Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing! The post Hello world! first appeared on Study Abroad ..read more

Nadirshah must be laughing all the way home! He has become a household name in Kerala, thanks to Christians; much like the mediocre Danish cartoons on Prophet Mohammad becoming world-famous, thanks to Muslim hotheads. What is Nadirshah up to? More importantly, where are we headed? There are two streams of responses to the two films being directed by Nadirshah: Easho and Keshu is the Lord of this house. The first is that the titles aim at ‘cheap publicity’. Desecrating the sacred quickens public curiosity, driving even the indifferent to the box-office. The second response is that this is a dev ..read more

What stands out about ‘Waiting For The Dust To Settle’ is the author’s poignant narration. His intent and purpose for the book is so clear, every page is a clean read. From riling up our emotions for injustice done to making one teary-eyed for humanity shared, ‘Waiting For The Dust To Settle’ takes us down memory lane with a fine balance of war and peace. This book is a refreshing read- Be it about life in a small town/village, historical outlook or political perspective of the Nagas. The plot of the novel revolves around the infamous ‘Operation Bluebird’ launched by the Assam Rifles in their ..read more

Provides fresh and fascinating insights that can be inspirational and valuable for a wide range of audience “Kamala Harris and the Rise of Indian Americans,” edited by Tarun Basu, is an evocative collection of essays which try to capture the rise of Indian Americans across a wide range of domains from politics to administration, entrepreneurship to technology, medicine to hospitality, science to academia, business to entertainment, philanthropy to social activism. The major USP of the book is that most of the writers who have written the chapters are leaders and achievers themselves and have ..read more

Only a fool, said G. K. Chesterton, knows life; for only a fool is taken in by life. Prudent people stand aloof, to keep their skin intact. Those who are “prudent” in the world’s eyes become, as Jesus said, like the wheat that ‘remains alone’. Safe, but sterile.   Now, the question is: who decides who is a fool, and who is not?    The wisdom of God, says St. Paul, is foolishness to the Greeks. The Greeks were very wise from the viewpoint of the world. Machiavelli was wise in his own way. Hitler, certainly. His wisdom was embraced by millions.  They laid down their ..read more

(The text of the speech delivered in a multi-religious vigil for Fr. Stan Swamy) It is natural and necessary to feel for the tragic death of a noble soul. All the more so, when it is enveloped in injustice. But this should not make us forget that the decisive thing is life, not death. What matters is that Fr. Stan Swamy lived a certain way of life, which merits to be recognized and celebrated. The untimely death of Fr. Stan, expedited howsoever indirectly by State action, is inseparable from his idea of being a human being. So, the death of Fr. Stan leaves us with a two-fold question: What do ..read more

I am happy also for the present dispensation, for I am a patriot. Fr. Stan Swamy is no more. I feel awkward about mourning his death. Instead, I feel a strange sort of happiness. An eerie sort of relief. Who are we to mourn his death? We, who dare not utter a word, fearing for our skin? Who are we to feel sorry for the loss of this noble soul, when our concerns rarely go beyond the stomach? Surely, Fr. Stan must have been somebody! At 84, and unsteady on his feet with the Parkinson’s, he was such a threat to national security that he had to be shut up in a prison. What was the threat he posed ..read more

She is 39. He is 37. Keteki and Ved, the protagonists of Anjali Joseph’s new book, Keeping in Touch, meet at Heathrow Airport. She is returning home to Assam and he is on his way to Bombay. Such a beginning is liable to give an impression of entering the far-too-familiar landscape of a boy-meets-girl-at-airport-they-fall-in-love kind of story, but the terrain is actually less trodden. Their encounter at the transit zone leads to the unfolding of the uneven yet adventurous journeys of two individuals caught in something of a conundrum. She is engaged in freelance work related to the arts ..read more

Is Asian geopolitics becoming increasingly complex? Since its independence in 1947, what has been India’s approach to its shifting environment? In spite of having been a leader of the Nonaligned Movement during the Cold War, has India been largely an after-thought for global leaders? What is the significance of India’s current status as a counterweight to China? And how are India’s policies likely to develop in response to current and new challenges? All of those are the important questions addressed in this book by a former Indian foreign secretary and national security adviser. Though writt ..read more

In which category do we, dear reader, include the work that our mothers and wives do at home? Skilled or unskilled? Perhaps, in neither; for the reason that we take it for granted. My experience is quite different. The first time I got into the kitchen to make a cup of tea for myself, I learned one thing. The distinction between ‘skilled labour’ and ‘unskilled labour’ is a fiction. There is no labour that does not involve ‘skill’. One may be poorly or perfectly skilled; but skill is indispensable. By doing something several times, which includes even menial tasks, one can improve one’s skill ..read more