Features
How I won Rs 1 lakh in Goa
Arindam Mukherjee
Sitting with over a hundred people clustered around red felt-top tables, this enthusiast played a game that was neither the fabled Diwali matka of teen patti, nor Contract Bridge, but one that required as much skill as luck, or perhaps more.
The Grinders and the ATMs
An American card game is drawing Indians of a certain disposition to casino boats in Goa: whizkids who insist that it’s a game almost entirely of skill
Advantage Buddhadeb
CPM general secretary Prakash Karat’s hold on his party is getting feebler by the day. His peace overtures at the recent Central Committee meeting in Hyderabad notwithstanding
Clarion Call
Jayalalithaa’s offensive threatens the Centre’s cosy neighbourliness with Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka
What Gandhi would tell our serial fasters
Chances are he might have gone on a long unconditional fast himself to convince them that their ways weren’t kosher
The Great Iron Ore Heist
The Posco project in Odisha is not just about violation of human rights or an ecological disaster. It is a brazen example of how the country’s high and mighty are shifting goalposts to favour a powerful foreign multinational corporation
The Sex Worker as Storyteller
Nalini Jameela has already written a bestselling autobiography of her life in this shadowy industry. With her second book, due soon, she shares her insights not only into the behaviour of men, but also the art of storytelling as honed by her professional skills
Can’t Get Its Act Together
The Left Front has been the biggest advocate of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), but its own former rule in home state West Bengal saw its worst abuse as well. Forest villagers dependent on tea garden jobs are indifferent to the Act. Families inside the Buxa tiger reserve are keen to surrender their rights for Rs 10 lakh each. But away from tea gardens and outside the tiger reserve, forest communities have bigger demands than the FRA allows. And a desperate forest department twists the Act to retain control.
An Iranian Spark in India
On 12 June 2009, Mahmud Ahmedinejad came to power in Iran in a disputed election, which triggered a short-lived democratic movement. In Pune, which has a sizeable population of Iranian students, there was a flicker of protest, but it was immediately snuffed out. A reminiscence
Being Mrs Veerappan
Married at 16, widowed at 31, arrested at 35, acquitted at 38, the wife of the forest brigand reluctantly talks about a life she did not choose
Magazine
Subscribe today and save up to 85% off the cover price
