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,
It’s fortunate for us that Indian cities are spawning enthusiastic guides whose knowledge about these spaces can deepen our own engagement as inhabitants or visitors. Swapna Liddle is the kind of expert you would be fortunate to walk around with in Delhi.
… Continue reading “Walking Through Delhi’s Heritage With A Historian”
I have often wondered about the lives of street vendors. Not just about how much they make or what they sell, but about the makeup of their everyday lives – displaying a kind of toughness or resilience,
… Continue reading “Bazaars and Backstories in Delhi’s Electronic Trade”
Teaching history has perhaps always been fraught. Given the contemporary recognition of subjectivity embedded in any account of the past or present, lingering questions about whose story or version approaches the ‘truth’ makes the content of any prescribed textbook iffy.
On a Saturday in January 2023, Shruti Sah and Harsh Snehanshu had what felt like a whimsical idea. To carry a mat, a few books and cycle over to Cubbon Park to read. Both craved a book club that didn’t center around discussions – after all,
… Continue reading “Cubbon Reads: A Silent Reading Revolution Spreads Across Parks”
Sebastien Tutenges, currently an Associate Professor of Sociology at Lund University, had been planning to embark on a study at a Buddhist monastery. Instead, by somewhat serendipitous means, he became curious about why so many young people seek intoxicating escapes.
… Continue reading “Journeying Into Intoxicating Experiences”
Carolyn Chen was surprised by Silicon Valley. She expected it to be one of the least religious places. Instead, she found that among the tech executives she interviewed, that “it is one of the most religious places in America.” She argues in Work Pray Code that the “Gods” have merely been supplanted.
Tejo Tungabhadra, written originally in Kannada by the versatile Vasudhendra, and translated deftly by Maithreyi Karnoor, brings to life a glittering panoply of 15th and 16th Century characters. Yanking readers into times when Sati was not just thrust upon Indian widows but fiercely celebrated,
Surviving India with Imodium
India hardly feels like a nation that would be easy for anyone, inbred veteran or fleeting visitor, to digest. So it’s apt that a book titled Digesting India starts with the author recounting experiences of the opposite: of loose motions,
… Continue reading “Feasting, Writing and Roaming Across India”
A Teen’s Bold Charter School Support
Vivek Ramakrishnan was only 16 years old, and a high-school student at West High School, in Madison, Wisconsin, when the school board held a televised meeting. To discuss a proposal for a new charter school.
… Continue reading “Bridging Literacy Gaps with AI: A Young Founder’s Journey”
Brinda S. Narayan
