Paul Bloom has achieved something that many academics might hanker for but rarely attain: popularity. Not just among students at the University – currently the University of Toronto, and earlier, for 21 years, Yale – at which he teaches,
From Living at a Hostel to Joining a Startup
Apaar Gupta spent his formative school years in a hostel. As a student of the Birla Public School at Pilani, he learned, early on,
… Continue reading “Forging A Digital Ecosystem For Creative Entrepreneurs”
An Academic Who Relishes Conversations
Paula Marantz Cohen is currently a Professor of English and the Dean of a college at Drexel University. Despite being deeply erudite, sharp and incisive in her writing,
Tessa West delves into a topic that anyone who has worked anywhere can relate to. Anyone who has had to deal with peers, subordinates and bosses. Because surely, at some point, in your career, you must have encountered a “jerk” – someone whose very presence at the office or team meeting provoked shudders,
Adrian Bejan: A Brief Dip into His Story
I rarely pick up books written by engineers. Time and Beauty is an exception. Though its author is not just an engineer, but a dauntingly accomplished one,
Engendering a Female Gaze: A Filmmaker’s Journey
A Syncretic Upbringing
Starting from her school years, Roohi Dixit had a proclivity for the arts. As the daughter of two professors, raised in an idyllic agricultural campus in Hisar,
… Continue reading “Engendering a Female Gaze: A Filmmaker’s Journey”
When Distraction Unites Us
Distraction, as most of us can attest, is a global pandemic. With the rapid digitization of terrains that were earlier outside the radar of technology giants, attention deficits cut across demographics: age,
… Continue reading “Struggling To Focus? So Did Medieval Monks”
A Personal Connection to The King and I
When Priscilla Gilman watched a Broadway version of The King and I, a particular song felt like a gut punch.
Experiencing Burnout
Five years ago, Divya Khanna was afflicted by a malaise that might be familiar to Indian corporate executives: burnout. In her book, The Company We Keep, she says that she felt overwhelmed and undervalued.
… Continue reading “Exploring the Makeup of Indian Corporate Culture”
Growing Up in a Turbulent Region
Born in Muzaffarnagar in the mid-1980s, Gauri Malik grew up in a region beset by turmoil. After all, since the 20th Century, Muzaffarnagar hasn’t had a sterling reputation.
… Continue reading “From Investment Banking To Founding a Social Venture”
A Portrait of Raj: A Young, Middle-class Indian Man
Raj, 24-years-old and a member of the Indian middle-class, hates auto drivers and woman drivers with equal fervor. He discourages his own sister from learning to drive,
… Continue reading “Unpacking Contradictions in Indian Masculinities”
As soon as I met Aryama Sen on a Zoom call, I was surprised. As a follower of her Instagram account, @ind.igenous, where she deliberately maintains anonymity, I was expecting someone older.
Staying Distinct on Social Media
Before delving into Aryama’s story,
Shanthamani Muddaiah is a highly-regarded, Bangalore-based artist whose works feature in local, national and international collections. Her creations are showcased by a range of collectors, including but not limited to Swiss Re (Bangalore), RMZ (Bangalore),
Deepa Purushothaman was elated. She had recently made it to partner at Deloitte, a global professional services firm. And she was celebrating with Walter, a friend from graduate school who had been similarly elevated at his law firm.
… Continue reading “An Unsettling Conversation Sparks off a Career Transition”
One of the fallouts of the pandemic originating in Wuhan, China has been an unfortunate spike in anti-Asian crimes in the UK, US and in other parts of the world. As Angela Hui notes in Takeaway,
… Continue reading “Growing up British Inside a Chinese Takeaway”
For those with a keen sense of smell, Chianti, a red wine hailing from Tuscany, evokes a distinct aroma in Bangalore. Smells are said to be more intimately connected to memories than other sensory experiences;
… Continue reading “Scaling an Italian Restaurant in an Indian City”
Couples fall in love for mysterious, ineffable reasons. We often hear that awkwardly suspended phrase – “What does she see in –?” or “How could they –?”, the pauses flashing with surprise and disapproval. But if the reasons for coupledom are hard to fathom,
This, to borrow a word from the title, is a gorgeous book. Gorgeous in the way Vuong’s words take flight, leaping from the light-filled memories of a child reading an ESL (English as a Second Language) storybook titled Thunder Cake to shockingly dark,
… Continue reading “A Poetic Take on Coming of Age in America”
On Chapel Sands was a book buried in my Kindle, bought soon after it came out, but lost among the digital detritus that clog my devices. Recently, while combing through an ever-mushrooming to-read list,
Having encountered a few of John Donne’s poems in high school – “Death be not proud” and “No Man is An Island” – I was recently tugged in by a YouTube conversation with a contemporary biographer.
Brinda S. Narayan
