Namita Bhandare

These days, we often end up seeing doctors to whom a patient is a number, not even a name, writes Namita Bhandare. HT Image I’m a bit of a doctor junkie. Listed in my phone book are numbers for various specialists. I could direct you to a cardiologist, endocrinologist, oncologist, pediatrician, gastroenterologist, gynaecologist. But ask […]

I’ll feel a twinge when the last typewriter heads to the museum, writes Namita Bhandare. HT Image News of the imminent death of the manual typewriter sent romantics all over our interconnected planet into a state of gloom. Neither the demise of the vinyl record nor the unsung departure of the rotary dial telephone triggered

Women at the helm in politics at the national and state level might not immediately usher in a new deal for other women everywhere. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image The headlines are euphoric. Mamata Banerjee, J Jayalalithaa, Mayawati and Sheila Dikshit, just four women now rule over 400 million Indians. Three cheers for gender justice.

Midway through swotting for her geography exam, Ananya, my 15-year-old looked at her watch and said, urgently: “9pm. It’s time to pray for Japan”. I frowned at this unwarranted interruption. We were locating India’s various nuclear power plants from Kaiga to Narora on the map. But this stop-pray-for-Japan had a powerful appeal that went beyond

The middle class, the one-time custodians of moral values, isn’t vigilant enough anymore, writes Namita Bhandare. HT Image At what point in our collective history did we lose our capacity for outrage? I am talking of middle class placidity in the face of outright corruption that seems to be piling up faster than the debris

There is no dearth of role models in India. But those who get recognised are rarely deserving, writes Namita Bhandare. HT Image I’m in search of a hero. By hero I don’t necessarily mean someone of the male persuasion; anyone with heroic qualities that I can look up to and point my children towards will

On national networks, anchors with no pretence to journalistic objectivity jump onto the national/anti-national bandwagon over the Kashmir issue: demands to dilute army presence are anti-national. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image Salman Khan tells a Pakistani TV channel that 26/11 was hyped because the elite were targeted. He is branded an anti-national. Arundhati Roy has

For us, the case is a story. For the Talwars, it’s a battle for justice. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image I am mystified by our ongoing fascination with the murder two years ago of 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar. Part of our morbid interest, I am guessing, stems from the mysteriousness of this double murder. Despite three

Do artistes and penury have some sort of a tragic, karmic connection? The great Bharat Bhushan (Baiju Bawra, Mirza Ghalib, Barsaat ki Raat) died in abject poverty, writes Namita Bhandare. HT Image Because Subrata Kundu had been fairly regular on the page 3 circuit at a time when I was a fairly regular journalist on

New Delhi needs more than just grand edifices to join the list of the most liveable cities. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image I am dumbstruck by the sheer size and scale of Delhi’s new airport Terminal 3. The capital’s latest edifice heralds “a new India, committed to join the ranks of modern, industrialised nations,” says

Arshi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the ‘chief royal patron’ of Bhutan’s first-ever literature festival delivers the keynote address at the India House Auditorium. Namita Bhandare elaborates. Talk about journalistic privilege. Ambassador and writer Pavan Varma’s beautiful, willowy daughter Batasha looks at me sympathetically when I whisper to her: “I really have to file.” So, notwithstanding her

The Bhutan Literary Festival had an unexpected visitor today when King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the fifth king, said he wanted to meet writers from India. The Bhutan Literary Festival had an unexpected visitor today when King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the fifth king, said he wanted to meet writers from India. At a hastily