Vishnu Varma is Assistant Editor and reports from Kerala for the Hindustan Times. He has 10 years of experience writing for print and digital platforms and has worked at The New York Times, NDTV and The Indian Express in the past. He specialises in longform reportage at the intersections of politics, crime, social commentary and environment.
Articles by Vishnu Varma
Over 121 killed, hundreds missing as landslides batter Wayanad
At least 121 killed, 128 injured, and hundreds missing in Wayanad, Kerala due to landslides triggered by heavy rains, highlighting the impact of the climate crisis.
Updated on Jul 31, 2024 05:00 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Wayanad
Wayanad landslides: 36 dead, scores injured; bridge collapse hampers rescue ops
The authorities roped in the Army to build a temporary bridge to the affected area of mostly tea and cardamom estates in Mundakkai
Published on Jul 30, 2024 11:53 AM IST
Heavy rain, dense fog, absence of key bridge hamper rescue efforts in Kerala’s Wayanad
The region is prone to landslides and has experienced similar incidents in the past, especially in 2019 when a major landslide was reported in Meppadi.
Published on Jul 30, 2024 09:24 AM IST
At least 36 killed, hundreds trapped as rain triggers landslides in Wayanad
Lawmaker T Siddique said a key bridge connecting the Mundakkayi town with other parts of the state has been destroyed
Published on Jul 30, 2024 08:26 AM IST
Kerala transwoman breaks barriers to make mark in Kathakali
Kathakali was never alien to Ranjumol Mohan. Growing up, she had seen her uncles and cousins, trained in temple percussion instruments like thimila and chenda, perform at local temple festivals. Her first brush with art happened in class 5 when she was picked by a school teacher, who saw glimpses of rhythm and music in her, for a sub-district competition in Ottanthullal, a local dance-cum-recitation art form steeped in humour and satire. She won the first prize there too.
Updated on Jul 30, 2024 07:28 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Kerala's Vizhinjam port receives first mothership ahead of trial run
The 300-metre-long cargo vessel, which set sail from Xiamen port in China, reached the outer sea off the coast of Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram.
Updated on Jul 12, 2024 10:45 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Harassment complaints mount against Kerala ex-coach
The accused was arrested by the Cantonment police in Thiruvananthapuram on June 20 after receiving a complaint of sexual abuse from a minor girl whom he trained
Updated on Jul 10, 2024 07:58 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
A humble start, an abrasive campaign and now, a seat at high table
Palakkad legislator Shafi Parambil, a first-time MP, won the Vadakara seat in a close contest against popular CPI(M) leader KK Shailaja.
Updated on Jul 10, 2024 06:58 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Kerala-born nurse Sojan Joseph wins UK Parliament seat
Sojan Joseph’s victory is part of a landslide win for the Labour Party in the UK, which secured over 410 seats in the 650-member House
Updated on Jul 06, 2024 02:38 PM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
British election: Kerala-born mental health nurse among Labour Party winners
Sojan Joseph defeated Damian Green, a former First Secretary of State and Conservative Party leader, by 1779 votes in a seat considered safe for the Tories
Published on Jul 05, 2024 04:21 PM IST
12-year-old dies from rare brain-eating amoeba
A 12-year-old boy succumbed to amoebic meningoencephalitis infection on Wednesday night in the Kozhikode district of Kerala, the third such fatality in the last two months, health officials said.
Updated on Jul 05, 2024 06:52 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Kerala transwoman forced to undergo conversion therapy gets HC relief
The HC’s ruling on July 1 came in response to a petition filed on behalf of the transwoman by her friend pleading for directions to her family to produce her in court and set her at liberty.
Updated on Jul 04, 2024 09:48 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
3 held for murder of Kerala woman 15 years back
Police said the woman was killed by her husband and his aides when he discovered she was having an affair
Updated on Jul 04, 2024 09:34 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Kerala CM launches four-year undergraduate programmes
The introduction of FYUP curriculum is part of the state government’s ambitious reforms in the higher education sector
Updated on Jul 02, 2024 08:02 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Government schools in Kerala welcome new gender-neutral curriculum
The new revised textbooks for government and aided schools in Kerala have been welcomed by both teachers and students alike for promoting gender equality and challenging patriarchal norms in its curriculum.
