Until we meet again!

(The story of an unannounced guest—sequel) The universe has trillions of galaxies, stars, planets and our home—theEarth. Speaking of which—there are billions of people here, but wecross paths with only a handful of them. We say, whoever comes into our lives has been orchestrated by thedivine, the karma.… and all that. So, is it just…

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DRAM Beaters

Why your next phone might become more expensive If we could ask for just one thing in this year’s Budget, it would be this: the government should remember that the world is running short of memory chips. Not the brain kind of memory, but the tiny DRAM chips inside phones, tablets and laptops. Right now,…

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Is red turning saffron?

As religious identity shifts from the margins to the mainstream, Kerala’s secular political model faces a recalibration ahead of the assembly polls For over a decade, even as religious politics became normalized nationally, Kerala told itself a different story. The prevailing belief was that the state’s politics was shaped by class struggles, land reforms, literacy,…

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In The Margins Of Memory

Vakkom Abdul Khader’s role in the freedom struggle is rarely acknowledged in national memory Eighty-two years ago, a group of young Indian National Army (INA) soldiers, including Vakkom Abdul Khader, embarked on a perilous journey from Penang to British India aboard a Japanese submarine. Their mission was to gather intelligence on British military deployments and…

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If you feel confused, be ecstatic

By Swami Sukhabodhananda When you look at Shiv, look at Him deeply. Look at trishul – the trident – meditatively and when you offer flowers to Him, do so meditatively. Then a beautiful poem emerges in your heart: Ahimsa prathamam pushpam, pushpam indriya nigraham, sarvabhoota daya pushpam, kshama pushpam visheshataha, shanti pushpam tapo pushpam, dhyanam…

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Woman, say it with pride, I am a gold digger

The great gender wealth gap persists by socialising women to separate their emotions from smart financial decisions. They need to stop romanticising such rubbish A man has asked a woman out on a date. They are at a restaurant. After their order has arrived and she is digging into hers, he starts video-ing her, and…

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What does paying 35% tax get us?

Not clean air or water, not good roads or sanitation, not nice public hospitals. Sure, too few Indians are income tax payers. But an incompetent state does not offer them fair returns either I remember the moment I knew I had to leave Mumbai: around 15 years ago, at the end of the monsoon, the…

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Why protest songs never go out of style

Sometimes, when people feel scared or unheard, songs speak for them. Recently, a famous singer performed in Minneapolis and helped lift people’s spirits. Many citizens there were worried and angry about how the government was treating migrants. A single song reminded them they were not alone. That’s the power of protest music—it travels fast and…

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Earth Is Not A Chessboard 

Global power competition begets climate disaster Trump threatens to take over Greenland, but backs down – for the moment. His tariffs roil global markets and supply chains. Middle powers are rushing to find a new equilibrium. Geopolitics today is top of the mind. But do we pause to reflect upon its impact on the planet?…

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