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Pavan K Varma

Pavan K Varma

The Times of India

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Just Like That | Behind the enduring veg vs non-veg debate

Recent controversies over politicians' food choices highlight the nuanced relationship between dietary preferences and religious beliefs within...

14.04.2024 20

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Why Indian art is a blip on the big global canvas

Indian art is yet to get its due. That will happen when our artists shun mimicry and have far more patrons, if only for investment.

07.04.2024 20

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Sadhguru's health crisis and the blend of traditional and modern medicine

Sadhguru's successful recovery from brain surgery using allopathic methods underscores the importance of choosing the right treatment based on...

01.04.2024 40

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Here's why Kushwant Singh was a beacon of sharp intellectual thinking

Behind Khushwant Singh's image of an iconoclast was a disciplined scholar who left a lasting impact on literature and journalism.

24.03.2024 20

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Finding divine beauty in the spring symphony of Semal trees

There is a spiritual connection between the beauty and the divine, embodied by the resplendent Semal tree as it heralds the arrival of spring in New...

17.03.2024 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | The intimate world of Hindustani culture

Decorum, etiquette, elegance and intimacy symbolised baithaks, something possible only in smaller gatherings, sans the small-talk noise of bigger...

10.03.2024 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | The Gamechanger in Elections: ‘Neta’ or Data?

The BJP has been the fastest in announcing the first list of candidates for the upcoming Parliamentary elections. This is typical of its working...

07.03.2024 10

News18

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Reimagining female power in Indian culture

Indian women are emerging as powerful forces, wielding influence in elections and society, challenging traditional norms

04.03.2024 5

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Gulzar: A seeker in the shrine of poetry

The reason is that Gulzar is, at his core, a poet, and by extension, a writer and film-maker. Writing has been his passion since he was a child

26.02.2024 20

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his many contradictions

The 19th C. Hindu reformist and religious scholar sought to abolish Sati and rid society of fanatic orthodoxy. British colonialism would enlighten us,...

25.02.2024 7

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | Cementing Election Commission’s Credibility: The Need for Another TN Seshan

In the bad old days of jungle raj in Bihar, elections were calculated not on the basis of who got more votes, but on which party was able to capture...

23.02.2024 5

News18

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Temple architecture is a spiritual journey

Hindu temple architecture mirrors the human form; from the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum, it leads away from the material world to commune with...

18.02.2024 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | A poet caught in a whirlpool of politics

Shrikant Verma was a great Hindi poet, one of the pioneers of new Hindi kavya, and a powerful politician

11.02.2024 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | Future of Free Speech in India: However Great The Pressures May Be, It Will Survive

The closing debate of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is hugely popular, and is, in a sense, the finale of the five-day event, with an...

10.02.2024 7

News18

Pavan K Varma

Goings on at the latest edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival

Associated with the behemoth lit fest since its inception, author Pavan K Varma tells us about this edition's book releases and idea exchanges

05.02.2024 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | In a sea of a billion people, a pandemic of loneliness sets in

Loneliness is a negative state of mind, solitude is a positive desire. The first is a problem that needs greater attention, the second is increasingly...

29.01.2024 8

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | Shri Ram Belongs To One And All

For weeks now, the dominant—even all-pervasive—subject among the people, the media and politics has been the Pran Pratishtha of the grand new...

26.01.2024 10

News18

Pavan K Varma

The contrast of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna: Uncovering the complexity of Hinduism

The choice to portray deities with varying attributes reflects Hinduism's nature. The incarnations represent both stability and playful divine energy

22.01.2024 7

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Murli Manohar Joshi at 90: The storied journey of a politician

Dr Murli Manohar Joshi is the kind of political leader — rare to find these days — with whom one can talk on a range of issues apart from...

13.01.2024 2

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | Maldives, Lakshadweep and India’s Poor Tourism Record

My first visit to the Maldives was in 1988 in rather dramatic circumstances. A coup d’etat had been made against the government of the President of...

11.01.2024 10

News18

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | What the Khan trio tells us about our country and culture

The superstar status of all three Khans — Aamir, Shahrukh and Salman — remains unchanged to this day. In their popularity we see the true nature...

07.01.2024 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Drama after trauma: Much politics in the name of Ram

06.01.2024 10

Deccan Chronicle

Pavan K Varma

A philosophical musing on our lives as Earth completes yet another revolution

If cosmology tells us that the universe could be infinite, or certainly as close to infinity as can be imagined, what is the significance of our New...

01.01.2024 8

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | Dhankhar Mimicry Row: Why Politicians Need to Have Thick Skin

My first interaction with Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar was both pleasant and surprising. He was then the Governor of West...

