In this media age, Mayawati is the ultimate "outsider". Openly contemptuous of the "manuvadi" media, she will rarely come to a television studio. Even if she does speak, it is more in the nature of a bark than a soundbite. She may have built herself a palatial bungalow in Delhi's...

Here's a candid confession: as India were losing to Sri Lanka, for once I didn't really mind. After a lifetime of cheering for the men in blue, for the first time defeat didn't seem to really hurt. Actually, it almost seemed to come as a relief that India's quest for...