The original conspiracy theorist, Mahabali seeks to cut through the layers of propaganda and deceit to reinterpret reality for us.

The Rotten Banana (26th July 2002)
Ammaiyar Paatti always thought she was one of a kind. The people of her town, Dharmapuram, thought so too. But, they also thought she was the most ‘unkind’...

Right Wing Wrong Wing (24th May 2002)
But what worries me more than jingoism and hatred spreading all around, from the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea to the Pacific and the Atlantic, is the feeling that Democracy has got its comeuppance...

Shut Up Mr. Shakespeare (5th April 2002)
The night was positively dripping with romance./There she was, silently destroying my soul like the Huns razed the Romans!...

Paranoia (29th March 2002)
“Paranoia is the rational state of mind,” thought Rajaraja. His critics may call him paranoid, but he knew he was only being rational...

It’s Just a Passing Cloud (15th March 2002)
Your blue vein that I traced/On that cold night in my place/Wanted me to say how I ached for you/I said, “No, it's just a passing cloud!”

A Snap (1st March 2002)
It’s probably the only precious jewel that the British failed to take with them – the Queen’s necklace. The ten-minute drive from Nariman point to Chowpati Beach is rich not just in its commercial content but also in character.

Chan, the Man who Knew Too Much (22nd February 2002)
This is the city once called as Ji, Zhuojun, Youzhou, and now Beijing,/(Not to mention Nanjing, Zhongdu, Yanjing, Dadu &Beiping)/Here was born the man ChangZu - for short, Chan/Who wanted to know all that he ever can!

Some Cold Logic (15th February 2002)
Auto-rickshaw drivers of Chennai disgust me like smelly hair in the armpit. Somebody else’s, I mean...

Heaven on TTK Road (8th February 2002)
Sense of belonging is sweet. Even if you find it in a band of misfits from the same field. Ours is journalism...

The Incidental and the Accidental (28th December 2001)
Before we start to investigate, let us try to realize what we do know as to make the most of it, and to separate the essential from the accidental.

In Defence of Speculation (21st December 2001)
Having been a media professional for four years, my greatest regret has been that nobody cares for patterns that emerge out of events...

Monsoon Weddings (7th December 2001)
Apart from playing cards, the thing that interests me the most in Indian weddings is the seamless exaggeration of senses. Think of any colour, yellowish-blue, reddish-green or even greyish pink, you can see it all there in the mandapam!

Not Every Tom and Dick can be Hairy! (23rd November 2001)
Almost all dreamy men take a stab at poetry when they are young and foolish. Not so long ago, I too started venturing into this romantic province.

'Loco'motive (16th November 2001)
My instinct tells me not to get into this train - at least, not this compartment. Who dares wins, I tell myself. It's only slightly crowded, so I decide to dare ...

We are not Alone! (2nd November 2001)
I was waiting at the Dadar railway station for the train to Thane and the platform was as crowded as usual and as noisy too.

Buddha's Revenge? (26th October 2001)
What does this international coalition against terrorism mean? A coalition of governments or a coalition of people?

The Finely-oiled Propaganda Machine (19th October 2001)
The mustached man in Iraqi army uniform is yet to get up. So, this time, the faceless enemy has found a new face - that of the bearded terrorist from a government-less state, Afghanistan...

Whose Truth is it Anyway? (14th September 2001)
September 11th 2001 - a horrible day and an atrocious turning point in history. A civilization which has withstood many an onslaught is violated by terror.

Split Self (7th September 2001)
Sitting on the roof of hell/I still have time to kill!/Your broken dreams speak my name

Brainteaser Births (17th August 2001)
Even as the news of a surrogate mother giving birth to four children in one go is being discussed all over the world, the ethical question of surrogacy has risen again...

On Why Futility Does Not Exist (10th August 2001)
I'm sure most of us have questioned the use of our individual being at one point of time or the other. The anxiety is common when one has accomplished something, or failed in the attempt.

A Rhyme-less Poem on the Charming Dame (3rd August 2001)
Thoughts wriggle out into words/As parenthesis and foot notes/And profound T-shirt expressions/On how she performed the cosmic dance

The Ability Issue (20th July 2001)
India has the largest number of disabled in the world. Six percent or nearly 70 million of the country's population is partially or completely disabled...

Lines Written a Few Miles Below Sanity (6th July 2001)
The rodeo has just begun./I'm already hurt./Thousand bulls after me/I, the target of their sharp horns meaning harm and/harm only.

The Road Taken (29th June 2001)
Life is a load of choices. You always have options before you like a deck of cards. From how you want to look, to selecting your partner for life, you have umpteen options, that is, if you look for them.

Cloning Around (22nd June 2001)
Today, the topic of cloning generates more argument than ever before. The controversy over cloning is based, in part, on the fact that there are extreme viewpoints on the subject...

Good Footwork (15th June 2001)
The orderly motion of a warm cosmic-breath in a mass of watery chaos supported by a concealed brittle yellow-white structure has been fascinating me since months before I learned to walk.

God of Nothings (8th June 2001)
Sitting upon the roof of Hell, he allowed himself a chuckle of complete content. "How typical of a human?" he said aloud. Of course, he was-thinking of the funny looking human with a funny name, who had questioned him in the most sardonic fashion...

Abblica Babblica (1st June 2001)
As he could find no banyan tree in the vicinity, Jatavallabha Mahamuni, the greatest and most powerful sadhu of all times, settled for a Sainjna tree...

The River that Never Was (25th May 2001)
For me, to try altering history wilfully is the worst crime possible. Time and again our Human resources Minister has tried his hand at this loathsome art.

Zodiac and the Gaudy Yak! (18th May 2001)
"In the first place, you've failed in the exams because Raahu is in the second place in your horoscope." This is not a roadside astrologer spinning yarn for a livelihood, as you may have presumed, but may be an esteemed professor opining on the fate of his unfortunate student...

Reluctant Teetotaller (11th May 2001)
My hatred for alcoholic beverages, I owed to my conservative upbringing in the early part of my life...

A Hi-coup (27th April 2001)
What else, but a haiku!

Transcending Meditation (20th April 2001)
There is complete silence on the top floor. The reverberating water pump and the hum of water flowing through the PVC pipe come together to accent the silence...