A former associate editor with the Times of India, Jug Suraiya writes two regular columns for the print edition, Jugular Vein, which appears every Friday, and Second Opinion, which appears on Wednesdays. His blog takes a contrarian view of topical and timeless issues, political, social, economic and speculative. Less
... MoreAugust 16, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
What I’m called can confuse a lot of people and not just kanwariyas The principal of a famous school in Darjeeling was in a state of consternation. The reason was the expected arrival of a…
August 16, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
August 14, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
All Americans have a long-ago connection with us, which they might not know about Is Kamala Harris, Donald Trump’s challenger for the US presidency ethnically an Indian, or is she what in America’s colour-coded lexicon…
August 14, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
August 9, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
If everything and everyone becomes spurious the bogus becomes the bona fide Employees of an accredited university in Rajasthan have reportedly hit upon a money-making scheme by handing out fake degrees to students in return…
August 9, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
August 7, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
Trump, JD Vance, Rishi Sunak, and Suella Braverman don’t like people who are like them Donald Trump and JD Vance, his one-time die-hard detractor who had described him as an American Hitler, and who is…
August 7, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
August 2, 2024, 7:41 AM IST
The American presidential election is based on a system that raises three-fifths of a question It’s a more thrilling spectator sport than the Paris Olympics. It’s the race to see who crosses the finishing line…
August 2, 2024, 7:41 AM IST
July 26, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
A London taxi driver’s questions about India are as difficult to digest as they are to refute Taxi drivers everywhere are said to be founts of street-smart knowledge. The reason being that airport cabbies in…
July 26, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
July 19, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
Donald Trump’s injured organ of hearing might be a gate pass for his re-entry into White House A picture is said to be worth 10,000 words. But the picture, showing a triumphant Trump with his…
July 19, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
July 17, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
It’s time to turn tables on those who make all these unwanted and annoying phone calls My phone rings. I know who the caller is: a spammer, trying to sell you a 2BHK apartment, or…
July 17, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
July 12, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
The capital city of Britain serves up the whole wide world on a plate Over the past few weeks, Bunny and I have eaten in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, China, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Türkiye, Jamaica,…
July 12, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
July 10, 2024, 6:00 AM IST
I happened to be in London during the British elections in which Labour Party scored a landslide victory over Rishi Sunak’s Conservative govt. A day before the polls I went to my local pub as…
July 10, 2024, 6:00 AM IST
July 5, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
Leaked question papers and other forms of cheating prove our education system is a total failure We addressed him as Sir or Mr Peterson, but among us schoolboys he was always Gup, as in gup-shup,…
July 5, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
July 3, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
A thousand years from now archaeologists might find evidence of a repeatedly sunken civilisation Two archaeologists, Prof Indiana and Prof Jones, in a museum full of ancient manuscripts, fossils, and crumbling statuary. A digital calendar…
July 3, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
June 28, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
The feisty womenfolk of Kutch Mandvi continue to tick off deities who are seen to be not doing their job It was a scene of high drama. In a forest, a woman desperately calling out…
June 28, 2024, 5:00 AM IST
June 26, 2024, 5:48 PM IST
Doing the rounds on social media is a debate between a conservative and a liberal, expressing diametrically opposing views. The conservative extols what she sees as the benefits of the British Empire to its colonies,…
June 26, 2024, 5:48 PM IST
June 26, 2024, 6:49 AM IST
Doing the rounds on social media is a debate between a conservative and a liberal, expressing diametrically opposing views. The conservative extols what she sees as the benefits of the British Empire to its colonies,…
June 26, 2024, 6:49 AM IST
June 21, 2024, 6:50 AM IST
London, where I am, desperately needs a summer sale. Indeed, not just London, but the whole of Britain is hankering for someone to sell them what’s urgently wanted, which is summer. Britain’s long winter of…
June 21, 2024, 6:50 AM IST
June 19, 2024, 6:42 AM IST
The driver of a very complex vehicle must steer a very careful course to avoid any mishaps along the way A customer walks into the showroom of Coalition Carbar Company, where a red carpet has…
June 19, 2024, 6:42 AM IST
June 14, 2024, 5:59 AM IST
In 1973, Bunny and I were on a shoestring trip through Europe. In Rome we stayed at the least expensive accommodation we could find, Pensione Katy. Our room could have passed muster as a walk-in…
June 14, 2024, 5:59 AM IST
June 12, 2024, 6:50 AM IST
Sometimes too much hype about a forthcoming event can lead to an equally great anticlimax Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement, said Dr Johnson. But what happens when the projected promise is…
June 12, 2024, 6:50 AM IST
June 7, 2024, 7:59 AM IST
Rani and Raju, two shaadi baraat horses, mulling over the poll results. Raju: The ballot box has once again proved to be a jack-in-the-box out of which pops many a surprise. Not a few have…
June 7, 2024, 7:59 AM IST
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