Marrying Libraries
On shelving my parents books in a new home, and Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris
The Sunday Times of India / June 2018 / Books
My book is Farthest Field: An Indian Story of the Second World War. Co-founder of TheWire.in. Twitter @rkarnad
On shelving my parents books in a new home, and Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris
The Sunday Times of India / June 2018 / Books
Film: A police commando wants to confess to a career as a secret executioner. A glimpse of the violence and haunting lack of resolution in Manipur.
TheWire.in / January 2018 / Reporting
Brief tribute to a songwriter obsessed with the one thing that happens to us all. No, it's not love.
TheWire.in / February 2018 / Essays
The draft Progressive Uniform Civil Code is a signal that liberal Indians cannot just play defence
TheWire.in / December 2017 / Essays
As she retires, a profile of one of most improbable world leaders in modern history.
The Atlantic / December 2017 / Reporting
A specter of elite liberals is used to erase the vernacular resistance.
n+1 / September 2017
A quick take on India's floods - What we need to grasp about India's New Monsoon.
The Guardian / August 2017 / Reporting
On the medieval nehers in water-scarce Aurangabad, a lifeline for residents being ruined by civic corruption and private interests.
TheWire / May 2017 / Cities
A glimpse into the private timeline of the Indian PM
TheWire / February 2017 / Reporting
A meandering essay about Calicut (Kozhikoke) and family history there
Mint Lounge / October 2016 / Essays
A Guardian long-read about Herojit, a policeman in Manipur and his turn away from a career as one of India's most lethal extra-judicial executioner.
The Guardian / July 2016 / Reporting
A review of Amitav Ghosh’s The Great Derangement
TheWire.in / July 2016 / Books
A passing generation held the key to a lost chapter in Indian history
TheWire.in / June 2016 / India's Ww2
Digitally altered images and video are fuelling divisive politics
The International New York Times / February 2016 / Reporting
A grim setback highlights other opportunities for the movement & its allies
International New York Times / January 2016 / Reporting
Should India commemorate its soldiers who fell in the Second World War?
International New York Times / August 2015 / India's Ww2
The Swacch Bharat campaign ignored its ideal workforce.
International New York Times / July 2015 / Reporting
On Subhas Bose the Traveller, and his extraordinary submarine journey halfway across the world.
Mint Lounge / July 2015 / Essays
Watching a single, brief rebellion of Delhi Metro construction labourers against their working hours.
Time Out Delhi / April 2010 / Reporting / [Pdf , 1.77 MB]
The story of Abdul Qayyum, prosecuted for twelve years in a false terror case, told through his recent memoir.
The Wire / May 2015 / Reporting
A review of Lance Price's 'The Modi Effect'.
The New Statesman / March 2015 / Books
Uncovering the forgotten story of the Japanese in Delhi's Old Fort.
Granta / January 2015 / Essays
Thoughts about Richard Flanagan's novel, and the ommission from the story of the Burma Death Railway
Times of India / October 2014 / Books
The first-ever battlefield tours in India, to WW2 sites in Manipur, lift a forgotten war out of obscurity
National Geographic Traveller India / August 2014 / Reporting
Battlefield tourism in Manipur lifts a forgotten war out of obscurity
National Geographic Traveller India / August 2014 / Reporting / [Pdf , 1.12 MB]
In the event of a nuclear attack on the capital...
Caravan's Vantage / May 2014 / Cities
A despatch from the remote Outer Manipur constituency as it goes to polls.
NYTimes India Ink / May 2014 / Reporting
A piece about hijras, kothis and Goldman Sachs, and the intangible battle for the soul of the Bangalore Pride March '12.
n+1 / May 2013 / Cities
An essay about the Second World War in Manipur, which was runner-up in the Financial Times-Bodley Head essay competition in 2012.
Financial Times / December 2012 / Essays
The Bodley Head / Random House published the essay below as a free Kindle e-short, downloadable at Amazon.
