Other Writing

By: B. S. DARA

Some stars shine bright. Others burn. And then there was Rajesh Khanna, the man who made India believe in love, longing, and loneliness, all at once.

From 1969 to 1972 was a time in India when the name Rajesh Khanna was a fever. He delivered 15 consecutive solo superhits, a feat untouched and unmatched. But his true triumph wasn’t just box office domination, it was the hysteria. A hysteria that curled like smoke through city streets, small-town talk, and teenage girls’ diaries....

Letters from the Periphery

By B. S. DARA

By B. S. DARA

Wars today are not decided only by guns, missiles, and airstrikes. They are decided by how the world understands what happened, who explains it better, and who appears more useful once the firing stops. This is an uncomfortable but unavoidable truth of modern geopolitics. Perception, timing, and diplomatic positioning now matter as much as battlefield action.

Letters from the Periphery

It is important to keep this in mind while reflecting on Operation Sindoor, India’s military...

By: B S DARA

Cricket, once a gladiatorial contest of skill, nerve, and raw aggression, has morphed into a sanitized exhibition where the bat reigns supreme and the ball is relegated to mere decoration. In the bygone era, bowlers were the veritable generals on the field, orchestrating a symphony of menace and strategy, each delivery a calculated blow intended to unnerve the batsman. Today, however, a cascade of regulations, chief among them the restriction of a solitary bouncer per over and the...