Updated on Jun 29, 2024 08:38 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
UDF slams LDF over KK Lathika’s Facebook post over Lok Sabha polls in Vadakara
The Kerala assembly on Friday saw heated exchanges between the ruling LDF and Opposition UDF MLAs over the controversial Facebook post in connection with the Lok Sabha elections in the Vadakara constituency.
Updated on Jun 29, 2024 08:26 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
8-term MP gears up to fight for LS Speaker’s post
Kochi: In 1989, the Adoor parliamentary constituency was seen a significant challenge for the Congress
Updated on Jun 26, 2024 07:48 AM IST
Priyanka Gandhi’s Wayanad candidature sparks mixed reactions among voters
Congress has nominated its general secretary and Rahul Gandhi's sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the by-election in Wayanad.
Updated on Jun 19, 2024 04:53 AM IST
Congress eyes big victory for Priyanka in Wayanad; mixed feeling among voters
Senior Congress leader from Kerala, Ramesh Chennithala, said the party workers and leaders have welcomed Priyanka Gandhi’s candidacy in Wayanad with great enthusiasm and excitement
Updated on Jun 18, 2024 07:20 PM IST
Centre’s decision to deny Kerala minister visit to Kuwait triggers political row
Pinarayi Vijayan and state’s opposition criticised the Centre’s move, while Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Union minister Suresh Gopi backed the decision.
Updated on Jun 15, 2024 04:46 AM IST
Kuwait tragedy: Kin grieve as bodies brought to India
Wednesday’s fire in the Al-Mangaf building, the worst building fire in the Gulf country’s history and most deaths were due to smoke inhalation.
Updated on Jun 15, 2024 12:46 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
A success story back home, Kerala man linked to tragedy
He began with a small job as an engineer at a private firm in Al-Ahmadi governorate with a monthly pay of 60 Kuwaiti dinars, around ₹16,000
Updated on Jun 14, 2024 08:14 AM IST
Kuwait fire kills Kerala man, his dream of having own house remains unfulfilled
Stephin Abraham Sabu, 29, was among the 49 people, mostly Indians, killed in the fire that broke out at a building housing foreign workers
Updated on Jun 14, 2024 12:25 PM IST
Shock, grief shroud kin of Kuwait blaze victims
At least 42 Indians, including Akash Nair from Kerala, died in a fire in southern Kuwait. Efforts are underway to identify and repatriate the victims.
Updated on Jun 13, 2024 05:01 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Suresh Gopi: BJP’s sole lawmaker from Kerala inducted as MoS
Suresh Gopi was sworn-in as a Union minister in the third term of the Narendra Modi-led government, an important milestone in his eight-year-long political career.
Updated on Jun 10, 2024 02:53 PM IST
Kurian: The surprise BJP choice from Kerala
George Kurian has been an organisation man within the Kerala BJP for the last four decades after he entered politics through the BJYM
Updated on Jun 10, 2024 07:50 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
George Kurian from Kerala set to be inducted into Union council of ministers
George Kurian’s induction into the Union council of ministers is seen as the BJP’s acknowledgement of the Christian support to the party in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, especially in Thrissur where the party won
Published on Jun 09, 2024 05:33 PM IST
NDA vote-share in Kerala rises by 4%, comes first in 11 Assembly segments
BJP made history by finally getting a Lok Sabha MP elected from the southern state through Suresh Gopi in Thrissur
Updated on Jun 06, 2024 04:12 AM IST
Vishnu Varma, Kochi
Riding on star power, how Suresh Gopi scripted BJP history in Kerala
Suresh Gopi, on whom the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had shown much hope, did not disappoint as he became the saffron party’s first elected MP from the southern state
Published on Jun 05, 2024 11:22 AM IST
UDF wins 18 seats, LDF and NDA get 1 each
Though the Congress and CPM are part of the national INDIA bloc and are fighting together elsewhere, in Kerala, they are part of rival coalitions
Updated on Jun 05, 2024 08:02 AM IST