CATEGORIES
BJP USING ITS LITTLE WEASELS TO SHUT ME UP
It is difficult to corner Mahua Moitra and confine her into neat little boxes of traditional norms.
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
finds herself in a legal and ethical grey zone; coming out of the cash for query’ scandal unscathed could be the biggest test of her political career
Game of guarantees
With its hectic campaign in poll-bound states, the BJP is focused on finding a winning mix of populism and pragmatism ahead of the Lok Sabha polls
Common goal
The BJP and the AIMIM look to derail the Congress
Two for the throne
Telangana Congress president Revanth Reddy and legislative party leader Bhatti Vikramarka are leading the race to be the chief minister face
Epochal elections
All plausible outcomes will see history rewritten in Telangana
VOTERS ARE CLEARER IN THEIR MINDS THAN POLITICIANS AND POLITICAL PARTIES
AT FIRST SIGHT, Pragathi Bhavan, the official address of the Telangana chief minister in Hyderabad, radiates allure and authority in equal parts. One has to drive up a slope and pass a security barrier to reach the place. All the action, however, is in the building to the left. This is the office of K.T. Rama Rao, the state information technology minister and K. Chandrashekar Rao’s son, and is the gathering place of media and party workers as the state inches closer to elections.
THE KCR XI
The group of men the chief minister holds close as he looks to lift the Telangana trophy the third time
T.R. GOPALAKRISHNAN [1951-2023] Portrait of an editor
The fountainhead of innovative ideas, an astute leader and a caring boss
GIVE AND DON'T TAKE
Maharashtra wants to give reservation to Marathas, but, to avoid a massive electoral backlash, it wants to leave the OBC quota untouched
Makeover mission
Having restructured and modernised ordnance factories, the government is now taking a close look at the DRDO's utility and track record
Goodbye, the ultimate hotelier
I woke up to the sad news that Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi (popularly known as Biki) had passed away aged 94.
Just as Harari envisioned
Yuval Noah Harari has emerged as one of the 21st century’s most recognised public intellectuals. In the midst of the Israel-Palestine war in Gaza, it is useful to revisit his 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, published in 2018.
Recycling prime ministers
Could we imagine V.P. Singh serving in Deve Gowda’s cabinet or Gowda in I.K. Gujral’s? They belonged to the same party and so there shouldn’t have been a problem had they so willed. Or P.V. Narasimha Rao in Manmohan’s team, or A.B. Vajpayee in Narendra Modi’s?
The cost of fame
The festive season is upon us and the last few weeks have seen some elegant evenings that have involved serious red carpet dressing.
Breeding in shaky times
Nowadays, everybody I meet seems to be bemoaning the fact that Gen Z doesn’t want to procreate. In my yoga group, on the litfest circuit, at cocktail parties, it is the same familiar lament, “Aiyyo, I want to be a grandmother but my useless son/daughter simply wants to adopt a cat/dog/goldfish.”
Colo Koffee
In recent seasons of his show, Karan Johar's brew is no longer as steaming
Flair and flavour
Madhur Jaffrey takes a trip down the food-memory lane as her bestselling classic Indian Cookery turns 40
WALK TO TALK
THE WEEK teams up with Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai, for a walkathon to create awareness on breast cancer
ON THE WINGS OF DREAMS
An Indian boy dreamt about making airplanes. Fifty years later, he is fulfilling it in the US
A divine life in the Carpathians
How Paraska Plytka-Horytsvit, who always had India in her heart, became the synonym for overcoming all odds
A friend to farmers
Social worker from Bastar wins Rohini Nayyar Prize for transforming lives of women farmers
I have very good relations with Vasundhara Raje
It is a homecoming of sorts for Princess Diya Kumari. She entered electoral politics 10 years ago, winning from the Sawai Madhopur assembly seat in 2013.
Bundle plan
The BJP is linking the assembly polls with the general elections next year and is banking on the Centre's schemes which have benefitted people in Rajasthan
People have realised that the BJP only talks, and we actually work
GOVIND SINGH DOTASRA president, Rajasthan Congress
MLAs and Congress president will decide the chief minister
A a few months ago, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi called a meeting to bring about a truce between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.
The BJP has ED; we have seven guarantees
Beti, you come to the chief minister's residence in Jaipur. We will have a chat there over a cup of tea. Don't get disheartened,\" said Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot as a teenaged girl in Alwar struggled with a faulty sound system to get her views across to him over videoconferencing.
RIDING THE WELFARE WAVE
Ashok Gehlot is banking on a massive populist push and a publicity blitz to win Rajasthan as an incumbent and create history
Smart man; smarter animals
Some people have a God complex, imagining they are saviours of humankind. Most cruise along with a human complex. We believe our consciousness, imagination, free will and self-awareness make us special, setting us apart from other creatures.
I AM NOT A CONTENDER FOR CM'S POST
As the BJP is pitted against the Congress in a tough battle to retain power in Madhya Pradesh, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is a possible chief minister candidate, has a punishing schedule.