The evening I left Manikarnika, I imagined I was leaving a place. In the days that followed, I realised that I had carried it along with me. The smells that had assailed me faded quickly. The sounds of Varanasi receded into memory. Yet the questions raised by that ancient cremation ground remained stubbornly alive. TheyContinue reading “The Gift of Manikarnika”
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Manikarnika: Where Fire Becomes Eternity
I arrived at Manikarnika as the sun was preparing to leave the sky. The evening light had begun to soften the hard outlines of Varanasi. As I walked through the city’s labyrinthine lanes, Kashi displayed all its familiar contradictions at once—pilgrims and shopkeepers, temple bells and motorcycle horns, saffron-clad ascetics and foreign visitors, all sharingContinue reading “Manikarnika: Where Fire Becomes Eternity”
Leaving Bengaluru
I shall be leaving Bengaluru in a day or two, after having lived here during two distinct periods: first between September 2024 and July 2025, and then again during these recent months from March to May 2026. Between them, I have seen the city through almost all its seasons—under monsoon skies, amid flowering summers, in koel-filled mornings,Continue reading “Leaving Bengaluru”
Bengaluru Is Changing Its Mood
Some weeks ago, after an evening shower briefly interrupted the tyranny of April heat, I had written a piece titled “Rain, Briefly!” The rain that evening had felt less like a seasonal turning and more like a passing gesture—welcome, restorative, but uncertain of itself. By the next morning, the roads had dried, the heat hadContinue reading “Bengaluru Is Changing Its Mood”
काकः काकः पिकः पिकः
जीवन का गद्य, वसंत का संगीत सुबह के शांत, स्निग्ध नीरव परिवेश में कोयल यदि संगीत है, तो कौव्वा उद्घोष है। कोयल की तान धीरे-धीरे उभर कर निखरती है, उसके स्वरों की विविधता आहिस्ता आहिस्ता वातावरण को संतृप्त करती है। कौव्वे की आवाज़ वैसी नहीं। वह आती नहीं, आ गिरती है। उसमें मिठास नहीं, आयास है; लयात्मकता नहीं पुनरावृत्ति है, माधुर्य नहीं, कर्कशता है। वह कानों को सुहातीContinue reading “काकः काकः पिकः पिकः”
Conversations at the Edge of History-II
Podcasts as the Archives of the Future The rise of the long-form podcast may ultimately prove to be more than a cultural or technological phenomenon. It may represent a profound transformation in the way human civilisation records itself. What appears today as an explosion of digital conversation may tomorrow be recognised as one of theContinue reading “Conversations at the Edge of History-II “
Conversations at the Edge of History -I
Dwarkesh Patel and the Rise of the Serious Podcast In recent years, the long-form podcast has evolved from a niche digital experiment into one of the principal arenas of contemporary discourse. Politicians, scientists, entrepreneurs, philosophers, and cultural figures increasingly prefer podcasts over conventional television interviews or newspaper conversations when they wish to reflect freely, speculateContinue reading “Conversations at the Edge of History -I”
मई की सुबह और कोयल की तान
पिछली कुछ दिनों से मेरी नींद अलस्सुबह खुल जा रही है। सुबह जल्दी उठने के लाभ अनंत बताए गए हैं। जीवन के इस पड़ाव पर जल्दी जागना अब कुछ सहज भी हो चला है। पर पिछले कुछ दिनों से मेरी इस अलस्सुबह खुलती हुई नींद का कारण कोई अनुशासन या आयु नहीं, बल्कि एक अत्यंतContinue reading “मई की सुबह और कोयल की तान”
FIFTY YEARS LATER
There are reunions, and then there are IAS reunions. The former involve nostalgia. The latter too involve nostalgia; but also protocol, subtle comparison, and the quiet belief—held with touching sincerity by almost everyone present—that time has treated them with exceptional generosity, and that they have aged distinctly better than most others in the batch. TheContinue reading “FIFTY YEARS LATER”
Raghu Rai: A Lens of Conscience
It has been more than a week since Raghu Rai departed. The first wave of tributes came swiftly—glowing, rich, heartfelt, and entirely deserved. And yet, some lives do not yield themselves fully to immediacy. They linger, gather depth within us, and return with a quiet insistence, asking to be reflected upon. This tribute arises fromContinue reading “Raghu Rai: A Lens of Conscience”
scribo ad LX 