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Friday, 03 September 2010
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  • Arts & Letters
    Sholay, the Beginning
    Sholay, the Beginning

    Screenplay writer Salim Khan remembers the making of Sholay, and getting short-changed for Amitabh Bachchan’s fame.

    Eat, Pray, Love

    The palate is socially and culturally trained to either exalt or be squeamish about offal, the entrails of slaughtered animals.

    BY Ambarish Satwik
    No Country for Anorexics

    Turkey isn’t for the weak-hearted. Much like the overwhelming flavours of its food, you must have a taste for adventure to discover the soul of the country.

    BY Shubhangi Swarup
    More
    True Life
    Home Alone, at 97
    Home Alone, at 97

    Three years short of being 100, Homai Vyarawalla believes that spontaneity is the key to life. This is what motivated her to become India’s first woman photojournalist and do much more.

    BY Homai Vyarawalla
    Almost Dead in Leh

    In an unexpected twist, this enthusiast saw his rafting trip on the Zanskar turn into a struggle for survival against floods and landslides. Passing by wreckage of the weather, he realised the violent river was the only way to safety.

    BY Arindam Mukherjee
    Writer Blocked

    Getting a big publisher to show interest in your book can be a lot like going to an upscale hospital to have your baby...

    BY Gouri Dange
    More
  • Voices
    Hartosh Singh Bal
    Losing the Idea of India

    Sometimes alienation can be addressed the usual way. Sometimes not. In this rather special case, maybe it’s time to begin all over again: by listening

    Faiza S. Khan
    More than a Woman

    To rail against polygamy is to argue that women in monogamous relationships are necessarily better off. Would that this were the case.

    Sandipan Deb
    The Last One

    The valedictory column from a grateful editor

    Lakshmi Chaudhry
    An Idiot’s Guide to Celeb Tweeting

    Now that the perils of embracing cool tech are clear, perhaps our twitterati will consider learning the golden rules of celebrity-tweeting.

    Manu Joseph
    That Stunned Look Again

    There is nothing more Indian than what is happening with the Commonwealth Games. Why are you pretending to be outraged?

    Sourav Majumdar
    The Importance of Being Ratan Tata

    The panel set up to pick the new Tata Group boss will not have it easy. And the reasons are many.

    More
  • International
    Saving Afghan Treasures
    Saving Afghan Treasures

    In the midst of the Afghan war, Indians have been conserving pre-Islamic art, Buddhist monuments and Mughal gardens, even tracing links back to the Bronze Age.

    BY Pramila N. Phatarphekar
    Million Dollar Men
    BY Hartosh Singh Bal
    In Black and White
    BY Pallavi Polanki
    More
    Nation
    Membership and Elections
    Membership and Elections

    Membership is kept open for 30 days in a state or union territory.

    In Mizoram, the Omen
    BY Jaideep Mazumdar
    Masters of the Universe
    BY Hartosh Singh Bal
    More
    Business
    Armoured Core Competence
    Armoured Core Competence

    This entrepreneur began bullet proofing vehicles in the 1980s’ Punjab, but now finds that demand is getting stronger and stronger.

    BY Ninad D. Sheth
    India Inc’s Biggest Headhunt
    BY Ninad D. Sheth
    Indian Spice for a Bland EPL Club
    More
    Sports
    Sex and the Games
    Sex and the Games

    Come October, Delhi will host an event that is likely to have athletes, officials and spectators hopping beds. There is an entire sex industry gearing up.

    When He Batted Left-handed
    BY Akshay Sawai
    The loneliness of India’s only female sumo wrestler
    BY Madhavankutty Pillai
    More
    Art & Culture
    Not the Typical Saas-Bahu Serial Writer
    Not the Typical Saas-Bahu Serial Writer

    Maharashtra Election Commissioner Neela Satyanarayan has the most unusual of hobbies.

