About me

Venkatesan ‘Venky’ Vembu attained his first Fifteen Minutes of Fame in 1984, on the threshold of his career, when paparazzi pictures of him with Maneka Gandhi were splashed in the world media under the mischievous tag ‘International Affairs’. But that’s a story he’s saving up for his memoirs…

Over 25 years, Venky worked in The Indian Express, Frontline newsmagazine,  Outlook Money, and DNA, before joining Firstpost ahead of its launch. Additionally, he has been published, at various times, in, among other publications, The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Outlook, and Outlook Traveller.

Mr Bean? Really?

From his current station in Hong Kong, where he is frequently (and quite inexplicably) mistaken for the bumbling movie character Mr Bean, Venky endeavours to convey through his despatches the dramatic changes that are sweeping across the East Asian region and the glacial but steady Asia-ward shift in the geopolitical and economic centre of gravity.

When he is not scrambling to meet manic deadlines, Venky overdoses on Zhang Yimou movies – and struggles valiantly with the tonal complexities of the Chinese language.

You can also find him here and here – and on Twitter here