Filling the shelves between the bookends
For years, New Zealand and India have been described as the two bookends of Asia. It is a lovely image. One country sits at one end of the Indo-Pacific, the other at the far end. Between them lies half the world’s population, some of its oldest civilisations and its...
Quantum Abhangas: The Physics in Bhakti
For years I have lived in two intellectual worlds that seldom meet. One is the world of Marathi bhakti poetry, of Tukaram, Jnaneshwar and the pilgrim road to Pandharpur. The other is the world of modern physics, of quantum theory, uncertainty and the profound...
Interview with Dev Nadkarni in Mid Day
According to you, why is the ACK archive precious for Indian literature? When Amar Chitra Katha was launched in the 1960s, India was in the midst of rapid social change. Urbanisation was accelerating, multi-generational and joint families were giving way to nuclear...
NZ-India FTA: Congratulations are in order. So is cautious optimism
First, congratulations are in order. After years of diplomatic effort, stalled negotiations and repeated political signalling, New Zealand and India have finally announced a free trade agreement. For negotiators and officials on both sides, simply reaching this point...
The legacy of Guru Dutt: A centenary and a personal connection
In July 2025, Indian cinema marked 100 years since the birth of Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone: Guru Dutt to the world. In a short, blazing career from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, he fashioned a language of feeling on film: chiaroscuro and melody, silence...
Harshadbhai Patel: A life of service, music and community
Harshad Patel, one of the most respected figures in New Zealand’s Indian community and a man whose life was defined by service, music and quiet strength, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, surrounded by his family. He was 75. Born on 11 August 1950 in Onjal,...
A Moment Of Pride – And A Reality Check For NZ
Nikhil Ravishankar’s appointment as the next Chief Executive of Air New Zealand should have been a straightforward moment of national pride. A New Zealand-educated leader, with a proven track record in digital transformation and customer experience, rising to the top...
A Bhairavi Beyond the Stars
Written in memory of legendary vocalist Kesarbai Kerkar on her birth anniversary, this sci-fi short story features a NASA engineer and his vocalist sister who find themselves at the heart of a cosmic mystery that defies time, space, and reason. At 03:17 Pacific...
Ghar-ki-Lachmi dials into a Fijian taxi
They say travel broadens the mind. But if you ask me, nothing does it quite like a long, unexpected, heart-warming chat with a cabbie. Last week, I was in Fiji, catching a cab from Nausori Airport to Suva –a 40-minute ride– and little did I know I’d end up on a...
*When I chose not to speak Marathi*
While Mumbai argues over who’s “Marathi enough,” I had a front-row seat to my own little language drama, cruising somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. Just after boarding at a Pacific Island airport, I spotted a couple walking past my aisle seat speaking in Marathi. A...
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