    BY Haima Deshpande
    They Are Not Exactly Comics
    BY Pramila N. Phatarphekar
    The Tantrik Town
    BY Avantika Bhuyan
    More
    Living
    Return of the LP
    Return of the LP

    Decades after we banished LPs, collectors and newbies confess that vinyl is spinning its way back into their lives as audio-grade discs re-mastered to sound better.

    BY Pramila N. Phatarphekar
    When to Visit the Shrink
    BY Pallavi Polanki
    Desi Cuisine Becomes Gentleman
    BY Avantika Bhuyan
    More
  • Photo Features
    No More Only Red, Comrade!
    No More Only Red, Comrade!

    Are blue- and orange-coloured hammer and sickle symbols in sync with the CPM’s ideology?

    BY Nilayan Dutta
    Call of the Dal
    BY Ashish Sharma
    A Spiritual Dip
    BY Shome Basu
    More
    Video
    Win Bumper Prizes
    Win Bumper Prizes

    Advertisement: Grab your chance to win a Fiat Linea and other great prizes with a brand new subscription of Open magazine

    Are You Open?
    More
    Documentaries
    Portraits of Belonging: Sagira Begum
    Portraits of Belonging: Sagira Begum

    An Old Delhi neighbourhood full of highly skilled craftspeople struggles to survive, to keep some fragment of its poetry in a city whose priorities are far more prosaic.

    BY Sameera Jain
    Sabad Nirantar
    BY Rajula Shah
    Rabba Hun Kee Kariye
    BY Ajay Bhardwaj
    More
  • Arts
    The Mystery of Genius
    The Mystery of Genius

    Actor-director Simon McBurney explores the ‘romantic’ relationship between mathematicians GH Hardy and Srinivas Ramanujan.

    BY Shubhangi Swarup
    Unveiling the Veil
    BY VP Sharma
    Write Like a Dancer
    BY Tishani Doshi
    More
    Books
    Empire’s Legacy
    Empire’s Legacy

    Why hosting the Commonwealth Games does not imply disrespect for Indians who fought British imperialism. An extract

    Half Right
    BY Aresh Shirali
    Red Alert
    BY Dhirendra K. Jha
    More
    Cinema
    Lafangey Parindey
    Lafangey Parindey

    A moving tale, supported by fine performances, about a friendship that comes with a price.

    BY Ajit Duara
    Peepli (Live)
    BY Ajit Duara
    Aisha
    BY Ajit Duara
    More
    Gadgets
    Sanyo Dual Camera
    Sanyo Dual Camera

    A convenient 10 megapixel camera with full HD capability and long battery life.

    BY Gagandeep Singh Sapra
    BlackBerry Torch
    BY Gagandeep Singh Sapra
    Hybrid Disc Drive
    BY Gagandeep Singh Sapra
    More
    Science
    God’s Number
    God’s Number

    Google helps prove the maximum number of moves that a perfect puzzle solver would require to solve any Rubik’s Cube position is 20.

    BY Hartosh Singh Bal
    Our Carnivorous Past
    BY Hartosh Singh Bal
    Science Games
    BY Hartosh Singh Bal
    More
    Www
    Addicted to the Net?
    Addicted to the Net?

    If you are wasting too much time on ‘interesting’ sites, let this browser manage your time.

    BY Avinash Subramaniam
    25 Wayward Years
    BY Avinash Subramaniam
    Sex Is Uncool
    BY Avinash Subramaniam
    More
  • Real India
    A Complicated Lust Story
    A Complicated Lust Story

    A circus in Burdwan is desperate to keep a female elephant from hearing its wild former lover’s calls. 

    BY Jaideep Mazumdar
    Netaji’s Many Afterlives
    BY Shubhangi Swarup
    The Simple Epicurean
    BY Wei Fen Lee
    More
    Confessions
    Confessions of a Population Control Committee Member
    Confessions of a Population Control Committee Member

    “Condom is such a dirty word. How could we have discussed it with strangers [in this defunct committee of wives of ministers]?”

