All stories by Keya Sarkar
My Business: Gone with the Covid
Rediff.com5 Sep 2020'Covid or no Covid, I knew I had made the right decision (calls from my bank to extend the much touted loans offered by Ms Sitharaman, notwithstanding),' says Keya Sarkar.
A view of the lockdown from Santiniketan
Rediff.com3 May 2020Never have I been so thankful for my decision to quit my life in Mumbai and shift to Santiniketan as I have been in these times of the coronavirus.
Is this how 'women's empowerment' plays out?
Rediff.com7 Mar 2020'I wonder how much of the guilt do I bear for having started off the cycle in the first place by giving her a job,' says Keya Sarkar.
Is India ready for NPR?
Rediff.com3 Feb 2020Prodded by Mamata Banerjee, Keya Sarkar updates her voter card only to discover...
What's the purpose of 'didike bolo', Mamataji?
Rediff.com21 Dec 2019'Despite many advising me otherwise saying "nothing will come of it", I refused to be cynical and dialled the number that had been staring at me from billboards aross the state,' reports Keya Sarkar.
Are you a 'voluntourist'?
Rediff.com11 Jul 2019We had managed to unshackle another youngster from the chains of buzzwords, says Keya Sarkar.
Why I stopped being my bank's 'priority' customer
Rediff.com6 Jun 2019'I know margins are under pressure, but have banks begin to stoop so low to enhance their floats or slip in strange charges?' asks Keya Sarkar.
The truth about training
Rediff.com20 Oct 2018'I wondered how one could impart training to grown men to not lie,' notes Keya Sarkar.
Mark my wood!
Rediff.com10 Jun 2018'My curiosity remained regarding what predominantly middle class Bengalis who frequent my shop do with so many wooden trays,' says Keya Sarkar.
The day my butta felt adulterated!
Rediff.com27 May 2018While everyone raves about the joys of the monsoons, Keya Sarkar is not as enthusiastic.
Where have Santiniketan's cycle rickshaws gone?
Rediff.com25 Mar 2018The cycle rickshaws have been replaced by battery-run 'totos'. These 'totos' strangely are not registered with the regional transport authority but by the strange rules of West Bengal administration are 'empanelled' with the ruling party, says Keya Sarkar.
How Tagore's legacy is being encroached upon
Rediff.com1 Dec 2017Tagore had a song for every occasion. Perhaps one of his songs on greed could become the anthem for the once hallowed Visva Bharati, says Keya Sarkar.
Thank God for DeMo, GST!
Rediff.com27 Oct 2017'Much as I have been enjoying the anti-GST jokes on WhatsApp and also worrying about the economy in a tailspin in more serious moments, there is a tiny part of me that is thankful to Modi and Jaitley,' notes Keya Sarkar.
The daughter of a 'monied' father
Rediff.com2 Oct 2017Keya Sarkar outlines some of the challenges faced by a low-income father determined to educate his daughter.
When a dreaded snake came a-visiting
Rediff.com29 Apr 2017'As it coiled around the stick and the gardener started to walk out, our house help kept reminding him about the fact that Russell's Vipers jump and can jump towards you.'
The diary of a small-town car owner
Rediff.com17 Mar 2017For Keya Sarkar it HAD TO BE a Maruti because that was the only company with a service centre in Santiniketan. Until even that ceased to exist.
Tagore's university to Mamata's university
Rediff.com7 Feb 2017While the standards of Visva Bharati University fall, the chief minister of West Bengal fantasises about a Biswa Bangla University a few kilometres away. Keya Sarkar ponders the sad state of affairs.
Eye to eye
Rediff.com12 Jan 2017Bereft of options when Keya Sarkar arrives at a charitable eye hospital in Santiniketan she is pleasantly surprised -- not just by the building but also by the patience of the tribals who await their turn and the overburdened doctors.
Eye to eye
Rediff.com12 Jan 2017Bereft of options when Keya Sarkar arrives at a charitable eye hospital in Santiniketan she is pleasantly surprised -- not just by the building but also by the patience of the tribals who await their turn and the overburdened doctors.
When an MP 'developed' Tagore
Rediff.com17 Dec 2016Knowing Rabindranath Tagore's dedication to aesthetics and simplicity, Keya Sarkar wonders what he would have thought of the modern-day commemorations organised in his honour.