Guest Column

Not many realise that Goa gives India the intangible value of individual and social freedom, which keeps societies and communities bonded despite their own peculiarities. I would not be exaggerating if I said that Goa has given India the…

Some may feel my title to be more than a bit of an overstatement, especially coming from a non-Indian. Yet I will stand by it. Let me try and convince you of its validity. When, in 1993, I first started travelling to Bhubaneswar in Odisha…

Children born before the 90s in Bhubaneswar are fortunate because they not only got to play in children's parks but also rode bicycles without any fear. Others are not so fortunate for playgrounds have now been turned into parking lots and…

The opening day of the Odia Theatre Festival in the national capital was quite a trendsetter. The play started in time, even after the traditional lamp lighting and on stage speeches by the dhief guest and the organisers. That was because…

Do you know that 55% of the global population currently lives in cities and towns and that the number is growing every day? This rapid and often unplanned urbanization increases the burden on the environment. On the other hand, urbanisation…

As the evening descended and the call of the muezzin faintly floated in the air, I could sense a heaviness in my heart. This time of the day always does that to me. It makes me look inwards and delve into things that are very deep and at…

The year was 1992. I was sitting in the common room of International Students House (ISH), a Delhi University (DU) hostel, when I was told that a visitor was waiting. I went out and saw a youngster with twinkling eyes, whom I was seeing…

The Maharashtra and Haryana elections might have given a boost to the Opposition, but they need to struggle a lot to defeat the RSS-BJP game plan.

With an honorary doctorate conferred on him this year by Ravenshaw University, his alma mater, he is now Dr Anant Mahapatra. In India, awards probably indicate a swansong but in Dr Mahapatra, we find a live wire, charging up every moment…

I was not in favour of an enhanced salary and pension proposal for legislators and ministers at a time when the state's economy was passing through severe crisis. Out of 365 days in a year, for 364 days, the state had to depend on "ways…