Joan Baez, Gandhiji and India
Following Gandhiji’s footsteps I still recall the rage she was when I was in college. Joan Baez and her melodious ballads are reminiscent of a time when many people sported bell bottoms, peace lockets,...
View ArticleThe story of Dungan Ayya
An American filmmaker in Madras 1935-1950 A few days back, after Dr Swati Mohan’s involvement with the Perseverance landing on Mars, our President Biden congratulating her, said – what an incredible...
View ArticleThe Enchanting Kishore Kumar
I am sure most Indians or for that matter, people of Indian origin who follow the music of Bombay would know of him, but it is my guess that most focus on his songs, otherwise passing him off as a...
View ArticlePropaganda Wars – India in WW II
Part 1 - Azad Hind – Free India Radio The group of ragged looking youngsters, some called them revolutionaries, huddled around the radio looking furtively around, before they tuned the set to the...
View ArticleThe VOA fiasco – New Delhi 1963
The gloom which had set in after the Indo China conflict of 1962 was slowly abating, but the mood in the country and especially the capital at New Delhi, was still downbeat. Nehru had been discussing...
View ArticleYellapragada SubbaRow – A Great Man of Science
Relentless in the pursuit of cures North of Guntur in Andhra Pradesh where it's famed red-hot chilies grew, and South of Rajamundry where many a graceful courtesan of yore was trained is situated a...
View ArticleThe Laccadives, Pakistan and Sardar Patel
Lakshadweep - Transfer of power deliberations, and a brief history There are many discussions these days about those remote islands to the west of Malabar, namely Lakshadweep. I had written about the...
View ArticleTwo Virtuosos and Palghat
A place where they grew up… Palghat, a quiet and unassuming district, is the granary of Kerala. An uncomplicated and uncluttered place on the Western side of the Sahyadri range, this was where a gap in...
View ArticleBalthu Chutney
Tipu, Haider and Balthazar from Belthangady One of the most alluring and fascinating legends in the collection of Mangalorean lore is that of Balthu Chutney, the shadowy figure flitting in and out of...
View ArticleThe Christian Panikkars of Mavelikkara
The Catholic harquebousiers of Travancore It was while studying the character of De Lannoy that I came across the mention of the Mavelikkara Malittas, a group of well-trained Christian mercenaries,...
View ArticleLes Madame Mequinez
The travails of a lady colonel in Hyder’s army The story of Mme Mequinez comes to light, vividly explained in the pages outlining a history of Hyder Ali penned by one MMDLT. MMDLT stands for Msieur...
View ArticleDiscordant Notes
The Swati Tirunal – S Balachander imbroglio The serene and melodious Carnatic music scene at Madras suddenly found itself in a cacophonic conundrum, when a doyen among them - Veena S Balachander,...
View ArticleThe Amazons of Hyderabad
The Guardnees of the Zenana, a.k.a. the Zafer Paltan, and the battle of Kharda Sometimes, my search for information takes me to unrelated but strange and interesting stories, and this is one of them....
View ArticleMohan Singh, the Enigma
The first Indian airman – Licensed to fly in 1912 It is not often that a story grips you, and this was one. We had all been brought up on reports that JRD Tata was the first Indian pilot, that he...
View ArticleVeeraswamy’s of London
Palmer’s Indian restaurant – And the interesting story behind it During a trip to Gangarams in Bangalore many a decade ago, I found the cookbook, Indian Cookery by E.P. Veerasawmy. Some of the recipes...
View ArticleGanesha’s curse
The tragic tale of Harriet Quimby, America’s pioneer aviatrix This is yet another incredible story, and the latter part will be better understood by an Indian. Now you may wonder how Ganesha the...
View ArticleK Sankaran Nair – The legendary spymaster of RAW
Shanks - The sleuth from Ottapalam This is another name most of you may not have come across, Sankaran Nair was the man who headed RAW some time ago, the very man who left the unit in a huff after a...
View ArticleNayadis – An accursed lot from the Malabar of Yore
The Nayadi has always remained a constant reminder of the still prevalent caste rigidity in Kerala. I recall the visits to our ancestral home at Palghat and to this day, the guttural howls of the...
View ArticleDr. T Madhavan Nair (Dr. TM Nair) – A Multifaceted personality
Doctor, Administrator, Journalist, Social reformer, and Politician (1868-1919) This was a man who never had any qualms about taking on any establishment, faction, or individual if he felt they were...
View ArticleThe Intriguing Bharani Festival at Kodungallur
Where abusing an erotica loving goddess, is the tradition Kodungallur is home to a Bhagawathy temple (Kurumba Kavu), where devotees throng every summer in a macabre celebration termed ‘Bharani’ when...
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