The Bodley Head / March 2013 / Essays
An essay in n+1 about the rumours which sent thousands of Bangaloreans from the north-eastern states fleeing back to their homes.
n+1 / September 2012 / Cities
A history of Bengaluru through a history of its liquor industry, from the arrack barons to UB City. This was the coverstory of the Caravan Magazine in July 2012.
The Caravan / July 2012 / Reporting
A whimsical zine, on the theme of "Out of Date", produced in Bangalore by two friends and myself. It was printed on a cyclostyle machine in a limited edition of 700. My own contribution is the closing piece.
Cyclostyle / June 2012 / [Pdf , 8.06 MB]
A straightforward profile of Vijay Mallya and his troubles.
BBC News Online / August 2012 / Reporting
Completing a trilogy of articles about Bangalore's liquor industry, a profile of the shadowy DK Audikesavulu: entrepreneur, politician and close associate of Vijay Mallya's.
Business Standard / September 2012 / Reporting
The necessary anti-climax of Lady Gaga in Noida
GQ India / November 2011 / Reporting / [Pdf , 367 KB]
My contribution to Nat Geo's cover feature on quiet places, about the Begumpura Masjid in Delhi. [Downloads as PDF]
Nat Geo Traveller / August 2012 / Essays
A short rumination on the absence of statues of women in Delhi.
The Ladies Finger / February 2014 / Cities
A grouse about "booksing", a palliative celebration of books as things that actually distracts us from reading.
Mint Lounge / March 2012 / Books
About the world’s first colour blockbuster, which was filmed at the Coronation Durbar in Delhi.
The Big Indian Picture / Time Out Delhi / March 2014 / Cities
A Delhi map: Sites of sex and scandal over the centuries.
Time Out Delhi / July 2011 / Cities / [Pdf , 885 KB]
A visit to the Embassy of the State of Palestine, in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
Time Out India / October 2011 / Cities / [Pdf , 1.41 MB]
A short piece about the origins of the word Comptroller and how they anticipate the vague position of the Comptroller-General in India right now.
The Caravan / September 2011 / Essays
Opening Time Out Delhi's coverstory on graffiti, a conversation with the provocateur behind some of Delhi's earliest protest tags.
Time Out India / May 2011 / [Pdf , 1.56 MB]
A minor feature from Time Out Delhi, about a mysterious halved house and its remarkable architect.
Time Out Delhi / April 2011 / Cities / [Pdf , 1.9 MB]
In Outlook Traveller's New Delhi issue, my break-down of the city's cultural life.
Outlook Traveller / September 2010 / Cities
As it says, about Paris in the summer. Not the most arduous thing I've ever written.
Outlook Traveller / August 2010 / Cities
A visit to the government opium vendor in Karol Bagh, New Delhi.
Time Out India / January 2010 / Cities / [Pdf , 120 KB]
A piece about media speculation during the disappearance of the chopper that carried the chief minister of Andhra, YSR, to his death.
The Hoot / September 2009 / Essays
Following on the Tehelka report from Nandigram, a response to the electoral tide turning against the CPI(M) in West Bengal.
Kafila / June 2009 / Essays
A first-person piece about discovering that Varun Gandhi, then a candidate for Parliament, was lying to the courts and the public about his education abroad.
Outlook / April 2009 / Reporting
A report from Bayana, where a Gujjar agitation was blocking trains leaving Delhi, and a profile of the charismatic leader Kirori Singh Bainsla.
Tehelka / June 2008 / Reporting
A report from Nandigram about the turbulent, first electoral exercise after the area's recapture by the Communist party.
Tehelka / May 2008 / Reporting
Alongside the report from Nandigram, an interview with the truculent CPI(M) state secretary, Biman Basu.
Tehelka / May 2008 / Reporting
Don't be put off by the title. A long report from Bhopal about the growing water-contamination crisis being caused by the Union Carbide plant, and the difficult question of who's responsible.
Tehelka / April 2008 / Reporting
Profiling the right-wing collegians responsible for the attack on the DU History faculty and the protests against Ramanujan's "300 Ramayanas".
