Gå ubegrenset med Magzter GOLD

Gå ubegrenset med Magzter GOLD

Få ubegrenset tilgang til over 9000 magasiner, aviser og premiumhistorier for bare

$149.99
 
$74.99/År

Prøve GULL - Gratis

The Willing Martyr of Comedy

The New Indian Express Kollam

|

April 01, 2025

In the grand circus of Indian democracy, where the trapeze artists of power swing between sanctimony and savagery, Kunal Kamra, literally armed with a mic and a metaphoric mirror, has chosen to fall, missing the net. The mic is for him. The mirror is for us.

- C P SURENDRAN

His offense this time? A line delivered with the almost callous candor of a street poet: "I am ready to lose everything but not ready to lose my spine like Eknath Shinde did when he betrayed Uddhav Thackeray and became Maharashtra deputy CM." The word 'betrayal' undid the evening. As a result, writers like me get to repeat the charge.

This writer included, the spine in our existential and political transactions is often missing. The fear of offending—I live in this fear in every word I write. Contemporary civilization is little more than the nagging fear that someone, somewhere has taken offense at my writing. The fear was installed in our lives by liberals and wokes, but increasingly resorted to by the right wing.

Shinde is powerful enough to ignore the jibe. Instead, his people vandalized the venue in Mumbai, where the scene of the tragi-comedy occurred—as if the place, not the person, was responsible for the loud guffaws, knowing smirks.

Coming to think of it, it was not even a great joke. It was just a kind of truth that guides Indian politics. Recall the casual frequency with which elected representatives change their colors and parties.

And so, the erstwhile—undivided—Shiv Sena, now a relic of its former sons-of-the-soil self of the early 1960s, didn't appreciate the humor. Instead, they laid the venue to waste. One supposes it is by destruction of property that one reaches out to touch the personality.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA The New Indian Express Kollam

The New Indian Express Kollam

'United' MahaYuti to contest BMC polls

WITH the Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, reportedly warming up to each other and hints of a possible alliance in the upcoming BMC elections, the BJP is disinclined to go solo and favours the MahaYuti constituents contesting together to avoid splitting Hindutva and pro-government votes.

time to read

1 mins

October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express Kollam

MINDFUL METROPOLIS

Here are five options to experience and explore Singapore's spiritual culture and way of living...

time to read

3 mins

October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express Kollam

Only joint secy, DGP can order removal of social media content

Labels for deepfakes, Al-generated content

time to read

1 min

October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express Kollam

PSG score seven, Barca hit six on a goal-filled night

PARIS Saint-Germain scored seven, Barcelona hit six and Erling Haaland struck his 24th goal of the season on an actionpacked night in the Champions League.

time to read

1 min

October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express Kollam

25 Bhairav Light Combat Battalions likely to get ready within six months

THE Indian Army’s transformation plans will reach a new milestone with specialised Bhairav Light Combat Battalions set to be fully operational soon.

time to read

1 mins

October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express Kollam

The New Indian Express Kollam

A tribute: Naroditsky touch in chess lessons

FOR over two weeks in Singapore at the World Championships last November and December, GM Daniel Naroditsky had inadvertently become my eyes and ears.

time to read

1 mins

October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express Kollam

'India conceals, Trump reveals,' says Cong on US Prez's Russian oil claims

THE Congress on Wednesday used a phone call from White House greeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Deepavali to take a swipe at the Centre. The attack came after US President Donald Trump repeated his claim that India is “not going to buy much oil from Russia”.

time to read

1 min

October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express Kollam

BIHAR LEADERS FACE YOUTH TEST

WITH the Bihar election campaign gaining steam, the spotlight is increasingly focused on three key factors—the caste calculus, alliance chemistry and women’s vote—that past elections have highlighted.

time to read

3 mins

October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express Kollam

EC initiates talks with states for nationwide SIR rollout

THE Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday began a two-day meeting with Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) from all the states and the Union Territories (UTs) to review preparations for the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

time to read

1 mins

October 23, 2025

The New Indian Express Kollam

Coach Srinath backs Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi at chess World Cup

GRANDMASTER Srinath Narayanan, who was the coach of the India team that won gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, felt both R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi would have a great chance to lift the title.

time to read

1 mins

October 23, 2025

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size