Remembering SS Dwarka, the ship that carried Indian migrant workers to the Gulf for decades

The white passenger and cargo ship rode the waves of history, witnessing historic events like the Partition, until it was eventually scrapped in 1982.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· 15 hours ago

Gulf rupee: When the Reserve Bank of India played central banker in West Asia

Even after Indian independence, the rupee was the legal tender in a few Persian Gulf states. It was replaced with the Gulf rupee in 1959 to curb gold smuggling.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Sep 14, 2021 · 11:30 am

An Indian business community had thrived in Xinjiang before the Communists took over in China

Until the 1940s, the cities of Khotan, Yarkand and Kashgar had a visible Indian presence, comprising of traders from Punjab, Kashmir and Sindh.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Sep 07, 2021 · 11:30 am

Why George Harrison and Ravi Shankar’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 was a gamechanger

The former Beatle’s concerts, featuring some of the world’s most famous musicians including Bob Dylan, created global awareness about the Bangladesh genocide.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Aug 24, 2021 · 11:30 am

When playwright August Strindberg introduced a Swedish audience to Advaita Vedanta Hinduism in 1907

The great novelist and playwright’s ‘A Dream Play’ blended Hindu and Christian elements to portray the conflict between spirit and matter.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Aug 21, 2021 · 01:30 pm

Communal harmony and prudery about sex: An Italian composer’s impressions of 17th-century India

Pietro Della Valle travelled along India’s west coast, reaching as far south as Calicut. His letters provide an intriguing account of the country of the 1620s.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Aug 14, 2021 · 11:30 am

The story of the Indian hockey great who died too young

SM Jaffar was one of India’s finest hockey players in an era when the country reached near invincibility in the sport.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Aug 06, 2021 · 11:30 am

Boat Mail: Remembering the train and steamer service from India to Ceylon

Launched between Madras and Colombo in 1914, the service was once the most important transport link between the two nations.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Jul 31, 2021 · 11:30 am

Pilgrimage to India: When Martin Luther King Jr followed in Gandhi’s footsteps

After a month-long visit in 1959, the civil rights leader was convinced that non-violence was the best way forward for the African-American struggle.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Jul 14, 2021 · 11:30 am

Vladimir Dementiev (1959-2021): A diplomat who helped Mumbai rekindle its love for Russian culture

The pillar of Mumbai’s Russian language community passed away in Kolkata on April 21.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Apr 23, 2021 · 11:30 am

Why learning Chinese should not be seen as a security risk to India

India’s New Education Policy 2020 has effectively downgraded the Chinese language.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Aug 23, 2020 · 09:00 am

Sri Lanka’s most famous children’s books author Sybil Wettasinghe dies at 92

Her works were widely read in her native Sri Lanka as well as in countries as far afield as Denmark and Japan.

Ajay Kamalakaran

· Jul 05, 2020 · 12:30 pm