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Still running to packed houses

A pan-India band of male actors past the age that societies see as a person’s “prime” continue to rule the roost. What makes these superstars over 50 tick?
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Vagina monologues: Protesters in Chicago, Illinois, react to President Trump’s move to end US funding for abortion services Photo: Reuters

Miscarriage of rights

Donald Trump’s cutback on abortion care funding exposes the many pre-existing faultlines in India’s own laws on reproductive healthcare
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K Murali Kumar Mum’s the word: Johar is only 44, and much of his life has been — for lack of a better idiom — an open book. How much fresh ground can be uncovered by a memoir?

Lost in the funhouse

Karan Johar’s memoir isn’t short on amusing anecdotes, but falls short when it comes to revelations and hitherto unarticulated insights about the man
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Reuters/Mark Makela United we stand: British Prime Minister Theresa May, an apt choice for President Trump’s first meeting at the summit level

STATES OF MATTER

In working disorder

Contrary to what Trump said at his Inauguration, the ‘American carnage’ may have just begun

Hang

Quiz: Presidents past and present

On February 4 in 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of the US. What follows is a quiz on presidents. 1 In Sept... »

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HERE, THERE & ELSEWHERE

Leaf Love

"This is a great book!" says Bins. "You must read it." I'm trying to concentrate on getting together a packet of papers. "Do... »

The American Emergency

Though little has felt normal in the US in the last two weeks, there is still reason for radical hope — something that arises from the way the country is confronting the Trump crises

The man was visibly tired but walked tall out of the terminal. A clump of reporters shoved microphones into his face. Activists barked at the scrum, u... »

Takeaway

Stars of the stripes: This image of tigress Maya and her cub, both residents of Tadoba-Andhari, was used on a postal stamp launched in 2016. The photo was taken by Amol Bais, a school headmaster and wildlife enthusiast

Tiger, tiger burning bright

An impulse trip to Tadoba-Andhari, the largest national park in Maharashtra, leads to a chance encounter, and years of wonder

He motioned for us to be quiet, and slipped off his shoes. We took off ours too, acutely feeling the red gravel. The jungle floor had changed — dryin... »

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Colour no bar: A volunteer in Los Angeles takes part in the Pussyhat social media campaign as she learns to knit pink hats for protesters in the Women’s March in Washington, DC

THE CRITICAL ISSUE

Sisterhood of the Trump-ed

How feminism gains from the worldwide women’s marches post Inauguration

Many years ago on what was, I think, my first visit to the US, I landed in New York one evening. Jetlagged and disoriented, I took myself out for a w... »

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Young turk Maisie Williams doesn’t have a whole lot to do in iBoy, but she manages a few moments of brilliance nevertheless

Luna-tech in my head

Netflix’s latest exclusive film is a damp sci-fi squib, with some problematic notions about technology and the cult of humiliation

As luck would have it, iBoy (the latest offering from Netflix) was the third recent film I saw in as many weeks that involved rape as a major plot poi... »

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(Corpo) Real Many of George Saunders’s short stories describe the ways in which “capitalism plunders the sensuality of the body”, as Terry Eagleton put it

Life after life

George Saunders’ first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, may be the funniest, saddest book you’ll read this year

George Saunders is one of the most acclaimed short story writers in the world. The author of landmark collections like CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, P... »

Play

Grit and grime: Despite lacking a huge serve or a powerful forehand, Somdev Devvarman would wear his opponents down with long rallies

Of a single mind

Journeyman Somdev Devvarman’s decision to retire at 31, after a short but proud career, puts the spotlight back on why Indian tennis still fails to produce ace singles players

Starting 2017 on a new note, retiring from pro tennis. Thanks to everyone for the love and support over the years. #newyearnewbeginnings – Somdev ... »

Takeaway

Home and hearth: A resident of Bhatoli gaon, in Tehri Garhwal district, makes makki

Eating like a local in Garhwal

In old wooden houses, the region’s food comes alive through maize, millets and uncommon spices

The Corn Village sounded a bit like a tourist gimmick. (If you’re a traveller in the age of new media, inundated with information, you’re perpetually ... »

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To cap it all: Debal Deb grows 1,200 rice varieties at his farm ‘Basudha’ in Kerandiguda, Odisha; the agri expert also collects hats worn by paddy farmers around the world

Scientists of the soil

Debal Deb and an intrepid band of traditional farmers grow heirloom varieties of grains and cereals, thousands of which are on the brink of extinction

It is late afternoon when we arrive at Debal Deb’s farm, only to find him napping on a hammock next to his mud house. The sound of a gurgling stream ... »

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Everyday accidents: ‘365 Lives’ (2007), a series of photographic prints depicting 365 bumps, dents and scratches on cars, is operatic in its feel

The cosmos and the everyday

As you walk through Jitish Kallat’s mid-career retrospective Here After Here, currently on view at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Del... »

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