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Monday, February 23, 2026
TopicMadras

Topic: Madras

An IIT Madras professor has written a book about girlhood and heartbreaks in 1910s

At the book launch, Githa Hariharan, Revati Laul and Kalpana Karunakaran used one woman’s story as a springboard to dive into questions of love, longing, and resistance.

How the East India Company picked Madras as a base. It all starts with a love story

In The Tamils, author Nirmala Lakshman crafts a rich and expansive exploration of Tamil history, society, and culture.

Marina Beach shoreline was garlanded with barbed wire & a ‘dummy fort’ to scare away Japanese bombers

In The Great Flap of 1942, Mukund Padmanabhan recalls the time between December 1941 to mid-1942 – when the Raj panicked over a Japanese non-invasion.

Bleeding Madras, George Cloth – How ‘Real Madras Handkerchiefs’ gained global popularity

Colonial merchants in the 19th century added the word ‘Real’ to Madras Handkerchief’s name to distinguish the handwoven cloth from imitations made in Europe.

From religious meetings to music concerts, how ‘sabha’ culture changed in Madras

The book Music, Modernity, and Publicness in India edited by Tejaswini Niranjana explains how musicians moved to colonial cities and formed exciting spaces of listening and desire.

Salem Godavari, Carnatic vocalist who fought superstitions to record erotic compositions

Salem Godavari is a forgotten footnote and sadly evokes no memory in Carnatic musicians or connoisseurs.

IAS aspirant to auto driver — how Chennai’s gully boys & girls fight inequality with music

The Casteless Collective, founded by filmmaker Pa. Ranjith and music producer Tenma, has grabbed attention with its use of gaana music and powerful lyrics.

Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar: The man Ambedkar said was ‘better’ than him

Ayyar, a member of Constituent Assembly, had an unparalleled knowledge of the world’s constitutions, said Ambedkar himself.

Behind the scientific brilliance of Ramanujan & Salam lay religious inspiration

With Hindutva in India, and persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan, it becomes important to note that both scientiests thanked religion for their work

On Camera

Nick Jonas wearing a mangalsutra is validation for many Indians. He’s our favourite jiju

Nick Jonas is not trying to modernise the mangalsutra, but his gesture shows that choices can be equal. If commitment must be flaunted, it need not be gendered.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

Suspected brake failure leads to Tejas accident after landing, airframe likely to be written off

The IAF, so far, remains mum on this accident which has led to grounding of the fleet for safety checks.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.