Perhaps the first thing that strikes you about Prince Harry’s ‘Spare’ is the way it’s written. The style is taut, tense and staccato. Like a thriller. It’s, t...
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One of the fondest memories of my childhood is a song frequently sung at assembly in Doon School. Few of us understood the words. It was, after all, in Urdu. But we wer...
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The year is young and, in my view, we’re still entitled to a bit of fun. No doubt in the remaining 357 days events will overwhelm us but for now we can afford a littl...
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New Year’s day, like birthdays, feels special. Both are occasions when the wheel of life takes a fresh turn. A brief moment to look forward with hope and expectation....
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Two things make a memoir riveting – memorable anecdotes and sharp comments about well-known people. When the author is a spook, as he calls himself after a lifetime i...
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They say there’s nothing more cruel than schoolboys.  They’re wrong.  Far worse are those you were at school with – even after fifty years!  My class of ’71 ...
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Now that a little time has passed and passions have, hopefully, cooled I want to reflect on the furore surrounding Nadav Lapid’s critique of The Kashmir Files. I beli...
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I’m well aware most governments and civil servants believe ordinary folk like us are dimwits who will accept everything we are told. That’s true regardless of which...
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Is the Collegium System of choosing judges perfect? That’s what former Chief Justice Lalit has claimed in recent interviews. Indeed, he’s even suggested it’s intr...
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Bahrain is not a destination I would have chosen to visit. I used to think of it as a poor cousin of the Emirates and Qatar. But the truth is I knew nothing of the plac...
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