Feature Articles
No to Kambala
Stop cluttering Dasara to make money IN BLACK AND WHITE BY VIKRAM MUTHANNA Every few years, just before Dasara, someone gets a bright idea, which is, “Ah, let’s add one more event…
4 Jul 2026 · 3 min read
In Black & White
359 stories · Page 1 of 15
Feature Articles
Uncivil Services, Social-boycott needed
Three days ago, news broke of an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on the residence of an Additional Excise Commissioner. Almost at the same time, a bureaucrat’s wife on her Instagram page posted…
27 Jun 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Choose your Outrage
India seems to have developed a peculiar relationship with humour. We are confused about what comedy actually is. Every offensive remark is treated as either a national crisis or a Constitutional issue.…
13 Jun 2026 · 5 min read
In Black & White
Mysuru: From Heritage City to Transit city?
This morning, I took part in a panel discussion on media and tourism at Mysore Travel Mart-2026, organised by the Mysore Travels Association. GRS Fantasy Park was the principal sponsor and NOT…
6 Jun 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Finally the CM, but... for how long ?
For years, D.K. Shivakumar was the eternal bridesmaid of Karnataka politics. He was always close to power, always indispensable to the Congress party, but never quite the chosen one. Now, at last,…
30 May 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Cinema & Politics
Indian politics is about personality and not policy. We are a people driven by blind emotion and some of us hope that our heroes can deliver in the real world what they…
23 May 2026 · 5 min read
Columns
Uniform, religion and why are women religious?
The Karnataka Government has revoked its 2022 school uniform order and permitted ‘religious and traditional symbols’ in schools and colleges. Students may now wear hijabs, turbans, sacred threads, rudraksha beads, etc., provided…
16 May 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Post result thoughts: You don’t flunk life just Because you flunked an exam
Every year, when SSLC and Pre-University results are announced, the State witnesses a familiar cycle of joy, disappointment, relief and grief. But what should garner our attention is… death. Last week, five…
2 May 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Ideology? What is that?
The defection of Raghav Chadha, along with six of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs to the BJP yesterday, is just another episode in India’s long- running history of political defection. It…
25 Apr 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Cat naps under the bed while… Government snores on top
Yesterday morning, a three-year-old leopard that had come down from Chamundi Hill sneaked into a house in Siddarthanagar, got cosy under a bed and went to sleep. Probably after having made a…
18 Apr 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Karnataka BJP… Wake Up !
One of the tragedies of Indian democracy is the repeated failure of the Opposition Party to perform its primary duty — which is to question, expose and challenge the Government of the…
14 Mar 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
A cookbook with stories
I was recently invited to Kaveri Ponnapa’s book launch that I had been looking forward to. Many in Mysuru may not recognise her name, but anyone who has even a passing interest…
7 Mar 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Nothing to fear even if CBI & ED are here…
Yesterday, a Special Court under the Delhi High Court discharged former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the now-famous liquor policy case. For the Aam…
28 Feb 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
MCC… flex your authority else… Mysuru City will turn into Flex City
Mysuru is called a Royal Heritage City, but for nearly a decade now, it’s become a ‘Flex City.’ There are flex boards and flex hoardings everywhere. They are at Circles, they are…
21 Feb 2026 · 3 min read
Columns
Modern Romance & Desirability
A young woman recently declared on social media: “Arranged marriage is glorified in India because it’s the only way 70% of men who are creepy, useless and don’t know how to talk…
16 Feb 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
That - thon, this - thon, But no Action !
The Mysuru City Corporation’s upcoming Swachh Marathon, organised as part of Swachh Survekshan 2025-2026, is yet another well-intentioned attempt to raise public awareness about cleanliness. The stated goals are admirable: Waste segregation,…
7 Feb 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Karnataka’s Dangerous Comfort with Past Glory…
Our Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, speaking at the World Economic Forum, Davos, said Bengaluru was the “city of the future,” with a strong ecosystem, skilled human resources and investor-friendly governance. But……
31 Jan 2026 · 5 min read
Columns
PRASHAD or Poison ?
All Governments love acronyms, and our Central Government has a perfect one for temples. It is called PRASHAD. It stands for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive. Phew! It feels like…
17 Jan 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
From World Leader to Rogue Power
After kidnapping Nicolás Maduro, the President of Venezuela, a sovereign nation, US President Donald Trump now wants to take over Greenland ! Of course, he had given warning to other lands as…
10 Jan 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Happy New Year, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V … send all
With every passing year, greetings have become increasingly impersonal. What was once an act of intention has now turned into a reflex, executed with the tap of a thumb. We are no…
3 Jan 2026 · 4 min read
Columns
Free Mysuru’s Footpaths
Two days ago, a 40-year-old balloon vendor was filling helium balloons for children near the Jayamarthanda Gate of Mysore Palace. Seconds later, the cylinder exploded. The vendor was killed instantly. Six bystanders,…
27 Dec 2025 · 4 min read
Columns
This Hate Speech Bill is the Wrong Pill
Across States and at the Centre, lawmaking has been reduced to brute arithmetic: If you have the numbers, you ram the Bill through. Debate is optional. Deliberation is dispensable. Karnataka’s Hate Speech…
20 Dec 2025 · 5 min read
Columns
Gold Watches, Rusting Governance
When Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar stepped out after their second ‘unity breakfast meeting,’ the real headline wasn’t the unity. It was what gleamed on their wrists —…
13 Dec 2025 · 4 min read
Columns
Vexed by... Vexatious Litigation
Recently, I bought a beautifully produced book titled ‘Mother Mary Comes to Me’ by Arundhati Roy. The cover is undeniably striking: A lush red fabric with a sleeve featuring a black-and-white photograph…
6 Dec 2025 · 4 min read