Columns

As sole proprietor of Salt Desert Media/ Pippa Rann Books, why do I publish things with which I disagree? It is worth noting that I do so primarily where I feel that the work communicates a point of view that is soundly argued, well expressed, and should be heard. Let me explain that in the […]

Will there ever be peace on earth? Not in my lifetime. And not on this earth. World War II detonated in sequence: the Anschluss or annexation of Austria by Germany in March 1938; Germany’s invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939; or Hitler’s incursion (with Stalin’s support) into Poland in September 1939. World War III began

This is the age of empty symbolism, make-believe and the suggestio falsi. Our revered Prime Minister goes trotting around the globe intoning “This is not the era of war” like a metronome, even as he almost started a war on his own doorstep, and repeatedly abstained from voting to stop two wars which have killed tens of

An optimist is one who believes in reincarnation. In that sense, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is the supreme optimist. The title Dalai Lama – Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama – was bestowed in 1578 by Altan Khan (a descendant of Kublai Khan and the first Shunyi King of Ming China), on his

New Delhi, July 17, 2025: Trump’s Resurgent Trade Wars: Will and Can the World Unite Against Them?   The time has surely now come for countries, erstwhile allies and foes of the US alike, to unite in the Geneva corridors of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and in other appropriate forums against the tariff tantrums

For six months of the year, confined in my NCR flat like a Trappist monk, the only birds I get to see are pigeons, which have now become the ubiquitous symbol of urban avian life. But for the other six months, when I repair to my cottage in Puranikoti village near Shimla, it’s a completely different

History has the knack of forgetting women. One way is to not name them at all. More recently, I noticed another… I had just completed writing my book (no, not the one in the picture!) and I had to cross-check all the references. I had cited a good number of academic sources. But I hadn’t

The Deputy Commissioner Shimla announced last Tuesday that 300,000 vehicles had entered Shimla in the last two weeks due to the tourist rush. That is 15000 vehicles per day. Shimla has parking for just about 5000 vehicles, and if we assume that a tourist family/group stays for just two days, the daily parking requirement is

My cousin and I, primary schoolers at the time, were dressed in velveteen clothes—him in a tiny suit, me in a tiny gown. We happily participated in our aunt’s wedding procession. After the ceremony, however, we were bawling, “Aunty is gone.” Though we were young, we could tell that the change—even though a happy one—meant