Agriculture Left to Die at India’s Peril
Letter from India, The International Herald Tribune MOLASUR, INDIA — It was Pongal a couple weeks ago, the Tamil harvest festival, and villages around here were alive with temple music and firecrackers. Tractors were scrubbed down, shiny, and cows were decked out in flowers. Pongal is a joyful holiday, a time of thanksgiving. For […]
A Test Ahead for India’s Defiant Optimism
Letter from India, The International Herald Tribune PONDICHERRY, INDIA — The last couple of months have seen a slew of retrospective articles and issues in the Indian media. The end of a decade is an occasion for looking back. But this, my first column in the new year, is also an occasion for looking forward. […]
In Tsunami’s Wake, an Unexpected Second Chance
A version of my first article on the tsunami’s aftermath ran in the Week in Review section of The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/weekinreview/03kapur.html
Aid Money Brings a New Social Order
Letter from India, The International Herald TribunePart two of a two-part series KILLAI, India — At the edge of Killai, a village on India’s southeast coast, there is a collection of 163 concrete houses, single-story blocks set in neat rows and surrounded by open fields. This is the neighborhood of M.G.R. Nagar, named after M.G. […]
Changed Forever by Disaster
Letter from India, The International Herald TribunePart one of a two-part series THANTIRAYANKUPPAM, INDIA — Five years ago, I woke up on a Sunday morning, checked the news online and saw that a tsunami had hit my part of the world. Early reports were sketchy. I read about just a few casualties (in Sri Lanka, […]