Independence Day, 2020

Even when I was five, it was a man that we celebrated on Independence Day. His name was Gandhi, we called him Bapu. He’s not so much in fashion anymore.

The Lakshmi Narasimha Hoysala Temple at Nuggehalli

It is over 750 years old, with sculpture done by the two celebrated Hoysala craftsmen of the thirteenth century — Mallitamma and Baichoja.

To BBMP of Bangalore, a Word of Appreciation

I’ve been visualising coming down with Covid as being in extremis, but — with these four, at least — that’s not the case.

Will They Lockdown, Won't They Lockdown?

This points to unbridled free speech in the Chief Minister's cabinet—a healthy democratic exercise, maybe, but workers are fleeing the city all over again.

Too Great a Sacrifice

Colonel Santosh Babu was 37 on June 15. Captain Mahendra Nath Mulla was 45 on December 9, 1971.

Why Should I Travel?

There's a part of me asking, in defiance of Montaigne, "Should I travel at all? Should I leave my home, really?" I'm pitting the Maharshi against Michel de Montaigne.

Not Feeling Pain for the Corona Victims

The daily figures of those fallen to corona look like scores in cricket — a game I understand but don't follow. I read the statistics without emotion.

Locked Down Plantation, Elephants, Sandalwood Smugglers

It's a blue-topped bright-green world now during June, and more avians than ever in the twelve years I've known the place have flown into the plantation.

Ramachandra Guha’s Gandhi

Gandhi's time in India ended differently than in Africa. Even before the bullets came for him, Gandhiji had begun to wonder if it wasn't time he left.

Lockdown: Mask to Taste, Damn the Distance

These actions are not going to erase the wrongs being done to people that deserve gratitude, not this pain. There's going to be a price to pay. It'll hurt.