Besides research papers and books, I write for newspapers and magazines, mostly on Carnatic music, and give talks on literature, science and society, in English and Tamil. Where a piece is reproduced on arunn.in, my Tamil website, the link points there.
Translations to Tamil
- What is Art? by Leo Tolstoy (2025, ongoing). An excerpt was published in Thamizhini magazine. The opening part is also on arunn.in: கலை என்றால் என்ன? தொல்ஸ்தோய்.
Articles in newspapers and magazines
- “Academy, the house of bards”, The Hindu (English), 2012, reproduced | The Hindu
- “Tribute: Ananthalakshmi Sadagopan”, with T. T. Narendran, Sruti (English), Issue 347, p. 53, 2013, PDF
- “அஞ்சலி: சங்கீதக் கலைஞர் அனந்தலக்ஷ்மி சடகோபன்”, Solvanam (Tamil), Issue 329, 2013, Solvanam | reproduced
- “Of Concert Lists and Rasikas’ Quirks”, The Hindu (English), 2011, reproduced | The Hindu
General articles in Tamil, including magazine interviews, are collected at பொதுக் கட்டுரைகள், and more of my writing is listed on the Writings page of arunn.in.
Music and concert reviews
- மார்கழி இசை விழா 2025-2026 (Margazhi Music Season 2025-26), a weekly series of concert reviews in Tamil in four parts, Dinamalar (Tamil daily), December 2025 to January 2026: week 1 | week 2 | week 3 | week 4
- Nineteen concert reviews in Tamil for the December 2013 music season, Dinamalar (Tamil daily), reproduced on the Music page of arunn.in
- “Brothers in harmony”, The Hindu (English), 2012, reproduced | The Hindu
- “Enthusiasm with the stamp of classicism”, The Hindu (English), 2012, reproduced | The Hindu
Other writing on music, mostly for web magazines, is on the Music page of arunn.in.
Public talks on literature, science and social topics
- “Who is a good literary reader?” (யார் நல்ல இலக்கிய வாசகர்?), talk in Tamil, Chennai Literary Festival, 2024 (video | about the talk)
- “Teaching engineering in vernacular, pros and cons”, moderator of a panel discussion, Tamil Fest of the Tamil Cultural Association, IIT Bombay, 2023 (photo)
- “The write thoughts”, talk in English, Kenyon-IITM Writers’ Workshop, 2020 (video)
- “How I write science and art”, talk in English in the panel discussion “Teaching Writing Virtually”, SIDDHI, IIT Madras, 2020 (video)
- “Engineering Research Solutions to Bio and Thermal Problems”, talk in Tamil, PALS, 2019 (video)
- “Innovations by the common man”, guest speaker on the Tamil talk show Neeya Naana, Season 23, Episode 11, 23 June 2019 (Hotstar, subscription needed)
- “Human values vs business profits”, guest speaker on Neeya Naana, Season 23, Episode 58, 3 June 2018 (Hotstar, subscription needed)
- Invited talk at Tamil Puthaga Nanbargal, when Amerikka Desi was chosen Book of the Month, 2018 (videos | excerpts)
- “Types of writing”, talk in English, Kenyon-IITM Writers’ Workshop, 2018 (announcement | talk summary)
- “Everyday science apps”, bilingual talk for high school students, IIT Madras Science Camp, 2015 (video)
- “My science books in Tamil”, talk in Tamil, Muthamizh Mandram, IIT Madras, 2014 (part 1 | part 2)