Those of us who see ourselves as being lifelong learners would do well to read Michael Roth’s dive into the history and makeup of students. Roth, who is currently the President of Wesleyan University and a Professor,
… Continue reading “Dissecting Students: Insights from a Scholar”
A question is often posed of a new friend or potential life partner: are you a beach or mountain person? The answer perhaps is immaterial, but the question might be trying to uncover something else: how do you handle change?
… Continue reading “Peak Revelations: Navigating Life in Never Never Land”
In 1936, Mahatma Gandhi had been besotted by the post-monsoon greens of Sandur in Bellary. And affixed it with a touristy descriptor: “See Sandur in September.” Vasudhendra, the widely feted Kannada author of Mohanaswamy,
… Continue reading “Vasudhendra’s Chronicles: From Sandur’s Greens to Literary Triumphs”
Meraki is a Greek word. It means doing something with passion, attentiveness and care. Yosha Gupta certainly pours herself into the startup she’s created, as does her 17-member team, and the artists they support on MeMeraki.
… Continue reading “Yosha Gupta: Founding An Enterprise With Soul”
In Notes on a Marriage, Carvalho observes that it’s not just weddings, but even marriages that are performative. Anju and Freddo have been married for (gasp!) twenty years, but she still acts out in his presence.
… Continue reading “Performing Love: The Inner Workings of a Marriage”
Uncles, Aunties and Banter on Buses
In If It’s Monday It Must Be Madurai, Srinath Perur subverts the common trope of a travel writer. Instead of traveling alone, or to rarely explored,
… Continue reading “Translating Worlds: Srinath Perur’s Journey from Bytes to Books”
Reading this book by Upamanyu Chatterjee at a time when the world is rocked by wars, the ever-throbbing threats of climate change and new pandemics feels like an entry into a mindfulness retreat. A zone where small changes feel as significant,
… Continue reading “Journeying from Silence To Life’s Bustle”
What Prompted Dear Men
Prachi Gangwani had an unusual insider’s take on Indian relationships. As a “sex and relationships” columnist for an online women’s lifestyle magazine, she probably read a barrage of comments.
… Continue reading “Unmasking Men: Insights Into Indian Relationships”
Dosa Debates with Paati
Vidya Madhavan’s Paati (grandmom) was a fierce and opinionated woman. Growing up in a joint family in Bombay (now Mumbai), in a typically cramped household, Vidya recognizes that many of her thoughts and values were shaped by her grandparents.
… Continue reading “A Founder’s Journey to Creating Meme Magic”
Nena is allergic to water. So she has an annual bath. By first embalming herself in petroleum, then dunking a cold water bucket over her head. To survive this yearly ordeal, she wraps herself in layers of cotton,
… Continue reading “Can’t: An Original Take on Contemporary Womanhood”
One of my favorite poems about aging with a cheerful insouciance starts like this:
“When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.”
Meenakshi Menon,
… Continue reading “Golden Age to Platinum Years: Crafting a Spectacular 60+”
Plumbing into her own family’s ancestral past, Jael Silliman revives snippets of the rich and little-known history of Baghdadi Jews in Shalome Rides a Royal Elephant. Though targeted at young readers, and narrated by a sprightly,
We are awash with news and commentary about AI. The huge boons and concomitant scares, the soft and perilous blurring between human cleverness and machined ingenuity. We’re inundated to a degree where we might feel surprisingly lured by natural stupidity.
The Yellow Sparrow, translated from the Manipuri by Rubani Yumkhaibam, has a poignant genesis. As a transgender woman or Nupi Maanbi in Manipur, the author, Santa Khurai had always struggled to belong.
… Continue reading “Fragile Wings, Bold Spirit: Santa Khurai’s Inspiring Odyssey”
Chronicling an Artist’s Quest
I recall learning “The Owl and the Pussycat” for an elocution contest. And encountering the nonsensical, memorable “Piggy-wig”, which had merrily enough for us chuckling readers, “a ring at the end of his nose.” The author of this well-known poem,
… Continue reading “Between Peaks and Poetry: Journeying with Edward Lear”
Ravi CA had resolved at a fairly early stage that time mattered more than the accumulation of stuff. After working for twenty years in an IT career, he quit the well-paying, beaten path to pursue an interest that many would fence into after hours.
Of late, I have become rather fascinated and even slightly obsessed with endurance athletes. For instance, I recently stumbled on the Netflix movie on Diana Nyad, a woman who swam from Cuba to Florida at the age of 60.
… Continue reading “Of An Indian Woman Who Crossed the English Channel”
We live in an age in which there seems to be a surfeit of extraordinary people. Superstar founders, sportspersons, writers, singers and stand-up comedians. Even failures in various fields have acquired an aura of extraordinariness.
… Continue reading “Extraordinary Undercurrents in Ordinary Bengaluru Lives”
From Boardrooms to Backstreets
Arun Maira has been in the trenches. Of business and government. Despite occupying some of the highest positions – as Chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, as a Member of the Planning Commission under Manmohan Singh or currently as Chairman of HelpAge International – he has never lost sight of those at the lowest rungs of the ladder.
Rajasthan is often framed in touristy stereotypes: of forts, palaces, erstwhile maharajas, sparkling sands of the Thar Desert, and camels no doubt, offering a discomfiting, double-humped ride through arid lands. Only a few would be acquainted with the complex ecology surrounding traditional camel breeders,
Brinda S. Narayan
