Sandip Roy

Women on the subcontinent may have gained more economic and political clout in the past few decades, but many still cannot escape indiscriminate acts of violence known as "eve teasing." Commentator Sandip Roy takes a look inside the problem and at what women are doing to fight back.

Once, moviegoers in India waited patiently for the latest Hollywood releases to trickle their way over. That's no longer true for the big popcorn blockbusters like The Avengers,which was in 39 countries before its U.S. debut. A fan in India welcomes the change.

Centenarian Manohar Aich, also known as India's Pocket Hercules, runs an old-fashioned gym in Kolkata, India. Commentator Sandip Roy visited India's first Mr. Universe, who has little patience with the craze for fancy gym equipment that has swept middle-class India.

Restaurants that cater to the affluent in India are forgoing vegetables in return for ever increasing amounts of meat. Commentator Sandip Roy describes what it's like for a lifelong vegetarian to be confronted with chicken kebabs, mutton biryaniand lamb shanks.

Tens of thousands of people are attending the Jaipur Literature Festival in India — including many international literary stars and Oprah Winfrey. Author Salman Rushdie was invited but decided not to attend after a warning that hit men would be after him. Rushdie wrote The Satanic Verses which has been banned in India for more than 20 years.

For commentator Sandip Roy, the Indian festival of Diwali usually brings to mind the warmth and comfort of tradition. But this year the holiday seems more commercial than ever before. He has this essay on celebrating the festival of lights in a globalized India.

Tamil is a language known for its poetry, but commentator Sandip Roy knows it has another side. Dime-store pulp fiction has a large Tamil-speaking following — and a newly translated anthology is coming to America.

Thursday begins the five-day Indian festival Durga Puja, the largest annual celebration for Bengali Hindus. Commentator Sandip Roy contrasts celebrating the holiday as a child in Calcutta and as an adult in California.

Commentator Sandip Roy compares the new Bollywood superhero Krrish with Hollywood's "man of steel." The biggest difference? Krrish can sing and dance.

Americans are encountering India's Bollywood style on fashion runways and in music videos. But commentator Sandip Roy, an Indian immigrant, isn't sure what to make of the new Bollywood section at his local Blockbuster.