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The Padma Bhushan Is An Honour That Exceeds Your Talent, Mr Kher
Dear Mr Anupam Kher, I was impelled to write you a letter the day the Padma Bhushan award was announced for you. You must have been jubilant. You must have been floating in the air. When people achieve...
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Has Parenting Taken Over Your Life? Don't Let It
A few weeks back, my son's school reopened after a rather prolonged Christmas break. Oh yes! If you're sensing a little excitement in my writing voice, then you're absolutely right. I am happy. In...
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Why Field Researchers Are Just Like Roaming Mendicants [Part 2]
This essay is the second part of a three part series on my experiences as a PhD researcher studying the governance of urban water-bodies in Bangalore, India. The first part which was published on the...
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Sabarimala And The Dark Absurdities Of Religion
Temple bells, Badami via photopin (license) Religiosity in India is so all-encompassing, that religion somehow manages to escape profound criticism even when some peculiar absurdity comes to light....
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How Mercedes Beat Rivals To Lead India's Luxury Car Market Once Again
This article is from Open Magazine. By Aresh Shirali Whizzing past at over 250 km per hour, the chequered flag is just a blur to a Formula One racer. And it's a flag that flutters with the story of how...
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It's My Birthday So Don't You Dare Pop My Balloon
To not-so-dear cynical friends and family, This is an open letter to everyone who finds the shenanigans of birthday celebrations absolutely inane and illogical. Hopefully this letter will help you see...
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Bullies Are Not Born, We Create Them
Bullying is on a rampant rise. Either that statement is true or it is being acknowledged and more openly discussed now like never before. Bullying is not restricted to schools or colleges. There is a...
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10 Fail-Proof Ways To Love Yourself Every Day
"The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it; you will discover that for you the world is transformed." -- Jiddu...
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How I Survived Planning My Big, Fat Indian Wedding
It was about eight months from the roka to the wedding day, which meant eight months of planning the big, fat Indian wedding. We mulled over whether to have a destination wedding (which meant fewer...
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India Must Harness Free Basics, Not Kill It
January 27, 2016 Hyderabad, India: Excitement was palpable when French economist Thomas Piketty, held in rockstar adulation by Indian intellectuals, elite and public alike, recently gave a lecture on...
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Adult Certification For 'Aligarh' Trailer Is Pathetic Hypocrisy
Responding to allegations that the CBFC's 'A' rating of our 'Aligarh' trailer reeked of homophobia, Censor chief Pahlaj Nihalani gave a mind-numbing statement to a leading paper this morning. He said,...
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3 Reasons Why Chess Makes Some Clerics See Red
Is chess forbidden in Islam? Yes, if one were to believe the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh of Saudi Arabia. In an interview given to a religious TV channel Almajd, he said that chess was akin...
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WATCH: How Chennai Volunteers Made 1.7 Lakh Food Boxes In 90 Hours
Over two days, it rained 34 times the normal amount in Chennai. The power and cellphone networks were down and large parts of the city were inundated. The rain didn't look like it would let up, and it...
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A Woman's Work Is Never Done... But It Should Be
"A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done..." Isn't this adage relevant even today? Did you know that women in India do 9.8 times as much unpaid/household work than men do? This...
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5 Books That Will Make You Trip On India
For centuries India has captured the imagination of the artistic world. From painters to poets to writers and sculptors, the sub-continent abounds with inspiration that has given rise to stories and...
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How To 'Get' Contemporary Art
"I don't get it." I hear that a lot in the context of Art, art with a capital A, because it's made its way in museums and galleries, something Ernst Gombrich defined as non-existing in the opening...
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You Got Rs 10,000 Crore To Spend? Educate Us!
I like that the government wants to get involved in the technology ecosystem in India. I just wish it felt less like FOMO and more like a long-term vision for real impact. India doesn't lack funding,...
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Podcast: Khichdi - The National Dish of India
What would be India's national dish? More importantly, can a country like ours, with its sundry eating habits, even have a dish that would represent all? Most of us would think that it's a tough ask....
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4 Trends That Could Change The Way Businesses Work
Gartner, the IT consulting major, said at a recent conference that a digital disruption to business is occurring approximately every three years. Current discussions at the World Economic Forum on the...
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The Non-Dalit's Guide To Debating Meaningfully About Caste
For the first time since the advent of social media, caste has taken centrestage in mainstream discourse. Debates on caste, discrimination and privilege are playing out on Facebook, Twitter, Quora,...
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