What’s in a Menon? A Storm in a Sworn Name
The three-word surname that has Kerala's political class spinning, and what it quietly reveals about identity, theatre, and the anxieties of a brand-new government.ON the morning of May 19, 2026, Kerala got a new Chief Minister. The UDF, led...
When Governments Actually Work: The UAE’s Quiet Revolution
I have lived in the UAE for 35 years. I came from Kerala, a state where getting a single government document stamped can consume days, sometimes weeks, and often a quiet envelope slipped across a desk. You learn the...
The Fortress That Crumbled From Within
How the Left Democratic Front became a machine — and was consumed by it
On the evening of May 4, a veteran CPI(M) ward worker — call him Rajan — sat before his television and watched his party lose, decisively....
A Billion-Dirham Bet on Tomorrow: UAE’s Bold Industrial Gambit
The UAE has always matched vision with action. But the announcement of a Dh1 billion national fund, approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stands out...
How an election in West Bengal can ripple through Kerala’s economy
It may seem surprising that an election in eastern India can influence the economy of a southern state. Yet in today’s interconnected labor market, political developments in one region can quickly create economic consequences in another.
Kerala, known for its...
When Will We Stop Counting the Dead?
By K.T. AbdurabbI HAVE been living in the UAE for a long time. But in the years before I settled here, I witnessed many Poorams and temple festivals that used fireworks — and I still cherish those memories. The...
The Haram We Choose Not to See
There are two kinds of haram in our lives: the one we announce loudly, and the one we negotiate quietly.
My friend Khalid—village roots in Rajasthan, life built in Mumbai, earnings made in the Gulf—returned home this time not just...