Part three of the essay on Evolution – “Origins” the book, its style, and impact.
On a cold and blistery day in December of 2001, Julie Geissler, a resident of New Hampshire, walked hesitatingly and[…]
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Category: Historical forces
Hallie Rubenhold’s book “The five” – a brilliant resurrection of the lives, dignity, and social milieu of the five women who were victims of Jack, the ripper ( 1888)
Anytime we watch a slasher movie, we are perpetuating the legend of Jack the Ripper, the first widely acknowledged serial[…]
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Part two of the essay on Evolution – Darwin’s journey – the man, his endeavor, and the book that changed the understanding of life)
( Note to the reader: I published part one of this essay a couple of weeks ago. Both these parts[…]
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Samanth Subramanian’s beautifully crafted book ” This divided Island” on the thirty years of civil war in Srilanka, its origins, and the aftermath.
We bought our first television set in Madurai, back in the early eighties. It was a Sony Trinitron model –[…]
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The greatness of Rajaraja Cholan a.k.a Ponniyin selvan, Kalki’s epic novel, and Maniratnam’s film adaptation.
The reconstruction of history is often riddled with epiphanies – sudden discoveries of documents or artifacts in unexpected places, fresh[…]
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“The miniaturist of Junagadh” – a short, beautiful, and haunting portrayal of loss, hope, art and optimism during India’s partition
( Note to the reader: I wish to thank Rinku for sharing this film with me. Rarely do I get[…]
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Breaththroughs, amateurs, and the story of the extraordinary men who ran the four-minute mile
(Note to the reader: I owe the genesis of this essay to four events. A few days ago, I happened[…]
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August 6th, 1945 – the day that changed the course of history. Seventy-six years since the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing.
( Preface: Last year was the seventy-fifth anniversary of the atomic bombings on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[…]
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The Presidential debates, and a backward glance at one of the greatest debates in American history
The American Presidential debates are part of a wonderful democratic process. It gives the people an opportunity to witness prospective[…]
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Adolf Eichmann, The trial of the century, Hannah Arendt’s bold hypotheses and its resonance in modern times
( Note to readers: Even by my own standards, this is a lengthy essay. Hannah Arendt is one of my[…]
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