What Star Trek tells us about reaching out to others

'In the lingo of Star Trek, how willing are we to keep all hailing frequencies open in order to listen more closely and with empathy to whoever we consider the 'other',' asks Rajni......

Why the world needs non-violence more than ever

'Non-violence can be a viable tool for countering the competitive brutality of terrorist groups,' argues Rajni Bakshi. Freedom of expression was the central motif of the million-strong unity march......

Tolerance as a duty is a pre-requisite to making India

If democracy is to survive and thrive, duties have to be as important as rights and tolerance must be the foundation of public and private life, says Rajni Bakshi. A hundred years after he landed......

B K S Iyengar, U R Ananthamurthy: India's beacons

What B K S Iyengar and U R Ananthamurthy embodied was a cultural self-confidence... Celebrating and nurturing this legacy of deeply rooted strengths would be the best tribute to these two lives so......

Why India needs to have 'economic democracy'

At a time when one per cent of the world’s population owns half its wealth, economic democracy may seem like a remote ideal, rues Rajni Bakshi. As the new government is formed, there will be......

Degrowth and Gandhian inspiration

At a time when there is wide spread lament about India's slipping rate of economic growth a concept like 'degrowth' might seem ridiculous, writes Rajni Bakshi Gandhi Jayanti has become a day to......

Retail sector and economic democracy

The key argument against FDI in multi-brand retail was that it would lead to rapid expansion of 'organised' retail and thus squeeze out the 'unorganised' sector of small, single-unit retailers.......

Blackouts and unconventional solutions

Instead of just being angry or dismayed by last week's blackouts we could all look more closely at some unconventional, out-of-the-box, solutions that have enormous long term promise, writes......

Showbiz and artistry: Can the two co-exist?

The dynamic between showbiz and creativity may well be one domain where the relationship between market forces and society is at its most delicate, says Rajni Bakshi, after attending the three-day......

'You were part of my childhood, Dada'

'These days you are the main inspiration for a lot of young film-makers. They are mimicking your films.' IMAGE: Anil Kapoor and Amrita Singh in Chameli Ki Shaadi. The film fraternity mourned the......

'I got more praise than the hero'

Movie veteran Chandrashekhar, best known for films like Cha Cha Cha, Surang and Street Singer and playing the role of Arya Sumant on the television serial Ramayan, passed into the ages on June 16,......

The Wonderful Films of Basu Chatterjee

'Basuda welcomed viewers into a world that was instantly familiar and comfortable,' observes Sukanya Verma. Basu Chatterjee didn't just make movies for us. He made movies about us. I saw life in......