Writer, editor, lapsed academic. The Americans: A Novel (4th Estate), Madras on My Mind (HarperCollins), Delhi Thaatha: A Great Grand Story (Seagull Books).
Madras, India
Joined November 2013
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Parents M.S. Viraraghavan & Girija Viraraghavan's 'Roses in the Fire of Spring: Better Roses for A Warming World & Other Garden Adventures' on their 50-year journey hybridizing over a 100 roses (and some) is here. Copies at amazon.in/Roses-Fire-Spring.…
& @DogearsEtc
@odysseychennai
Chitra Viraraghavan retweeted
I think the internet has made people deeply uncomfortable with the idea of being ordinary, and I think being ordinary is one of the greatest privileges of being alive.
Chitra Viraraghavan retweeted
Unpopular opinion: A major reason people like Modi, is that he makes their bigotry feel like patriotism, their hatred feels like courage, and their lack of civic sense feels like nationalism.
He didn’t create the ugliness in them; he just made it socially acceptable to flaunt it.
Chitra Viraraghavan retweeted
In the fight between Bulldozers and Books, Kolkata chooses books.
Walk with books. Walk for Books. Kolkata at her brilliant best.
Chitra Viraraghavan retweeted
🚨 1 Km long Deleted Voter List has arrived at Ramlila Maidan!
Democracy demands answers! 🗳️
#VoteChori #ChaloDilli
Chitra Viraraghavan retweeted
🙏 A HEARTFELT THANK YOU, SHRI RAHUL GANDHI JI @RahulGandhi Leader of Opposition @INCIndia
The IDBI Bank family sincerely thanks Shri Rahul Gandhi ji, Hon’ble Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, for standing with IDBI Bank employees and supporting their legitimate concerns.
IDBI Bank is not just a bank; it is a legacy of nation-building, public trust, and social responsibility. A profitable public institution built with public money deserves transparency, accountability, and protection of public interest.
Our fight is not merely for jobs; it is for the future of public sector banking, social justice, and the interests of millions of Indians.
We hope this support will strengthen our collective voice to stop the privatisation of IDBI Bank and safeguard its public character.
Thank you, Rahul Gandhi ji, for standing with the IDBI Bank family! 🇮🇳
IDBI BANK IS NOT FOR SALE!
#ThankYouRahulGandhi #SaveIDBI #StandWithIDBI #StopPrivatisation #PublicSectorBanks #BankBachaoDeshBachao
Chitra Viraraghavan retweeted
What's happening here is a moment of collective shame.
Hounding someone just because you can't stand their work - to what extent are we going to tolerate all of this?
BREAKING: Madras High Court issues notice on plea seeking investigation into the identity and background of journalist Saurav Das, including his parents, and cancellation of his passport and Aadhaar card if allegations are established.
@SauravDassss @Cockroachisback
How about "Make the next dosai crisper"?
The strongest argument I’ve ever heard in defence of patriarchy is the hot chapati. Someone has to keep making them while everyone else eats, and that someone is rarely the man demanding another.
But what happens when you draw a line between rice-eating and roti-eating India? The Census, economists and several decades of research start telling a rather curious story.
Introducing Rotinomics: where a humble flatbread finds itself accused of being an accessory to patriarchy.
@PrasadScribe
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/…
Chitra Viraraghavan retweeted
Let's name exactly how Tata is being destroyed. And exactly who benefits. 🔻
The documented facts:
📌 RBI orders Tata Sons - an Upper Layer NBFC - to go public
📌 Tata Sons board agrees to list - opposed by Tata Trusts who own 66% of Tata Sons
📌 Noel Tata calls Chandrasekaran's reappointment "illegal"
📌 Tata Sons consolidated net profit slipped 35% under current management
📌 Six Parsi/Zoroastrian organisations write to PM Modi to protect Tata's legacy
📌 New York Times calls it "government intervention" in India's most revered institution
📌 The Print: "Government push to force Tata Sons onto the stock market - turning a governance dispute into a national crisis"
Now the conflict of interest nobody is saying out loud:
🔴 A forced Tata Sons listing = dilution of Tata Trusts' 66% control
🔴 Tata Trusts fund hospitals, universities, research institutions; not shareholders
🔴 Forced listing = philanthropic structure dismantled. Permanently.
🔴 Chandrasekaran - the chairman at the centre of this - sits on boards of Modi government's strategic committees
🔴 The RBI Governor enforcing the listing order was appointed by the Modi government
🔴 The same government that weaponised ED, CBI and RBI against every business that didn't comply, is now using regulatory mandate to break the one conglomerate it doesn't yet control
Tata Trusts own 66%. If that 66% is diluted through a forced listing; who buys those shares? At what price? And who decides the timing?
J.R.D. Tata built this for India. Ratan Tata protected it for India. And it is being dismantled, through regulatory capture, for a handful.
Business leaders are silent. Because silence is now the price of survival in Modi's India.
But the Supreme Court is watching. The Parsi community is on record. The New York Times is watching. The BBC is watching.
India is watching. 🇮🇳
🚨 The question isn't whether Tata will survive this. The question is: who is waiting to pick up the pieces?
Name them. Under oath. Before a JPC. Now.
Chitra Viraraghavan retweeted
Dear Mrs. Sitarama,
1.Which "legal and commercial matter" required Tata Trusts and Tata Sons to be hosted at Amit Shah's residence?
2.When is crony number 1 going to appear in the game and which pieces of Tata is he going to get?
Finally, all India's businesses except 3-4 of your cronies, already hate all of you and don't need any incitement.
Being the LoP @RahulGandhi, I suggest you refrain from politicising every issue. Also, casually labelling commercial and legal matters as criminal is unacceptable.
You have repeatedly decried the successes of Indian industry & our entrepreneurs. Now, are you trying to incite our business leaders to join you in spreading distrust & toxicity?
For decades, your party had smothered the spirit of the Indian entrepreneurs under the stifling ‘Licence-Quota Raj’ & inflicted poverty on crores of Indians.
On the other hand, our government led by PM @narendramodi values the Indian industry as job creators & drivers of economic growth. Our policies have been tailored to enable enterprise, support industry and encourage investment.
Political parties, leaders, governments and institutions share an equal responsibility to support our industry, strengthen our farmers and secure the future of our youth.
Therefore, it is essential to engage constructively rather than casting baseless aspersions to suit your narrow political motives.
The Constitution of India ensures justice to all its citizens & our Honourable Courts are entrusted with upholding it. History is witness to the shoddy manner in which you, your party and the PMs belonging to your party have demeaned the judiciary.
So Rahul ji, refrain from seeing ghosts everywhere.