    Confessions of a Toll Booth Collector
    Confessions of a Minister’s PA
    More
    Hurried Man's Guide
    Anil Agarwal
    Anil Agarwal

    Agarwal was 22 when he started a business collecting scrap from cable companies and selling it in Bombay.

    Tejaswini Sawant
    BY Rahul Bhatia
    Bombay Oil Spill
    More
  • current issue
    past issues
    28 August 2010 - 3 September 2010
    table of contents
    Will you join politics if this man asks?
    Will you join politics if this man asks?
    Will you join politics if this man asks?
    BY Jatin Gandhi
    21 August 2010 - 27 August 2010
    table of contents
    Sex and the Commonwealth
    14 August 2010 - 20 August 2010
    table of contents
    The Creative Indian
    7 August 2010 - 13 August 2010
    table of contents
    The Great Indian Money Illusion
    31 July 2010 - 1 August 2010
    table of contents
    Where the Hell is Osama?
    24 July 2010 - 30 July 2010
    table of contents
    The Rs 210 Crore Man
    17 July 2010 - 23 July 2010
    table of contents
    The Facebook Jihadis
    see complete archives
  • small world
    What Lies Beneath?
    What Lies Beneath?

    Skin, the largest organ in our body, is the subject of an artful yet macabre exhibition at London’s Wellcome Collection museum.

    BY Pramila N. Phatarphekar
    Latest Attraction in Bombay: MSC Chitra
    Bandh Tourism Makes its Marx in Kolkata
    BY Jaideep Mazumdar
    headstart
    Memories of the Future
    Memories of the Future

    The area of the brain used for memory also gets activated when imagining the future.

    Down the Wrong Memory Lane
    God-given Relief
    people on our mind
    No Fear, Love’s Here
    No Fear, Love’s Here

    Here’s one love affair that’s far from kaput. Priyanka Chopra was recently spotted stepping out of on-off boyfriend Shahid Kapoor’s car.

    La Katrina Furia
    House of Bigg Laughs
  •  
    Bubble Wrap  |  Shubhangi Swarup
    In defence of sluts
    It’s sad that all sexual experiences are seen as promiscuity, and that promiscuity has a gender.
    Mindgames  |  Avinash Subramaniam
    Mindgames Says Adieu
    Answers to the concluding edition of Mindgames (#14). Adios!
    Crossbat  |  Akshay Sawai
    Dhoni and Raina steal Sachin’s moment
    Lalit Modi now has one more reason to forget this year’s IPL.
    Allegedly  |  Madhavankutty Pillai
    Lullaby
    ...of a new father in Parliament
    Paper Trail  |  Rahul Bhatia
    Journalism: Fact and Fiction
    Fellow journalists/writers, please get yourselves a copy of ‘Telling True Stories’.
    24 Frames  |  Rahul Bhatia
    Bollywood Ripoffs
    A reader calls Bollywood’s bluff
Sonia to be re-elected Congress President, unopposed
Pak cricketers Asif, Amir, Butt dropped from England series
Israeli and Palestinian leaders begin peace talks in Washington
President Obama declares end to US combat operations in Iraq
100 Indian fishermen released from Pakistan jail

    International

    Saving Afghan Treasures
    Million Dollar Men
    In Black and White

    Nation

    Membership and Elections
    In Mizoram, the Omen
    Masters of the Universe

    Business

    Armoured Core Competence
    India Inc’s Biggest Headhunt
    Indian Spice for a Bland EPL Club

    Sports

    Sex and the Games
    When He Batted Left-handed
    The loneliness of India’s only female sumo wrestler

    Art & Culture

    Not the Typical Saas-Bahu Serial Writer
    They Are Not Exactly Comics
    The Tantrik Town

    Living

    Return of the LP
    When to Visit the Shrink
    Desi Cuisine Becomes Gentleman
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IN Voices

The Importance of Being Ratan Tata

The panel set up to pick the new Tata Group boss will not have it easy. And the reasons are many.

