I’m looking for The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Not just any copy.

You see I spend most of the day and night walking around in the city, armed with a camera, a notepad and, usually, a book. Unfortunately, when it comes to Will, I could either carry him or handle my camera, not both. Read more

Monuments have their uses. Being old, they add depth to the character of complicated, rapidly modernizing cities. The other afternoon, a hot Delhi afternoon, I went to Hauz Khas ruins hoping to understand how this city is coping with its ancient past. Read more

As a Delhi reporter sent to Gujarat to feel the pulse of its people, I’m still trying to make sense of the Congress landslide in that state. Technically speaking, the Narendra Modi-led BJP with 15 seats is right there at the top. But how did the Congress win even 10?  

A single-digit score would have been perfectly respectable considering that most people whom I talked to spoke of Modi as if he was a wrathful but just God who crushes the evil, feeds the poor and doesn’t let any power bring dishonour to Gujarat’s asmita. Read more

Have you read the definitive Delhi novel?

Of course, not. I’m still writing it but you know last night I dreamt that The New York Times carried a review of my novel! Here it is… Read more

To be in a multinational crowd, you need not go to Maurya Sheraton’s lobby. Just head straight for Zaki Cybercafé in Nizamuddin Basti.

Tucked in a crowded lane, up an uncomfortable flight of 12 steep stairs, the moment you enter Zaki, you are overcome by claustrophobia. Two boxy rooms, eight assembled computers, four telephone booths, plus a third room serving as a sexologist’s clinic. But we will limit ourselves to the cybercafé. Read more

The strange logic behind the naming of Delhi neighbourhoods.

Shakespeare says, that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. The other day, I went to Khichdipur in east Delhi and could not smell any khichdi. Read more