From kuzhi paniyarams with Dutch ties to the local cousin of the East African injera, Tamil Nadu’s coastal food shows us that history is preserved not just in our museums but also in our kitchens

You can put down the below-par performances in the Cape Town Test to technical deficiencies in batting, yet you come to the philosophical question: Can we really know anything for certain? Also, does everything have to make sense?

Fifty years on, since Karnataka famously won the Ranji Trophy at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, we should ask ourselves, wouldn’t it be wonderful to sit in the Viswanath stand or cheer from the Prasanna enclosure?

Will Bazball work in India? Theoretically, there is no reason why it shouldn’t, but in practical terms, there are two reasons. One of them is Ravichandran Ashwin and the other Ravindra Jadeja.

If fortune favours the brave, it also tends to desert the timid, which is what India were in the Hyderabad Test

The government stuck to the theme as it raised the capex outlay for the coming financial year to Rs.11.11 lakh crore, an increase of 11%

The continued focus on increased capital investments will result in generation of employment opportunities while MSME-centric initiatives will help them compete globally; the Budget also promotes sustainable growth  

‘The underlying theme was clearly fiscal consolidation with an ability to maintain the infrastructure spends at the existing run rate’

Selection cannot be an exact science; there are too many variables from differing match conditions to untested mental abilities of the players. And luck, of course.

Not so long ago our best players came from the cities and traditional centres: Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai. For a little over a generation now, they have emerged from the old backwaters. This continues.

In many ways, Ashwin stands alone. He is constantly experimenting, constantly pushing himself, and always fighting two battles every time he steps onto the field.

Kuldeep Yadav made his mark over a decade ago and now, as he says, he has begun to understand his bowling. Wrist spin is a difficult art, one of the toughest in the game.

Surely in the thousands of spectators across the country, there is someone with a sense of humour, someone who can raise a heckle without raising a hackle.

Occasionally a line emerges that causes the kind of surprise a maiden over might.

Patrons of fashion and design, tawaifs weren’t mere entertainers. Their stories still inspire, as explored in Netflix’s new series, Heeramandi

Phuphee’s lesson on celebrating the power of individuality

There exists a literary practice where old favourites are given fresh adventures by later writers. These are mostly well written, and respect the backstories the original authors gave their characters

James Anderson played for long and reinvented himself periodically, cutting pace for accuracy and bowling with a grace and seeming lack of effort which is one of the game’s great sights.

Phuphee breaks down why the institution needs “two wheels”, otherwise it is just a crazy bull wandering around aimlessly

Engaging with vernacular diversity is a practical way to convey biodiversity concerns and values. It also helps to understand the plural ways in which communities value nature. June 5 is World Environment Day

It is accepted now that porn drove the Internet in its early days. Some 36% of the Net traffic was generated by it. The figure is far less now

It might be politically incorrect to say this, but America isn’t ready to embrace cricket yet

I am excellent at saying ‘I’. Happily, it is also the most important word for the swearing-inner

The Parsi community is the transition zone between the monotheistic and polytheistic mythologies of West and South Asia

By unifying disparate island-countries and building a world-class team, Frank Worell ensured “West Indies” became a single entity in the sport.

Wokeness, like political correctness, can tear when it is stretched too tight

Women are more than capable of saving themselves, says Phuphee. They don’t need magic, maybe just a helping hand

When both the character and the actor are brilliant in their own right, we get something close to perfection

Every player is capable of one moment of greatness in a career, but the best players have many of them, and closer together.

Wisdom according to Phuphee could be knowing when to add fruit to a meat dish, or how to let your kids pursue their dreams 

There are multiple demands from within West Bengal for separate political or administrative units. While the demand for Gorkhaland is more known, there are also Statehood demands for the Cooch Behar and Jangalmahal regions.

The newest comedy special to drop on OTT trains its scathing jokes on bosses and discontent at the office

Currently, the future of the game is not in the hands of the WCA or indeed the ICC. It is in the hands of the BCCI

Helping people shouldn’t mean exhausting yourself, says Phuphee. Take a walk, meet a friend, recharge your soul

With the ICC set to slightly even out the balance between the haves of the game (India, England, Australia) and the have-nots (the rest) there might be hope of keeping Test cricket alive.

In order to provide the much needed relief to the victims of crime, it is essential that the focus of criminal justice system shifts from being accused-centric to victim-centric

The present Assembly elections ends the six-year political stasis in J&K. Expectedly, there is heightened political activity and interest among the electorate.

As caretaker of the game’s treasure chest, Jay Shah might be the most powerful man in cricket ever — no W.G. Grace, Don Bradman or Sachin Tendulkar can match his combination of political, filial and financial heft.