Panorama

Amrit Mathur That MS Dhoni is the most admired Indian after the Prime Minister, confirms the keeper has caught the attention of the country. He connects with fans, inspires cricketers and is an ambassador of hope and possibility for youngsters dreaming big. MSD is a limited edition celebrity whose aura is sustained by maintaining distance and rationing information. MSD lives …

TENSING RODRIGUES The story of Parsuram or Ram Jamadagnya is central to Sahyadrikhand; that is why we begin with it. We know it well; but, you will soon realise, it tells much more than what we know; that is why we need to listen to it carefully. The crucial part of it which deals with the creation of the Parsuramksetra …

Maneka Sanjay Gandhi One day we will know for sure that all the trees we killed, the grass we pulled out, plants we mutilate and flowers we arrange in vases – all of them have the same senses and intelligence as us. They are not inanimate, passive species, but highly evolved beings. Monica Gagliano of the University of Sydney in …

Karan Thapar Look out for the BBC’s three-part serial ‘Rise of the Nazis’. It reveals how easily Adolf Hitler came to power, and the extent to which the German establishment facilitated his rise. And running through it is the call of nationalism. Hindenburg was president, and von Schleicher and von Pappen, the immediately preceding chancellors. They knew the Nazis could …

Lalita Panicker If you are in the media, you tend to become inured to stories of violence against women. It is far too frequent, and hardly evokes any great response. Yet, a recent story about the killing of a young mother of three girls by her husband, and his subsequent hacking her body to pieces, was bone-chilling. The background is …

Luis Dias “Stand up straight and sing!” That’s what the mother of celebrated American opera singer (soprano) and recitalist Jessye Norman whispered very gently in her ear when she was about seven or eight-years-old. It is advice that would not only stay with her, but became the title of her memoir, published in 2014. Norman passed away on September 30, …

FREDERICK NORONHA Goan food is big. The other day, a visit to some online spaces reminded me of the mammoth sized Facebook groups with one-lakh-plus members discussing various aspects of Goan food. At another level, Goan street food is also increasingly gaining attention far beyond Goa’s borders. Even while the global menus that lure the palate might seem more attractive …

Chanakya With Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States (US), it has been a busy period for Indian foreign policy. It has also been revealing, for various strands of India’s international outlook, its strategic and economic priorities, its key relationships, and its message to the world have emerged over this period. To get a comprehensive sense of how India …

Karan Thapar “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”, John Maynard Keynes is, perhaps apocryphally, reported to have asked. This is a question I would like to hear Arvind Kejriwal answer, now that he has announced a third spell of the odd-even scheme for 10 days in November. Citing studies by Chicago and Harvard …

After the showmanship of Houston, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump returned to the more nuanced world of diplomacy. At their press conference there was continued bonhomie but also hints of traditional bilateral concerns. Ending the most substantial concern, avoiding a guerrilla trade war, remained elusive though India and the United States appear to be on track to …