"This collection of articles represent the corpus of Jairam Rameshs columns for India Today. Writing under the name de guerre of Kautilya, originally the author of Indias greatest ancient work on statecraft, Ramesh brings his renowned intellect and humour to bear on the events and characters that have dominated public life over the past five years. Here the reader will find the pressing economic, social, political and intellectual concerns that grip both India and the wider world analyzed in an unprecedented combination of brevity and clarity. Hollywood, exchange rate mechanisms, federalism and international affairs are discussed alongside the usual and unusual suspects of Indian political life including the future of secularism, the obstacle facing economic liberalization and the intricacies of Budget-making. This must read collection form one of Indias most prominent columnists showcase a globalizing India that is often talked about but rarely understood. "