The Obsoleteness of Education?
One of the few pursuits that have seen a surge in interest in these otherwise trying times is that of online education. Apart from those that are engaging in it out of necessity, given the...
View ArticleOf Covidiots & other barriers to social distancing
A crisis like Coronavirus brings to the fore many heroes, people going out of their way to help others selflessly. It also brings to the surface many people who choose not to act in the...
View ArticleDrawing the line?
It is a rare opportunity. In these fractured times, when acute polarisation prevents us from ever being able to even talk to people of a different ideological persuasion, this is a moment when it is...
View ArticleWhen the world stops flowing
The lockdown is an altogether novel experience for the world, something that no one has any preparation for. It is a frontal attack on notions of mobility and connectivity, which form the foundation of...
View ArticleRemembering Rishi Kapoor
What a week for cinema. To lose two stalwarts on consecutive days at a time when the world is anyway a dark and hostile place feels like an overengineered tragedy. Two very different kinds of...
View ArticleNostalgia as Sanctuary?
The other evening, we spent hours going over old photo albums, savouring moments from the past, both significant and silly. There was something deeply comforting about dwelling on what was- the world...
View ArticleThe politics of change?
Will Covid-19 change the world in dramatic, hitherto-unimagined ways? Or will we go back to old set ways, once the danger has passed? At one level, it is difficult to believe that such a fundamental...
View ArticleOn the Brink?
For many weeks, the overall sense of the Indian response to Covid-19 was largely positive. The overall numbers, though rising were small when compared to many other countries, even more so given...
View ArticleThe eloquence of masks
It is going to be a while before we see each other’s faces again. At least for those of us who follow the prescription to wear masks at all times when outdoors, the face, hitherto...
View ArticleOf Deepa, Geeta, Chameli & Rajani
The passing of Basu Chatterjee comes at a time when nostalgia is everywhere. There is much to be nostalgic about in his work, for the world in which characters reside was one for which it...
View ArticleThe Return of Science?
Science is enjoying is enjoying its moment in the sun. Rarely in recent memory, have the names of scientists been as much at the forefront of our consciousness as they are today nor have their...
View ArticleLocalism in Covid times?
In some countries, it looks as if the pandemic has been largely contained, at least for now. Normal life is beginning in those places, even as other nations struggle with a continued rise in numbers....
View ArticleRemembering The Villain’s Den
Among the many things that have vanished from Hindi films as our tastes have become more multiplexed, is the villain’s den. Going through some old Hindi movies while assiduously working from home, one...
View ArticleThe invisible hand of algorithms?
It is an experience that is widely shared. An ad suddenly pops up on social media about something that we were just talking about or even thinking about. Some of these thoughts may not be...
View ArticleOf memory and erasure
Questions are being asked of history. Statues are being toppled, institutions carrying names of those once thought of as great are being asked to reconsider their choice, and a film like Gone With the...
View ArticleAn unlikely alliance?
For as long as one can remember the worlds of business and activism sat perched comfortably on opposite sides of each other. Activists thought of corporates as blood-sucking leeches that feasted on all...
View ArticleA matchmaking dead-end?
If there is one show on our TV screens that is creating the most conversation, it is Indian Matchmaking on Netflix. Halfway between a documentary and a reality show, it takes us into the world...
View ArticleThat feeling of numbness?
It was a moment of absurdity that seemed so right. A lady participant on India’s loudest news show, decided to eat lunch while others performed their usual rants. By the looks of it, she chewed...
View ArticleThe power of someplace else
Given its sweeping impact on so many facets of our life, it is natural to think of Covid as a devastating event. We are homebound, we cannot travel, eat out, meet people as we please,...
View ArticleThe entrepreneurship magnet?
Growing up, I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. Coming from a non-business family, the prevalent mental image of business was both negative and distant. It involved money, transactions and loans,...
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