NEWS
Stories about India’s wars must be included in school curriculum: Shiv Kunal VermaHow you put the recent be-headings in the context of that history is up to you, but I think it is worth knowing that it has been noted to happen at various points in combat by Indian soldiers - "Biz heads are likely to be quoting Chanakya in 20 years"
“The Arthashastra has about 6,000 sutras, I’ve written on 500 of them in my books,” said Pillai, - 1984 riots have dissolved in memory: Humra Quraishi
Whether Hindu, Muslim or Sikh, we need to just get up and talk about it and ask for justice. - Kashmiris are bound by a common thread of suffering: Shahnaz Bashir
Talking about the influence of violence on children who often resort to stone-pelting against security forces, Arshad said, “If you can shed tears for Malala, why not for Insha who was blinded by - Fashion students are disillusioned: Ritu Kumar blames leading fashion institutes in India
The most interesting bit was designer Ritu Kumar blaming the leading fashion institutes for giving false aspirations to students. - Narendra Modi will have to assure Parliament about demonetisation: Kanhaiya Kumar
Kumar finds the government “anti-student” – not just because of the conflict on several campuses since it came to power but because there are no jobs, no future for students. - Discussion about the role of private universities in India
“Private universities don’t have to admit everyone; they don’t have to follow a fixed syllabus and can customize teaching,” says Dhar. - Tough to pull off being vulgar and clever at the same time: Radhika Vaz
Vaz said, it was important to give primacy to the point being made through the use of cusswords, rather than the expletives themselves. - Women's reputation easiest to spoil in politics, says Margaret Alva
Speaking about “Women in Politics” at the Times Lit Fest, Alva said, “Women's reputation is easiest to spoil in politics...Women age, can't win. The same rules don't apply to men.” - Become an explorer of life, not reproducer: Raghu Rai
In this age of digitization, we often ponder if the value of photography has reduced to its dregs. - We’re doing okay on growth, inclusivity and sustainability are our challenges: Montek
“Things are worse than they were 10 years ago" he said. - Will campaign for removing cow protection laws: Illiah
The session on ‘cow nationalism’ at the Times Literary Festival on Sunday saw heated discussions. - More states for better governance: Jairam Ramesh
Ramesh said there are lessons to be drawn from the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. - He came, he sang, he conquered
"Anything I want to say, to share, the best way that I feel happy to do it... is through a song.” - The government had been “morally callous”, says Pratap Bhanu Mehta
“This moment represents the most serious crisis for judiciary since Independence including Emergency days.” - Indian language literature should be promoted: Tavleen Singh
Emphasising the importance of the Indian culture of inclusion, Singh lamented the lack of quality education, which ultimately led to the loss of regional languages. - Despite grim reality, Jinnah’s vision not dead
“We don’t have a constitution like India’s but we’re standing up and fighting for our rights.” - Vaasanthi calls Amma a “tyrant,” describes how difficult covering government is when she’s in power
The most remarkable thing about Amma: Jayalalithaa’s Journey from Movie Star to Political Queen and Haar Nahin Manunga is that they got written at all. - Demonetisation is part of govt’s amnesia about the poor: Harsh Mander
Speaking at a panel discussion on Sunday as part of the Times Litfest here, Mander said that the economically deprived had been dealt with a severe blow by the policy. - Modi’s Barack moment and sounds of silence
“When I walked into the Gujarat CM’s office in 2010, Narendra Modi had Barack Obama’s book on his table. ‘I want to be like him,’ he told me Ayyub said. - Amitabh Kant vociferously defended PM Modi’s controversial demonitisation policy
If you want growth and prosperity of the nation in the long-term, then some pain in the short term is necessary. - We want one country, one law, not one country, two laws: Binalakshmi Nepram
Humanitarian, writer and activist Binalakshmi Nepram made an impassioned appeal for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. - Replacing old notes will take over 6 months: Amit Mitra
It will take the centre six months to print banknotes to replace the demonetised Rs 500 and 1000 currency if the presses work round-the-clock in three shifts a day, West Bengal finance minister Amit - Bengal is changing radically, and there’s more to come: Amit Mitra
Speaking on women’s empowerment, Mitra alluded to the state’s Kanyashree scheme. - Trying to make sense of a Trump-led US
Session ‘How will India deal with President Trump?’, on the closing day of the Times Lit Fest, featured C Raja Mohan, Arun Singh and Rajiv Malhotra. - Is writing short stories a waste of time?
While praises for short story collections in India are abound, writers are often exposed to discouraging words from Indian publishers, revealed celebrity author Ravi Subramanian at the Times Litfest.
Performances
28th Nov – The Illiterates by Sorabh Pant
30th Nov – Dastangoi by Ankit Chadha