CATEGORIES

A STAR IS BORN

Kalpana Soren makes an impressive political debut, but faces opposition from within the Soren family and from senior JMM leaders

THIS IS THE SMOOTHEST ELECTION FOR NAVEEN PATNAIK

Naveen Patnaik has been an enigma in Indian politics, consistently winning elections with ease. His bid for a record sixth term is led by his trusted aide V.K. Pandian, who left his job as an IAS officer to enter politics. The 49-year-old is originally from Tamil Nadu, but has adopted Odisha as his karmabhoomi. He is fluent in Odia, a Jagannath devotee and is even called Odisha’s son-inlaw because he married an Odia IAS officer.

EXPECTING ONE FINAL FLIP FROM NITISH

IT IS NOW too late for Nitish Kumar. When I joined him in 2013, his popularity was at its peak. The BJP was a junior partner in Bihar then and he could have aimed for prime ministership. I was very close to him and that was why I opted to join his party.

BJP NOW FORCED TO TALK ABOUT JOBS

Tejashwi Yadav had a short stint as deputy chief minister; Nitish Kumar changed course once again this January to return to the NDA, which dismantled the RJD-JD(U)left-Congress government.

THUNDER IN THE EAST

The BJP and regional parties are waging bitter battles in eastern India. The future of three longest-serving chief ministers of India is also at stake

What women want

The headline is the title of a turn-of-the-century Hollywood fantasy starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film was a box-office hit, but its 2019 loose remake, What Men Want, flopped. Who wants to know what men want?

Heir-Borne Battle

Modi’s acceptability remains high even where voters find the BJP’s quest for power at any cost offensive, but the Maha Vikas Aghadi clearly has its tail up. The mood and moves on the ground...

Divides And Dividends

Contrasting narratives on the scrapping of Article 370 define the elections in Jammu and Kashmir

Playing it cool

Everybody knows what 420 means in the Indian context. But in American parlance it is something very different: four-twenty or 4/20 or April 20 denotes cannabis celebration; its cultural references are rooted in the hippie culture of the 1960s and 1970s.

The heroine's new clothes

Who else but Sanjay Leela Bhansali could bring on a wardrobe reset like the one in his just-dropped period piece—an eight-part Netflix series called Heeramandi?

AI & I

Through her book Code Dependent—shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction—Madhumita Murgia gives voice to the voiceless multitudes impacted by artificial intelligence

Untold tales from war

Camouflaged is a collection of 10 deeply researched stories, ranging from the world wars to the 26/11 terror attacks

Hair force

Sheetal Mallar, in her photobook Braided, uses hair as a metaphor to tell a story that is personal yet universal

THE WHITE TIGER GAVE ME CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITIES

The first time Adarsh Gourav made an impression was in Ramin Bahrani's 2021 film The White Tiger, a gripping adaptation of Aravind Adiga's Booker-winning novel.

The art of political protest

The past doesn’t always remain in the past. Sometimes, it emerges in the present, reminding us about the universality and repetitiveness of the human experience. Berlin’s George Grosz Museum, a tiny gem, is a startling reminder that modern political and social ills are not modern. Grosz lived through World Wars I and II, shining a torch into the heart of darkness in high-ranking men and women—who were complicit in the collapse of the world as they knew it.

REFUELLING DYING SATELLITES

A Chennai company is making waves in the world of space tech startups

DIVERSITY IN UNITY

THE SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY IN THE US HAS SEVERAL THINGS IN COMMON, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS, THERE ARE WIDELY DIFFERING OPINIONS AND FEELINGS

RED SHOOTS RISING

CPI(M) hopes its fiery young candidates will usher in a left renaissance in West Bengal

BATTLE OF THE BRAINS

Top poll strategists are engaged in a proxy war in Andhra Pradesh

SHAKY STRONGHOLD

Rahul Gandhi faces a tough battle in Rae Bareli, where he locks horns with local strongman Dinesh Pratap Singh of the BJP

Anupamaa's whisper to Rupali Ganguly

I have been a fan of the television drama series, Anupamaa, right from the very start. The number one Hindi TV serial in the country for almost four years now, it tells the story of simple Ahmedabad housewife, Anupamaa, who loved her husband, children, and in-laws, and found her happiness exclusively in theirs.

ROYAL CHALLENGE

Two descendants of Chhatrapati Shivaji are in the fray

DISQUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

If NDA drops below its 2019 tally in the west, it would energise regional satraps of the INDIA bloc

MY FIGHT IS WITH BJP, NOT SUNETRA

The outcome of Supriya Sule’s electoral battle in Baramati against cousin Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra, will most likely decide which way her political career moves. In an exclusive interview, she talks about her biggest strengths in the battle and how there is a sentiment against the BJP all over the country. Excerpts:

AJIT PAWAR'S NCP WILL BE WIPED OUT

INTERVIEW - PRITHVIRAJ CHAVAN, CONGRESS LEADER AND FORMER CHIEF MINISTER

PAWAR AND THACKERAY SHOULD INTROSPECT ABOUT WHY PEOPLE LEFT THEM

As deputy chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis is buoyant about the poll prospects of the BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra. He says “pro-incumbency” will help the coalition win at least 40 of 48 seats in the state. Excerpts from an interview:

WREST ASSURED

The rifts and splits in Maharashtra politics have left the voter disillusioned. There is a sense of discontentment even in the two camps - NDA and MVA. Last time, the NDA, with an intact Shiv Sena in its fold, had swept the Lok Sabha polls. This time, no such sweep is likely. Meanwhile, a fractured MVA is playing the victim card

Sari jahan se achha

Alia Bhatt wore a sari with a 23-foot train to Met Gala 2024 declaring, \"there's nothing more timeless than a sari\". Naomi Campbell stunned everyone at the French Riviera wearing a lavender sari. Last week, about 500 ladies in saris dazzled the Times Square in New York with a walkathon, as had many in London’s Trafalgar Square last year. Indeed, they had modest trains.

Ram temple not an issue in south

Much has been said this election season about the alleged north-south divide.

Haute and sweaty

In Mumbai, where I live and work, there is a severe heatwave going on. The highest temperature this month has been 40 degrees, sweltering and humid for the coastal city.