There have been many attempts to both analyze and historicize the Indian middle class. Works by Pavan Varma (The Great Indian Middle Class, 1998) and Aseem Prakash (The Indian Middle Class,
… Continue reading “Everyday Reading: Uncovering Middle-Class Musings”
Navigating Disparate Worlds
MD Ramaswami, known affectionately as MD among friends and family, learned early that exceptional communication skills could reap extraordinary dividends. Belonging to an era when the nation still suffered from a colonial hangover,
… Continue reading “From Curiosity to Conquests: The Myriad Adventures of MD Ramaswami”
In a House of Few Frills
Giri’s stickiest childhood memories revolve around his grandfather. In an era sans gadgets or even a television, Aaja would teach him this and that. Even discuss passages from Shakespeare’s
… Continue reading “The Man Who Multiplied Value: Giri Giridhar’s Corporate Journey”
From The King’s Table to Street Food, as Pushpesh Pant acknowledges in his Preface, is not just a history of Delhi embedded with recipes and foodies stories. Nor is it a food book,
… Continue reading “Savoring Time: A Taste of Delhi from Royal Kitchens to Street Vendors”
In her previous work, Kaikeyi, Vaishnavi Patel had dwelt on the point of view of a much maligned character in the Ramayana. Unsurprisingly, or perhaps not coincidentally, that character was a woman.
… Continue reading “Ganga Unbound: A Feminist Take on an Ancient Epic”
With the next US election a few days away, you would be hard put to find an expert who can be persuasively certain about the outcome. Despite all the data crunching and AI smarts, uncertainty shadows our lives,
Chasing Authenticity In Staged Spaces
Along with other vanishings – of biospecies, languages, cultures – modernity ushers an erasure of authenticity. Tourism, originally fashioned for aristocratic young men from Europe, has morphed into a global ritual that has seeped across classes.
Like Happiness begins with a New Yorky scene. One that captures the stickiness and muck and strangely alluring grit of its subway rides. But also the forced physical proximity to performers whose music and moves are edged with aggressive asks.
… Continue reading “Like Happiness: The Mirage of Connection in a Post #MeToo Era”
Widows outnumber widowers. The reasons? Many men remarry, and historically, more men have died in wars. Moreover, as Mineke Schipper notes in Widows, 10% of widows today live in extreme poverty, underscoring the vulnerability braided into widowhood.
… Continue reading “Widowhood, Oppression and Acts of Resistance”
Culinary Soul Search
In October 2015, Siddharth Kapila decided to quit his law career. He wanted to travel, find himself, engaging in seemingly care-free acts that only the reasonably well-off can consider. He was aware too of how these choices were girded by privilege.
… Continue reading “Tasting the Divine: Exploring One’s Faith Along The Ganga”
Loneliness Breeds Polarization
Loneliness might not just be an American scourge anymore, but could be seeping into other societies. Teens and aging parents can feel lonely inside families, just as partners might feel adrift inside marriages.
… Continue reading “From Isolation to Illumination: Leveraging Human Connection”
Saikat Majumdar’s novels have a kaleidoscopic quality – you jiggle them this way and that, and you perceive new symmetries, different colours. I had read some of his later works, The Remains of the Body,
… Continue reading “Growing Up Bewildered: Trapped Between The Stage and Reality”
Saunter through the grassy expanses of Cubbon Park on a Saturday morning to encounter the metronomic thump of the BHUKMP runners, their feet synchronized like an acapella group. Zoom in to the blur of faces on those taut bodies to spot the wildly popular Pankaj Rai,
… Continue reading “Running Through Life: The 5 Cs That Define Pankaj Rai’s Journey”
In the throbbing, trafficky heart of our city, history and creativity collide. From ancient sculptures and textiles to modern paintings and pop culture treasures, the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) has it all. The sleek steel facade with its embossed cross pattern spans six floors.
… Continue reading “Transforming India’s Art Scene: Abhishek Poddar’s Journey to Founding MAP”
Feral Winds, Creeping Despair
In “Dread” and “Hunger”, two stories in A Bouquet of Dead Flowers, the Hindi writer Swadesh Deepak explores the unsettling intertwining of desire and deprivation. And of predatory instincts that simmer in situations marked by unequal power relations.
… Continue reading “Exploring Desire and Despair in Swadesh Deepak’s Stories”
Where Play Fuels Genius
Mitchel Resnick’s book is a critical read for many reasons. But especially because Resnick practices the learning approaches he endorses, and not just at any place, but at one of the meccas of education – MIT.
… Continue reading “Kindergarten Lessons: Mitchel Resnick’s Blueprint for Lifelong Creativity”
Vedic Monism Meets Sufism
Sufism embodies mystical strands in Islam. When large numbers of Sufis swept into India in the 12th Century, their philosophy echoed the Vedic concept of “monism”. With “service to humanity” as their abiding ideal,
… Continue reading “Sufi Mystics, Sacred Paths: Sarmad’s Enduring Legacy”
Curiosity Sparks Cake Making
Anu Sinha was only 11-years-old and in Class Five, when she baked her first cake. Growing up in the early ‘80s in the Bokaro Steel City, she hadn’t thought much about cakes or ovens,
… Continue reading “From Tandoors to Tiered Triumphs: Anu Sinha’s Journey to Cake Artistry”
Assam has a rich history shaped by its indigenous cultures, the Ahom dynasty’s six-century reign, and British colonial rule. The State played a pivotal role in India’s struggle for independence but has since simmered with ethnic conflicts and movements for autonomy.
… Continue reading “Shadows and Scars: Finding Love and Identity in Assam”
In the lush surroundings of Barbari, “a small town with a big population” nestled close to the tea garden of Kalguri, the narrator grows up in a world that feels relatively cushioned.
Barbari,
… Continue reading “Between Tea Leaves and Tensions: Growing Up in Barbari, Assam”
Brinda S. Narayan