0

21 August 10 | BY Sourav Majumdar
That Stunned Look Again

There is nothing more Indian than what is happening with the Commonwealth Games. Why are you pretending to be outraged?

2

21 August 10 | BY Manu Joseph
Do We Really Need a Capital?

The idea of a national capital is not any more meaningful than the idea of national sports and birds.

0

7 August 10 | BY Manu Joseph
Beautiful Minds

The tradition of brilliance in the corner room at the RBI headquarters has continued down the years.

0

7 August 10 | BY Sourav Majumdar
Losing the Idea of India

Sometimes alienation can be addressed the usual way. Sometimes not. In this rather special case, maybe it’s time to begin all over again: by listening

4

7 August 10 | BY Hartosh Singh Bal
It’s Still about Kamal Nath

The allegations against HS Phoolka, counsel for Delhi’s 1984 riot victims, are another attempt to suppress the truth.

1

31 July 10 | BY Hartosh Singh Bal
The Last One

The valedictory column from a grateful editor

7

31 July 10 | BY Sandipan Deb
New Rules of the M&A Game

A Sebi-appointed panel proposes major changes in takeover norms to make the process fair. The real test will be in their implementation.

0

24 July 10 | BY Sourav Majumdar
The Hilarious Case of Avatar Tulsi

Why is it so easy to plant child genius stories in the Indian media?

2

24 July 10 | BY Manu Joseph
An Interpretation of Dreams

Christopher Nolan’s Inception is a disturbing puzzle about the difference between dreams and reality. It is guaranteed to achieve cult status.

3

24 July 10 | BY Sandipan Deb
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IN Features > International
(Clockwise from top left) Mask of Silenus: this is one of many bronzes that were imported to Afghanistan from the Greco-Roman world. A serene Buddha at the National Museum of Kabul. This painted glass goblet from the 2nd century AD was imported from Roman Egypt: it depicts two men and women harvesting dates. Ornament for the neck of a robe. A head made of unfired clay: it was made by applying layers of clay to a wooden armature (now disintegrated)
Saving Afghan Treasures

In the midst of the Afghan war, Indians have been conserving pre-Islamic art, Buddhist monuments and Mughal gardens, even tracing links back to the Bronze Age.

BY Pramila N. Phatarphekar
IN Features > Business
All kinds of cars come for bullet proofing, from the latest Pajero to an old Ambassador.
Armoured Core Competence

This entrepreneur began bullet proofing vehicles in the 1980s’ Punjab, but now finds that demand is getting stronger and stronger.

BY Ninad D. Sheth
IN Features > Sports
TELLTALE SIGNS: After the National Aids Control Organisation expressed its keenness on installing condom vending machines at the Games’ venues, CWG officials gracefully accepted.(Photo: ISHAN TANKHA)
Sex and the Games

Come October, Delhi will host an event that is likely to have athletes, officials and spectators hopping beds. There is an entire sex industry gearing up.

IN Features > Art & Culture
Neeta Satyanarayan promises spicier scripts after her retirement.(Photo: RITESH UTTAMCHANDANI)
Not the Typical Saas-Bahu Serial Writer

Maharashtra Election Commissioner Neela Satyanarayan has the most unusual of hobbies.

BY Haima Deshpande
IN Features > Living
OLD SCHOOL: Denzil Smith is just one of many who prefer LPs over CDs and iPods.(Photo: RITESH UTTAMCHANDANI)
Return of the LP

Decades after we banished LPs, collectors and newbies confess that vinyl is spinning its way back into their lives as audio-grade discs re-mastered to sound better.

BY Pramila N. Phatarphekar

most popular this week

Sex and the Games

Come October, Delhi will host an event that is likely to have athletes, officials and spectators hopping beds. There is an entire sex industry gearing up.

50 Most Creative Indians

Some are famous, some are not. You may agree with the list, you may not. But these are in our view the most imaginative men and women in the country. In no particular order.

The Truth Behind Bollywood Lies

From adoption of kittens to underworld calls from Dubai, there’s an entire industry of spin doctors churning out fake news. 