Tehelka / March 2008 / Reporting
A traveller's report from Jaunpur in eastern UP, once the capital of the Sharqi dynasty.
Outlook Magazine / January 2008
A rumination for City Limits magazine's "Capital Letters" section, about Delhi's Productivity House.
City Limits, Delhi / December 2007
An earnest, rather uncritical report on "India's Best Panchayat", Gopalpura in Rajasthan.
Outlook Magazine / October 2007 / Reporting
A poster-essay on youth movements, produced for the Himmat Youth Festival 2006, organised by Openspace India in Pune.
Openspace / June 2006 / Essays / [Pdf , 279 KB]
BOOKS: A review of Vikas Swarup's third novel, "The Accidental Apprentice".
Financial Times / May 2013 / Books
BOOKS: A review of Mohammed Hanif's "Our Lady of Alice Bhatti".
Time Out India / September 2011 / Books
BOOKS: A conversation with Chetan Bhagat about "Revolution 2020" and the Commonwealth Games.
Time Out India / September 2011 / Books
BOOKS: An interview with Tom Scocca about "Beijing Welcomes You".
Time Out India / September 2011 / Books
BOOKS: A review of Aravind Adiga's "Last Man in Tower".
Time Out India / July 2011 / Books
BOOKS: A feature on Aman Sethi's "A Free Man"
Time Out India / July 2011 / Books
BOOKS: A conversation with Deborah Baker about "The Convert".
Time Out India / June 2011 / Books
PUBLISHING: The career of David Davidar at Penguin, and his new start at Aleph.
Time Out India / May 2011 / Books
BOOKS: An article about Alice Albinia's "Leela's Book"
Time Out India / April 2011 / Books
BOOKS: Ten things you need to know about Angela Davis.
Time Out India / March 2011 / Books
BOOKS: A short conversation with I. Allan Sealy.
Time Out India / March 2011 / Books / [Pdf , 900 KB]
BOOKS: A feature on Sarnath Banerjee's "The Harappa Files".
Time Out India / February 2011 / Books / [Pdf , 1.17 MB]
BOOKS: A brief review of Nicholas Carr's "The Shallows", about the effects of internet use on the brain.
Time Out India / December 2010 / Books
BOOKS: A feature on Dilip Simeon's "Revolutionary Highway"
Time Out India / October 2010 / Books
PUBLISHING: An article about biography in India, with perspectives from Ram Guha, Patrick French and VK Karthika.
Time Out India / September 2010 / Books / [Pdf , 803 KB]
BOOKS: Interview with Mahmood Farooqui about "Besieged: Voices from Delhi 1857".
Time Out India / July 2010 / Books / [Pdf , 1.3 MB]
BOOKS: A feature on Siddharth Chowdhury's "Day Scholar"
Time Out India / June 2010 / Books
BOOKS: A brief review of Omair Ahmad's "Jimmy the Terrorist."
Time Out India / June 2010 / Books
BOOKS: A conversation with Aatish Taseer about "The Temple-Goers".
Time Out India / April 2010 / Books
BOOKS: An article on Zac O’Yeah's "Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan"
Time Out India / April 2010 / Books
BOOKS: A feature on Fatima Bhutto's "Songs of Blood and Sword"
Time Out India / April 2010 / Books
BOOKS: A feature on Pavan Varma's "Becoming Indian"
Time Out India / March 2010 / Books
BOOKS: Short interview with Xu Xi, author of "The Unwalled City"
Time Out India / March 2010 / Books / [Pdf , 867 KB]
BOOKS: A feature on the Cybermohalla Collective's "Trickster City".
Time Out India / February 2010 / Books
BOOKS: Short interview with Amitava Kumar about "Evidence of Suspicion"
Time Out India / January 2010 / Books / [Pdf , 412 KB]
BOOKS: An article on William Dalrymple's Nine Lives
Time Out India / November 2009 / Books / [Pdf , 945 KB]
BOOKS: An early book review of "Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink".
Outlook Traveller / January 2008 / Books
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