The Autobiography of a Half-Baked Indian. That’s what I ought to call my life’s story. The Great Indian Rooster Coop. Every evening on the train out of Surat, where they run the world’s biggest diamond-cutting and polishing business, the servants of diamond merchants are carrying suitcases full of cut diamonds that they have to give […]
Read more "The White Tiger"A ‘group of 34’ gathered in a public park to analyze their new-found hobby of collectively maintaining absolute silence for two hours, each day of one astrologically-permissible week. Of course, curiosity arose. There were those who wished to break the silence and there were those too who joined in, just to see where it all […]
Read more "Collective Maintenance of Absolute Silence"Hello, this is Saurabh Maheshwari speaking, taking over from Lordship Keshav for only a short while. I am on way to meet my fiancée Prerna on Karva Chauth. A white cab came in. Anjali stepped out. She had her backpack with her, which seemed heavy and huge compared to her skinny frame. ‘Adi Mamu, what’s […]
Read more "One Arranged Murder"NLSIU, Bangalore has been in existence for some time now. The number of people who display the University, as, at least, a footnote in their identity, is distinctive. I came across my Super-Senior, Ruchika Chanana, while discussing on ‘Quirkier’, The NLSIU Alumni Newsletter. I am happy to have found a spot in ‘Quirkier’, Issue 1. […]
Read more "The Sadanand Sharma Trophy for Extramural Excellence"In Hindi-movies, there are quite a few library-scenes and scenes of a character reading. One may consider, When Eight Bells Toll (Alistair MacLean) in Aradhana (1969, dir. Shakti Samanta); You’ll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again (Julia Phillips) in Khel (1992, dir. Rakesh Roshan); The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield) in Dil To Pagal Hai […]
Read more "The Whiff of Money"Shiva, who emerged from limitless pillar of fuel-less fire, is visualized sitting under the Pole Star, on a snow-capped mountain, in the shade of a banyan tree. Shiva’s holy city, Kashi, is located at a bend in the river Ganga where it turns and moves northwards instead of southwards. This reverse flow of the river […]
Read more "Rudra – Shiva"Steven Peter Devereux Smith in 73 Tests has scored 7227 Runs, including 26 Centuries, at an Average of 62.84. Virat Kohli in 86 Tests has scored 7240 Runs, including 27 Centuries, at an Average of 53.62. A difference of 13 Tests has caused a difference of 13 Runs! The undoubtable talent is further evident from […]
Read more "The Case of Mr. Steve Smith"“A little known fact is that Nani was working at the Bombay racecourse as a totalizer while he was studying. The job demanded accuracy and speed. In the early stages of his career, Nani would take up all sorts of cases. “My Lord, I would have sat down long ago but for my conviction that […]
Read more "Nani A. Palkhivala"My Lord, Satoshi Nakamoto? “He still remains anonymous.” Reserve Bank of India, on 06.04.2018, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 35A read with Section 36(1)(a) and Section 56 of The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and Section 45JA and 45L of The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and Section 10(2) read with […]
Read more "My Precious Bitcoin"I have written on Supratim Sarkar’s previous 3 books here, here and here. His latest effort – The 7 Stories, (Ananda, 2020) – has not been translated into English yet. It would be unfair if I don’t even attempt the same. There were interesting bits on i) an Irish woman who had arrived to assist […]
Read more "The Photo Album"Vir Sanghvi, The Game Changers: Transforming India, (Westland, 2019) describes how Indians are taking over globally in areas that had traditionally been off-limits to us. It is not easy for everyone to express using few words. It is even more difficult to balance between praise and subtle criticism. Arnab Goswami and Karan Johar are Game […]
Read more "The Game Changers"The Networked Public – How Social Media is Changing Democracy is a good read, amongst other things, for all the thoughts it superbly footnotes. Amber Sinha has bravely questioned the moral authority of certain Former Chief Justices of India. Hon’ble Justice Dipak Misra quashed proceedings regarding a ‘bribery scandal’ that implicated him. Hon’ble Justice Ranjan […]
Read more "The Devil in Holy Water"The Class of 83 chronicles the adventures of Police Officer, Pradeep Sharma. S. Hussain Zaidi is an expert as regards investigative, crime and terror reporting. The present effort is excellent for the fact that it identifies innumerable characters, until now only enveloped in questionable memories. Excerpt follows. _____ In the late 1980s, there was only […]
Read more "Luck or Fate, Pradeep Sharma"“Possessory claim of the Hindus to the composite whole of the disputed property stands on a better footing” is the decisive observation. Importantly, the Supreme Court has in strongest terms castigated the damage caused to the mosque in 1934, its desecration in 1949 leading to the ouster of Muslims, and the eventual demolition of the mosque […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Senior Advocate, Rakesh Dwivedi"“Janmaasthan of Lord Ram is the place where Babri Mosque has been constructed.” Mikhail Tal, born on 09.11.1936, said once, “you must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one”. M Siddiq v. Mahant Suresh Das, [Civil Appeal Nos. 10866-10867 of 2010], […]
Read more "The Nature of Judicial Power: Proprietary Claims of Religion"Khaki Files chronicles the adventures of Police Officer, Neeraj Kumar. He joined the IPS in 1976 and retired as the Commissioner of Police, Delhi in 2013. The Government of India recognized his good work by awarding him the Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1993 and the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 1999. Khaki Files comes […]
Read more "The Da Lakhvi Code"Sudhir Krishnaswamy taught me at National Law School of India University, Bangalore in 2006. This book, first published in 2009, grew out of his Doctor of Philosophy in Law dissertation at Oxford University. Extensively researched. Magnificently written. Excerpt, follows. _____ The Basic Structure Doctrine evolved in the context of challenges to the constitutionality of land […]
Read more "The Doctrine of Basic Structure"On 1st March, 1954 United States conducted its largest ever nuclear weapon test, code-named Castle Bravo, at the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The explosion, more than 1,000 times as powerful as Hiroshima, reached a yield of 15 megatons. Sacred Games, Season 2 (2019, dir. Anurag Kashyap, Neeraj Ghaywan): Inspiration from reality isn’t new. […]
Read more "Sacred Games of Arthur Fleck"“I am glad that Arghya Sengupta and Ritwika Sharma have decided to publish a book dealing with the appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court of India. From time immemorial, mankind desired to have wise and humane Judges with the wisdom to discriminate between truth and falsehood. The legends of King Solomon and Dharmaraja and […]
Read more "Appointment of Justice"“The territories forming part of Goa, Daman and Diu were part of the kingdom of Portugal. They were annexed by the Government of India by conquest on 20.12.1961 and became a part of India by virtue of Article 1(3)(c) of the Constitution. The President of India, exercising powers vested in him under Article 123(1) of […]
Read more "Civil Code in Goa"