Shradha Sukumaran

most commented this week

Million Dollar Men

Earlier this year, an eccentric Russian mathematician turned down $1 million for solving a Millennium Prize Problem. Now, an Indian has laid claim to another.

4

Hartosh Singh Bal
Masters of the Universe

The mythical mathematician is a troubled but brilliant mind focused on truths that lie beyond the horizon. This may not be the entire truth, but then what is?

3

Hartosh Singh Bal
The Truth Behind Bollywood Lies

From adoption of kittens to underworld calls from Dubai, there’s an entire industry of spin doctors churning out fake news. 

3

Shradha Sukumaran

most popular this month

Sholay, the Beginning

Screenplay writer Salim Khan remembers the making of Sholay, and getting short-changed for Amitabh Bachchan’s fame.

Being Angelina

Open caught up with Angelina Jolie in Cancun, Mexico, and sought the woman behind the superstar.

Shradha Sukumaran
Reckless in Kashmir

The new crop of young Kashmiris think nothing of facing teargas shells or bullets. With them around, New Delhi needs to be worried. Extremely so

Rahul Pandita

most commented this month

The Fraud of Vedic Maths

Those who seriously still think ancient India had devised a parallel mathematical system need to acquaint themselves with Bharti Krishna Tirthaji.

11

Hartosh Singh Bal
All That I Didn’t Know about the Andamans

Hostile tribes, human safaris, earthquakes by the month, seaplanes, micro volcanoes, jobless elephants and really stupid tourists

8

Shubhangi Swarup
In Defence of the Uncreative

He will be more prosperous and happier than the creative Indian. And he has a far greater influence over you than you imagine.

6

Madhavankutty Pillai
  • Congress
    Grand Young Party

    Rahul Gandhi wants to radically transform a party that had grown much too distant from ordinary citizens. He expects to have 20 million new recruits, but wants more.

    +
  • Wages
    In Defence of the MPs’ Pay Hike

    It is utterly graceless to grudge parliamentarians their pay hike—for a variety of reasons that matter to the future of Indian democracy.

    +
  • Exclusive
    Whose Development Is It, Anyway?

    Senior Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy, presently under arrest inside Tihar jail, writes about how mining giants are making obscene amounts of money at the cost of the poor.

    +
  • Mathematics
    Masters of the Universe

    The mythical mathematician is a troubled but brilliant mind focused on truths that lie beyond the horizon. This may not be the entire truth, but then what is?

    +
  • Leadership
    India Inc’s Biggest Headhunt

    Ratan Tata retires in 2012 as Tata Group Chairman and a five-member panel is searching for his successor. A look at how they might choose and who it could be.

    +
  • Depression
    When to Visit the Shrink

    Seeking therapy can work. Sadly, however, too many of us are completely unsure of whether it’s time yet, or not.

    +
  • Faith
    In Mizoram, the Omen

    Seven thousand fanatical Christians have boycotted the census because they believe the unique identification project is Satan’s plan to rule the world.

    +
  • Opinion
    Messing up Liability

    Both the BJP and Left parties are hypocritical in their thrusts as they attack the Government on the Nuclear Bill.

    +
  • Business Sense
    Armoured Core Competence

    This entrepreneur began bullet proofing vehicles in the 1980s’ Punjab, but now finds that demand is getting stronger and stronger.

    +
  • soap queen
    Not the Typical Saas-Bahu Serial Writer

    Maharashtra Election Commissioner Neela Satyanarayan has the most unusual of hobbies.

    +
  • Heritage
    Saving Afghan Treasures

    In the midst of the Afghan war, Indians have been conserving pre-Islamic art, Buddhist monuments and Mughal gardens, even tracing links back to the Bronze Age.

    +
  • Music
    Return of the LP

    Decades after we banished LPs, collectors and newbies confess that vinyl is spinning its way back into their lives as audio-grade discs re-mastered to sound better.

    +
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