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Democracy, at a Convenient Distance
Why should protesters disturb the very authorities they are protesting against? The privileged need a more convenient arrangement. Move the protest sites far enough from the corridors of power to...
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Too Young to Know Fear
When Boris Becker won Wimbledon at seventeen, the world marvelled at a young man who seemed untroubled by nerves. Delhi, has its own generation of prodigies. The older generation worries about what...
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The Goddess We Worship, The Courage We Fear
Living close to Chittaranjan Park, Delhi’s little Bengal, I can watch Durga Puja take shape well before the festival begins. The pandals rise, bamboo frames acquire their elaborate coverings, and...
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Hathon Mein Choodiyan Pehan Rakhi Hain kya?
“Haathon mein choodiyan pehen rakhi hain kya?” literally means, “Are you wearing bangles?” But in everyday Hindi, it has long been used to mean, “Are you too scared to do something?” Which makes me...
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The Road Where Everyone Belongs: Where History Lives
I have walked the road opposite the Red Fort in Chandni Chowk many times, usually with a camera in my hand. I have stopped here for photographs, sometimes because the light was interesting, sometimes...
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The 80s: When the World Came to Our Doorstep
The 80s are back, at least on social media. With AI, people are turning their photographs into 1980s portraits: big hair, dramatic shoulders, oversized sunglasses and bright clothes. People are having...
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Mimi and the Bird in the Window
One sunny morning, Mimi the Coppersmith Barbet decided that she had seen every flower in the forest.Fluffing her bright green feathers, she said to herself, “I want to see new forests and taste...
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When Daughters Stopped Whispering
Whenever I see young women standing at protest sites, holding placards and raising slogans, I wonder, are they also carrying the unfinished dreams of their mothers along with their own dreams. Perhaps...
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Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai? Even the Monkeys Want to Know
The monkeys looked genuinely puzzled. Their eyes were fixed on something beyond the frame, as if they had just witnessed an extraordinary act of human foolishness. One sat on a broken wall, staring in...
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Delhi’s Own DDLJ Moment
Traffic jams in Delhi are noisy, exhausting and, if you happen to be driving, stressful. The besura orchestra of impatient horns can test the calmest of temperaments. But if you are a passenger and a...
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Two Women, One Frame
You often see more through a camera lens than with the naked eye. One afternoon, I noticed a woman sitting inside a tiny roadside kiosk, surrounded by pouches of pan masala, soft drinks, mobile...
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The Wisest Traffic Advisory Was Written on a Truck
The backs of trucks are India’s longest-running open-air literature festival. Somewhere between Horn Please, Use Dipper at Night, and Maa Ka Ashirwad, you occasionally discover a line that deserves a...
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Summer Evenings and Nimmo’s Golgappas
Nearly every evening during our summer vacations, my cousin and I would go to the street corner near my grandmother’s house, where a narrow lane met the main road at a perfect right angle. That...
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Monkeys: When Evolution Had Second Thoughts
Derived from the French phrase meaning “monkey trick,” Singerie (pronounced san-zhuh-ree) is a satirical genre of visual art in which monkeys are dressed in fashionable human clothing and depicted...
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Neither Crow Nor Pheasant: The Curious Story of the Greater Coucal
After reading the story of the unfortunate “Griff’s Pheasant,” I finally understood the true meaning of the Hindi/Urdu saying, “Murgi apni jaan se gayi aur khane wale ko maza nahin aaya” The chicken...
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The Charming Plum-headed Parakeet
With its vibrant colours, playful personality, and graceful flight, the Plum-headed Parakeet can bring life and energy to any landscape. Spotting one is always a delight. They fly across the sky with...
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Not a Parrot, Just a Very Fashionable Pigeon
“Are you sure you are talking about a pigeon, not a parrot?” someone I met recently asked when I told her about a bright green pigeon with yellow feet. “Yellow-footed Green Pigeons are pigeons in a...
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Wild Verses: Where Photography Meets Poetry
For more than a decade and a half, I have been capturing birds and animals through my lens. Some were majestic, some amusing. Some large, some tiny. Some looked directly into my camera as if posing...
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From “Significant River” to “Nehr-e-Dil-Nashin”: The Many Lives of the Yamuna
This is a story from nearly half a century ago. In school, our first period was Geography. Most of us arrived with sleepy eyes, half-open, half-closed. Our Geography teacher did her best to explain...
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The Power of 2 June Ki Roti: Empires, Kings, and Elections
Every year on 2 June, social media fills up with references to “2 June ki Roti”. Some people share posts, others create memes, and many wonder why this particular date and phrase continue to resonate....
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