The Andhra folk tale of Karna, the girl’s spilt ghee and Bhoomidevi’s curse on his chariot wheel, and why he now rates Karna as strong as Bhima.
Category: India
yada yada
Verses seven and eight of Chapter IV of the Bhagavad Gita, and five reasons, from business to the year’s corruption scandals, he keeps returning to it.
Thirst for knowing our past
Questions he keeps returning to about Hindu scripture as history: Kurukshetra, the yugas, the weapons described, and who wrote the Bhagavad Gita.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill – A Raw Deal for Indians
On the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, its cap of Rs 500 crore, the liability placed on the operator rather than the supplier, and Bhopal.
“A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh” by Sir Henry Newbolt
The full text of Henry Newbolt’s A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh, on caste and an English soldier’s funeral in Jodhpur, with a stanza by stanza explanation.
Knowing the Indian Maoist Rebels
On letters recovered from Maoist camps, Naipaul’s line hate oppression, fear the oppressed, and why an offensive without rural development will fail.
Fighting the Naxal Problem using Guerrilla Warfare: Article Recommendation
On the naxalite insurgency as a proxy war against India, and a Livemint article whose case for decisive responses and hot pursuit he shares.
Sino-India Relations: Article Recommendation
A short note pointing to a Livemint piece on the Sino-Indian chess game, and the view that India has mishandled its relations with China and the US.
Another Random Thought
A thought first forming after the 2005 IISc attack and completed after Mumbai, set out as a single picture and put to readers for their view.
Varun Gandhi down down!
On Varun Gandhi’s communal election speech, and why it undercuts the hope that younger politicians would campaign on development and living standards.
Hyderabad Metro Rail Project and the quagmire of scandalous politics
On the Hyderabad Metro Rail project awarded to Maytas, pointing to two articles on the land acquisition and social costs behind a free metro.
Mumbai Terror Attacks – No Fate
Written four days after the Mumbai attacks: why he holds India’s response a failure, with the political remarks and absences that followed it.
Mumbai Terror Attacks – Necessary Info Collated
Collated information on the November 2008 Mumbai attacks: casualty figures, hospital and embassy helplines, and lists of the dead and injured.
Celestial Questions
The twenty questions the Dharmaraj puts to Yudhisthira at the lake in the Mahabharata, with the answers, left open for readers to reason over.
“To India – My native Land” by Derozio
The text of Derozio’s sonnet To India – My Native Land, a note on the poet’s short life, and a line-by-line reading of its images of lost glory.