friends and family asked after my maiden trip to Bangladesh over a decade ago was invariably, “Did you have ilish? Was it really good?” The answer was yes and yes. We took... Sep 14 24September 14, 2024Article at IndiaTimes
One more horrific sexual assault but only the sounds of silence change colourThe grey-haired woman in a sari seemed uncertain if she could walk all the way in the march to protest the brutal rape and murder of the junior doctor at R G Kar Medical College... Aug 17 24August 17, 2024Article at IndiaTimes
Buy British, huh? Mahatma Gandhi is having the last laughIn 1921, Gandhi took a pledge to boycott foreign goods by burning 1,50,000 pieces of English cloth in Bombay. The swadeshi movement had started earlier after the Partition of Bengal in 1905 with calls to... Jun 30 24June 30, 2024Article at IndiaTimes
Ameen Sayani, and the power of the voiceWhen I heard the news of veteran broadcaster Ameen Sayani’s death at 91, like thousands of others, I shared an image on social media mourning the passing of a golden-voiced icon. Only later did the... Feb 25 24February 25, 2024Article at IndiaTimes
Class ceiling: Mocking a neta’s cultural gaffes only betrays our own insecuritiesRecently, a video surfaced of President Joe Biden apparently explaining the etiquette of toasting with or without alcohol at a G20 event with Prime Minister Modi. Some tittered at the PM’s apparent lack of cosmopolitan... Sep 16 23September 16, 2023Article at IndiaTimes
Class ceiling: Mocking a neta’s cultural gaffes only betrays our own insecuritiesRadio host, novelist and commentator Sandip Roy is the author of Don't Let Him Know. However, his columns are all about letting people know his myriad opinions. Recently, a video surfaced of President Joe Biden apparently explaining the etiquette of… Sep 16 23September 16, 2023Article at The Times of India
Who needs words? The battle for INDIA just got more acronym-iousMahagatbandhan is very old school. The new India apparently requires INDIA — Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. Announcing the moniker for the Opposition party alliance Mamata Banerjee told a press conference “NDA, can you challenge... Jul 22 23July 22, 2023Article at IndiaTimes
Who needs words? The battle for INDIA just got more acronym-iousRadio host, novelist and commentator Sandip Roy is the author of Don't Let Him Know. However, his columns are all about letting people know his myriad opinions. Mahagatbandhan is very old school. The new India apparently requires INDIA — Indian… Jul 22 23July 22, 2023Article at The Times of India
Harry Belafonte: The silken-voiced radical had us fooled all alongWe grew up humming ‘Jamaica Farewell’ and ‘Island in the Sun’, swaying to songs about bananas, coconuts and ackee. Most of us had no idea what ackee was but we took him at his word... Apr 29 23April 29, 2023Article at IndiaTimes
Chicken tikka masala: For UK, the murgis come home to roostAli Ahmed Aslam died on December 19, 2022 in Glasgow at the age of 77. Unlike many of the people we lost in 2022 —Queen Elizabeth II, Lata Mangeshkar, Pele — he might not have... Jan 07 23January 07, 2023Article at IndiaTimes
Chicken tikka masala: For UK, the murgis come home to roostSandip Roy Radio host, novelist and commentator Sandip Roy is the author of Don't Let Him Know. However, his columns are all about letting people know his myriad opinions. Ali Ahmed Aslam died on December 19, 2022 in Glasgow at the age of 77. Unlike… Jan 07 23January 07, 2023Article at The Times of India
Why it’s not ok for Kapil Dev and his audience to laugh at mental health issues‘Palmolive ka jawaab nahin’. That tagline for a shaving cream became legendary in the gravelly voice of cricketing icon Kapil Dev. But now Kapil Dev is getting more “jawaab” than he anticipated from social media... Oct 16 22October 16, 2022Article at IndiaTimes
Why it’s not ok for Kapil Dev and his audience to laugh at mental health issuesRadio host, novelist and commentator Sandip Roy is the author of Don't Let Him Know. However, his columns are all about letting people know his myriad opinions. ‘Palmolive ka jawaab nahin’. That tagline for a shaving cream became legendary in the… Oct 16 22October 16, 2022Article at The Times of India
Not just netas, everyone’s chasing 15 minutes of frameBengaluru FC under Sunil Chhetri recently won the Durand Cup football tournament in Kolkata. But the acting governor of West Bengal seems to have been playing a different ballgame. In a video that’s gone viral,... Sep 25 22September 25, 2022Article at IndiaTimes
