Can sports curb Indo-Pak tension?

The hockey world cup began today, with a tense game between India and Pakistan. But, even before the Pakistani team had arrived in Delhi a few days ago, there were voices of dissent -- on both sides of the border-- pointing out the futility of having an Indo-Pak sporting fixture, when relations were at a low ebb. Does sports actually build bridges and does it really matter if we play against each other?

Click here to know the answers.

The Chandrashekhar Azad mystery

It's been almost seventy years since famous freedom fighter, Chandrashekhar Azad killed himself after a fierce encounter with the police, at Alfred Park in Allahabad. Since then, Azad's name has been immortalized and his sacrifice a source of inspiration. However, a few things about the day still remain unclear and there are varying accounts of what happened. For instance, who tipped off the police about Azad's wherabouts? Who was with him in the Park, when the police arrived, and whom he urged to flee? I tried to have another look at this moment in history, through my column, Past Prism.

Click here to read the column.

The Urdu Sherlock Holmes

The spectacular success of Sherlock Holmes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century spawned a number of detective fiction characters, many of whom went on to become legends. In Bangla fiction, there is Satyajit Ray's Feluda and Saradindu Bandyopadhyay's Byomkesh Bakshi. In Urdu, it is Ibn-e-Safi's Ali Imran, who enjoys similar cult status.

Click here to read my review of the English translation of the first Imran novel.

Terror comes to small towns

The bomb blasts in Pune last weekend brought home an uncomfortable, yet inevitable truth: terror attacks were not just limited to bigger cities, but also increasingly happening in non-metros or Tier II towns. The idea being, of course, to create a fear psychosis -- the feeling that nobody is safe anywhere. There are also a number of other reasons why small is not necessarily secure.

Click here to read why.

The exaggeration in epics

Most of our epics are stories of valour, that highlight the heroic deeds that make their protagonists seem suitably super-human. Often, this is because many of these tales have come down to us through numerous renditions, making it difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is exaggerated.

Click here to read more.