The legendary actress Suchitra Sen passed away this morning. Thousands gathered to pay respects to her. Well, I guess getting one glimpse of her was also in their minds. After all no one had seen her in the last 30 years. But her body was brought out of the hospital in a coffin and at…
Scandal. Scandal. Scandal. It’s once again happening to Shashi Tharoor–the very elegant Indian minister of human resource development who resigned from the United Nations after he lost the Secretary-General elections to Ban Ki Moon in 2007. He came home to join politics in 2009 and has had a chequered political career since then, besides being…
As a reporter with The Telegraph in Siliguri, tea was one of my “beats”. I still remember my first “tea story”, the annual general meeting of the Terai Indian Planters Association in Matigara, Siliguri, more than 10 years ago. How confused I was! One gentleman, who still continues to be one of my faithful sources,…
Read more Tea garden workers still asking for wage hike, anyone listening?
“Is this Aamir Khan that Aamir Khan?” She asked me. She was seated beside me, a 20-something journalist with a city-based newspaper. “Yes, the same one. There’s only one Aamir Khan in India,” I answered. Thus, we conversed as we waited for Bollywood star to arrive at the Victoria Memorial where the fifth edition of…
Thoughts kill thoughts. At least, mine do. Therefore, no matter how hard I try to keep my promise of keeping on blogging, I never manage to do so. My friend teases me, “You know, you can only write when you’re paid for it.” Well, he may be telling me the truth, but as a journalist…
The West Bengal government on September 6 cleared the decks for compensation packages to women who were raped or molested, igniting a fresh controversy in the state. Women over the age of 18 would receive Rs 20,000, those under 18 would receive Rs 30,000 and in case of death, the next of kin would receive…
The Wife He cannot even kill a rat. The red of her scarf is exactly of the same hue as the lalupate flowers in full bloom in the courtyard of the Kathmandu District Court. The reds of the flowers and that of her painted lips are the only hints of colour in the grim surroundings…
With its lakes and hillocks, Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh in central India, is rather beautiful at this time of the year. The monsoon clouds over Upper Lake, or Bhoj Taal –Asia’s largest man-made lake – have not only brought relief from the scorching summer heat but also worked magic to the city’s…
Read more Guinea pigs: story of unethical drug trials in India
‘Agents’ act as trouble brews ANURADHA SHARMA LAKHOTIA Lean Season Mainu Munda in her kitchen. Picture by Biplab Basak From today, we carry a three-part story on the rise in women trafficking in north Bengal, which has coincided with a dip in the tea industry’s fortunes. The first part focuses on the closed and sick…
Anuradha Sharma 