28.12.2023 10

News18

Pavan K Varma

Road to Bharat is riddled with pitfalls of Hindutva

23.12.2023 10

Deccan Chronicle

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | The thousand tongues that bind us

In a land with 122 major languages, over 1500 dialects, and six classical languages, to assert one's dominance over the rest is a futile exercise

23.12.2023 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Pranab Mukherjee: Up and close, and candid

Former President Pranab Mukherjee's daughter releases a book revealing Pranab's opinions of Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi

18.12.2023 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | Pranab Diaries: From His ‘Golden Period’ Under Indira to ‘Trust Deficit’ With Rajiv, Sonia

Earlier this week, I was in conversation with Sharmishtha Mukherjee, at the launch of her much-discussed and best-selling book, ‘Pranab: My Father:...

14.12.2023 5

News18

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Legacy of the rebellious women saints of the Bhakti movement

From Lal Ded in Kashmir to Chaitanya in Bengal, female devotees challenged gender orthodoxies through poetry and devotion

11.12.2023 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Whither democracy sans a functional Opposition?

09.12.2023 8

Deccan Chronicle

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Chanakya's enduring lessons for India

Unearthed in 1905 after centuries of obscurity, Chanakya's Arthashastra stands as one of the world's most insightful treatises on statecraft

03.12.2023 40

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue Shows Unity in Diversity in Moment of Crisis

I cannot but begin this column by mentioning the happiness and relief felt by the nation at the successful rescue of the 41 workers trapped for 17...

30.11.2023 4

News18

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Plumb the philosophical depths of Mahabharata

A dialogue between Yudhishthira and the mysterious Yaksha in the epic's Yaksha Prashna explores timeless questions on life, death, happiness, and duty

26.11.2023 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Inner-party democracy is vital, along with elections

25.11.2023 3

Deccan Chronicle

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | The purity of a sarodiya legacy

Amjad Ali Khan's story is an unstoppable journey to the summit of our great musical heritage

20.11.2023 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | How Supreme Court Exposes Political Lack of Will in Curbing Stubble Burning

On Wednesday, November 8 this year, Punjab witnessed 2,003 parali or stubble burning fires. Two days earlier, on November 5, that figure was as high...

17.11.2023 10

News18

Pavan K Varma

JUST LIKE THAT | Indians and their proclivity for data

A receptivity to interconnectedness comes naturally to us. Philosophy teaches us that even at the smallest atom, matter is part of an indivisible...

13.11.2023 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Caste census to hide Nitish record? Let’s rethink quotas

11.11.2023 2

Deccan Chronicle

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Exploring India's mathematical legacy in ancient civilisations

Is there a profound connection between scholars like Aryabhata and Brahmagupta and our contemporary aptitude for logic and mathematics?

05.11.2023 6

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | Hijab Row: Why It’s Best Not to Communalise the Issue, Rather Wait for Supreme Court Verdict

Last month, the Karnataka government allowed Muslim women candidates to wear the hijab for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam (NEET) in the...

03.11.2023 5

News18

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | From Lakshmi to Chanakya: Behind the Indian CEO success story

The remarkable rise of over three dozen Indian-origin CEOs in top global corporate industries prompts questions about the underlying reasons for their...

29.10.2023 7

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Rethinking tradition vs modernity debate

Madan Mohan Malviya was a stalwart in the Congress who had the courage of conviction to take a radically different stand.

22.10.2023 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Remembering the last Mughal Emperor's indelible cultural impact

Bahadur Shah Zafar left an indelible mark on Delhi's cultural landscape, from poetic soirees at the Red Fort to his patronage of the arts and love for...

15.10.2023 8

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Stand with Israel, but fair deal key to lasting peace

14.10.2023 4

Deccan Chronicle

Pavan K Varma

Suspected Poems: Gulzar Saheb's powerful political critique through poetry

Gulzar Saheb's 'Suspected Poems' are a powerful blend of tanz, sarcasm, and irony on politics.

07.10.2023 8

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | Canada Has Been A Safe Haven For Khalistani Extremists For Decades

With regard to the current fracas with Canada, for which the reasons are very serious, two things stare us in the face: one is an incontrovertible...

05.10.2023 10

News18

Pavan K Varma

New architecture not likely to change character of Parliament

30.09.2023 8

Deccan Chronicle

Pavan K Varma

Just Like That | Waheeda Rehman: The storied life and legacy of an acting legend

The intriguing and lesser-known stories in the life of Waheeda Rehman, an actor par excellence

30.09.2023 10

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Poet and statesman, unstained by politics

Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was, indeed, a statesman who was also a great human being, far above the coarseness of politics.

26.09.2023 6

hindustantimes

Pavan K Varma

Opinion | A Good Beginning for New Parliament House

For watchers—and participants—of Indian democracy, the last few days have been momentous. Parliament held its final session in the old building,...

21.09.2023 10

News18

Pavan K Varma

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