No longer one
India now has a 29th state. Telangana. It was six decades in the making, the fruit of a strong separatist movement that argued neglect by successive governments and finally succeeded…
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June 2, 2014
India's day of reckoning
By Friday afternoon, everything should become clear. Who did more than 500 million voters choose to lead India? India's day of reckoning is here. Election results will be announced soon.…
May 15, 2014
Looking like change in India
Today was the last day of polling in India's mammoth parliamentary elections. Five weeks of voting; Nine polling days; 814 million eligible voters; 543 Lok Sabha (lower House) seats. From…
May 12, 2014
Hotel Death
My story on a home for the dying in Varanasi, India, came out on CNN.com today. I spent a week reporting in the fabled holy city and was fascinated by its…
April 25, 2014
Sad news from Afghanistan
We lost another amazing journalist today. Anja Niedringhaus, 48, an acclaimed photographer for the Associated Press, died instantly after an Afghan policeman opened fire while they were sitting in their car…
April 4, 2014
Death: I've had 13 years to think
I've been immersed in writing about death after spending a week in Varanasi at a home where ailing, elderly Hindus go to end their lives. They want to die there because…
March 25, 2014
The world's biggest election
Get this: Starting on April 7, nearly 815 million Indians will begin casting ballots in this year's parliamentary elections. Yes, 815 million! That's almost 100 million more than there were…
March 5, 2014
Varanasi (aka Benares, aka Kashi)
Varanasi or Benares, as the British called it, is known for a lot of things. It's one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, the oldest, certainly, in…
February 12, 2014
Going to Goa
I'd never been to Goa until last week. My cousin Rahul and his wife Shraya moved to Goa several years ago but I hadn't had a chance to visit them…
February 4, 2014