Prem Panicker

    Managing Editor, Yahoo! India

    Journalist. Loves reading, writing; hates 'rithmetic.

  • A river runs through it

    The story of the Brahmaputra, the mighty river born of The Creator, and the 80 million lives it touches, begins here

  • Lalit Modi Unplugged

    Lalit Modi has given an exclusive interview to London-based journalist Mihir Bose on YouTube. Here, below, is the full transcript: Mihir Bose Lalit, is this strange you're in London and you face some very serious charges in India?  Allegations about … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/theplayingfield/2010/11/25/lalit-modi-unplugged/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • Adios, Murali

    He walks to the top of his mark and stands there, the ball a whirring blur as he tosses it from his bowling hand to his left. He surveys his field and with shouted word and eloquent gesture repositions them, … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/theplayingfield/2010/07/23/adios-murali/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • To Err is Human, to Stonewall is FIFA

    Ever kicked a football, even for fun? If yes, how would you like to sprain your ankle, perhaps even cause lasting damage to the delicate bones of the foot, kicking the specimen pictured here [Courtesy soccerballworld.com] — especially after the leather … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/theplayingfield/2010/07/01/to-err-is-human-to-stonewall-is-fifa/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • Happy Birthday Messi!

    There is only one Pele, one Maradona, and there can be only one Messi! The first two names are synonymous with legends, but Messi has still got a lot to prove to join the list of all-time greats. He is … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/theplayingfield/2010/06/23/96/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • Federer and the Story of 100,000 Pounds

    Wimbledon, the most famous tennis championship, may see Swiss tennis star Roger Federer lift his record seventh title after a tiring outing at the Roland Garros (and a scary opening match at Wimbledon). While Fedex is determined to net his … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/theplayingfield/2010/06/22/federer-and-the-story-of-100000-pounds/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • My Father’s Son

    The story goes back to when I was very young. Thirty days after I was born, my parents took me to the ancestral home in Calicut, and there I stayed in the care of my grandparents till age eight. That … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/thewatercooler/2010/06/21/my-fathers-son/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • The Best Book on Football. Ever.

    Sport comes to us in boxes — the perimeters of our TV screens or the boundary lines of fields and courts. As much as I enjoy what goes on inside those boxes, I've always had the urge to bust out … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/theplayingfield/2010/06/15/109/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • Barefoot in Bengal and Other Stories

    [Joga Bonito, the beautiful game, showcases not merely great soccer but also some fine, at times compelling, writing. This post brings together a random collection of the best on the web -- and for many of these links, I am … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/theplayingfield/2010/06/14/barefoot-in-bengal-and-other-stories/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • Spell I-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e

    Besides live coverage of various sports, ESPN also has segments devoted to extreme sports — and in my book, none is more 'extreme' than the annual Scripps Howard Spelling Bee. [This year's live coverage is hosted by Chris Harrison; besides … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/thewatercooler/2010/06/04/spell-i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • Fear is the Key

    The story goes that sometime in mid 1959, a 60-year-old film-maker fed up of helming big budget productions wanted to try something different — a taut, edgy thriller with a lesser known cast powered by creative sensibilities adopted from television. … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/thewatercooler/2010/06/04/fear-is-the-key/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • Alternate Stories

    Earlier this week, the New York Times — in the 'business', not 'fiction', section — suggested that India could become the next big hub for gay tourism. The NYT pegged its Panglossian optimism largely on the fact that a year … <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/geewhiz/2010/06/03/alternate-stories/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>

  • Between Rock and a Hard Place

    It's a remarkable story — of music born, as great music often is, of despair and of a leader who, with no promises to make and no future to work towards, attempts to channel the area youth away from the violence of separatism towards the creative violence of hard rock. <a href="http://blog.tools.news.yahoo.com/thewatercooler/2010/06/02/between-rock-and-a-hard-place/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">→</span></a>