I keep coming back to the saying of the Guardian’s legendary editor C.P. Scott and his words as I love the simple manner in which it defines the job of a journalist: Comment is free, but facts are sacred. The fact is not a matter of interpretation. It makes no difference to the fact whether you face it or you avoid it; the fact is just the fact. … [Read more...]
Thank You, Prabhash Ji
November 11, 2009 By 2 Comments
This piece is a tribute to Prabhash Joshi, who died of cardiac arrest late on November 5, just after watching his favourite cricketer Sachin Tendulkar play the innings of his life in a losing cause. This is also a lament that the space occupied by journalists like Prabhashji, who have the printer’s ink in their veins and the ability to confront … [Read more...]
The Beginning Of A Very Unusual Fall—Part I
September 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
For columnists and for news hounds, the beginning of this autumn has been quite a good fall. The journalists though would be happy to give the credit for most of the explosive disclosures and the fake bombs to this unusual season that has tempted certain well-bred horses to open their mouths. We can come to the big guys later and begin with a … [Read more...]
Cosmopolitan Mumbai’s Tryst With The Jungle
September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Pakistan’s vacillating stance after the chilling and brazen attacks in Mumbai has been disheartening but not unexpected. The United States should know this better as this is not the first time they are getting exposed to layers and layers of deception in Islamabad. The strategy of buying time in any possible manner and to relegate what happened … [Read more...]
Powerless In The Capital
August 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The first hour or so when the showers hit the capital yesterday was blissful. The showers brought no warning of the hell that followed in New Delhi. I was fortunate to have escaped the chaos on the roads relatively easily, but reaching home was no relief. There was no power in and around my locality for roughly 16 hours; from evening yesterday … [Read more...]
A surreal final
June 22, 2009 By 1 Comment
Pakistan pulled it off with ease in the end having eight wickets and an over to spare. Sri Lanka had been unbeaten in the tournament, having an in-form batting line up and a bowling attack capable of defending a moderate total. But the real story has not been so much the whole tournament as the last few days. Pakistan started their campaign in … [Read more...]
The Pakistan Factor
June 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
As a team and as an opponent no one comes anywhere close to being as unpredictable as Pakistan. They have done it so consistently that it is near impossible to position them anywhere in the spectrum; they can be hopeless when they are favourites and can emerge winners when no one is giving them even an outside chance. They have done it again in … [Read more...]
Is It Just The Front Page That Has Died!
I read a dirge by famous columnist Vir Sanghvi—in a blog he maintains for hindustantimes.com—on the death of the front page over the last year or so. As a consumer of more than half a dozen newspapers I can also vouch for receiving some dead bodies on a daily basis. And here I mean not just the front page but that part of the bundle that goes … [Read more...]