During an interview in the run-up to the Assembly elections of 2011, when Mamata Banerjee defeated the three-decade old Left Front government, I had asked her if we would witness a greener […]
The Grassroots is Greener on this Side
Kabul Diary
As a development worker, I spent five years of my life in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2013. In more ways than one, by the time that I landed in Kabul one balmy […]
Water Water Everywhere
Sagar Deep is a remote delta island where the river Ganges flows into the Bay of Bengal. What do people here do during a health crisis? The storm struck on a moonless […]
Like a Breath of Fresh Air: How Odisha’s public and private companies decided to forgo profit to divert Liquid Medical Oxygen to the needy
As governments around the globe scramble to enlist corporate and philanthropic support to deal with the COVID-19 emergency, the eastern State of Odisha has set the pace for corporate partnership as an […]
For Love or Lucre?
What drives youth when choosing careers? Love of the profession or just lucre? Parental pressure or pure passion? Dilemmas always existed. But the Covid-19 pandemic which has wreaked havoc on lives and […]
A Year of Music in the Mother Tongue
In this series of articles, Cuckoo News documents the revival of a music genre, Bangla Khayal, by a musical genius, Kabir Suman. Cuckoo News is honoured and humbled to have received this gift from […]
They Come Riding on Clouds
In this series of articles, Cuckoo News documents the revival of a music genre, Bangla Khayal, by a musical genius, Kabir Suman. Day breaks. Kabir Suman wakes up, haunted by tunes humming in his […]
It’s A Jungle Out There
Humans and animals coexist in the Sunderban delta and the super cyclone Yaas which ripped through it recently highlighted the plight of each. “Did you get mauled by a tiger or clawed […]
I’ve Stared into The Cyclone’s Eye, Up Close
They were cowering in their car at the side of the road which had turned into a river that was swelling every second. It was too late for the disaster management team […]
A Tune for the Tigress
In this series of articles, Cuckoo News documents the revival of a musical genre, Bangla Khayal, by a musical genius, Kabir Suman. “Banglai jitbe, tai gaan badhi,” (Because I know that Bengal/Bengali will win……. that’s […]
Goodbye, Friend. Do you still accuse?
My friend and former colleague Jarnail Singh died of Covid this morning in a hospital in Delhi. He was younger than me. Jarnail was a journalist on the defence beat before he threw […]
Blossoms of the grass have bloomed
Trinamool (TMC) won the state elections of West Bengal and on May 5, three days after the results were declared, Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as chief minister for the third time […]
Fight the Fear. Ditch the Dread.
Dr Debashish Ray, renowned psychiatrist takes time off from his busy schedule to tell us how to battle pandemic depression. Editor’s Note: In Delhi, a friend just lost his mother to Covid-19. […]
A Tale of Two Flowers
The countdown has begun. Today, May 2, 2021, the much-debated, long- awaited results of the eight-phase elections to the West Bengal Assembly will be declared. Four other Indian states went to the […]
Bitter Battle for a “Sweet State”
West Bengal has been described by ruling Trinamool as “the sweetest part of India”. The sobriquet could have been conferred on the eastern state not just because it boasts some of the […]
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