VIR DAS

Year-ender 2023: Look back at India’s top 10 achievements this year

NEW DELHI: Each year, the catalogue of notable accomplishments by Indians seems to expand, and this time around, it appeared as if there was a news story about an Indian breaking a record almost every week. Earlier in the year, the world was captivated by Chandrayaan-3’s successful moon landing, capturing the attention of audiences worldwide. […]

Vir Das Did Not Tickle Anything

The 11th century philosopher from Kashmir, Acharya Abhinavagupta, in his commentary on Bharata’s Natya Sastra explains the comic sentiment as Kuhaka – meaning tickling of Kaksa – armpits or hidden and sensitive zones. Tickling is a form of cute aggression. Surrendering to the power of the tickler is an acknowledgement of the pleasure of harmless […]