Shobha Warrier has extensively covered the Sabarimala issue for Rediff.com. She is the author of His Days with Bapu: Gandhi's Personal Secretary Recalls among several books. You can e-mail the author at shobhaw@rediff.co.in
The cheeky young man who once gave me one-word answers grew into a philosophical, detached star yet remained simple and humble, never letting stardom steal his heart, notes Rediff's Shobha Warrier who first interviewed the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner in 1987.
'New announcements are made every day which brings tremendous amount of instability and uncertainty.' 'Relying on America has become a big problem.'
'...are young Indians with aspiration to go to the US.' 'The dream has to be more about working in India...'
'After tobacco, the next most common cause for oral cancer is alcohol.'
'The fiscal situation is extremely vulnerable. It has never been so bad in Kerala's history.'
'We can't afford to fight each other.' 'We have to win the 2026 election.'
'They have to prove the credibility of their talk; whether they want to focus on the secular face of India, whether they want to focus on democracy and above all freedom of an individual to practice his or her religion.'
'They should be given a strong message that they are not the ones who decide the rule of the land, and they are not the ones who decide what justice is.'
'There will be not less than 31 lakh people working in the census process.'
'It is for the first time in Independent India that collection of information on caste is being done.'
'VS was a man who devoted every moment of his life, from the beginning till his death at the age of 100, to the struggle against the injustices inflicted upon land, nature and the common man.'
'India did not surrender. That was why he wanted to pressurise India by this 25% tariffs.'
'What India has done will surely embolden more countries to stand up to Trump.'
'The nuns were subjected to abusive language and all types of mental torture.'
'The Railways is today running train services with 30% less number of loco pilots.'
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
'All governments are scared of a negative image.' 'Somehow, this government has a tendency to create a narrative that things are improving.' 'When the real data gives a different picture, they are upset.'
'Today, the State looks at everyone with suspicion.'
'You can say it was a moment that can be described as unimaginable or unbelievable.'
'Archaeological sites like Keeladi, having remained buried for 2,500 years, have come out and speak now.'
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