Blogs

Brandwallahs, and economists, know this well – we premiumise, and put greater value, on things other people want, and can’t have, simply because they can’t afford them. It’s in our very nature. And nothing serves this deep-seated need more than super exclusives, and single-origin uber luxuries. For the very rich, this is the stuff that…

When I saw the video of the woman in Worli shouting at a minister, after a political rally trapped her in traffic, as she was trying to collect her child from school, I did not think: How rude. I thought: What took her so long? Actually: What’s taken all of us so long? Read full…

There is a revealing asymmetry in the way Indians relate to their foods. Dishes inspire loyalty. Recipes inspire argument. Ingredients inspire, at best, preference. But the mango, the aam, inspires something that has no clean category in the sociology of taste. It inspires selfhood. And selfhood, once attached to a fruit, is a clinical condition…

By Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha Peace can be had in two ways: When you have a comfortable sleep, you are peaceful, undisturbed, unaffected. Also, when you can compose your mind in meditation or contemplation, the mind becomes free of thoughts and botheration. You are led to peacefulness, even though only for a short time. Sleep lasts…

Commercial LPG price has been hiked before, in fact, during the Hormuz crisis. But yesterday’s increase captures the true extent of supply disruption. A 48% increase – from Rs 2,078.5 to Rs 3,071.5 – is unprecedented. Obviously, there are limits to the cushion govt can provide. When war broke out on Feb 28, many tankers…

Marine products are one of the most important items of export from India. The sector not only provides opportunities to earn foreign exchange, but also generates income opportunities for a large section of the population. The government has come out with several policies and measures to promote the export of marine products and to develop…

It was a perfect Charles Dickens moment…A Tale of Two Kings and a third one demonstrating from afar who actually wears the crown. By the time the plates were cleared, the evening had been neatly explained. Dickensian, as many said — ticking a box. A grand table, a hint of disorder, two very different men…

Today’s edition tracks a Wall Street scandal that has turned a JPMorgan lawsuit into an internet courtroom, an Indian-origin Trump aide whose outfit joke after a White House shooting scare drew sharp backlash, and New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani’s cheeky advice to King Charles III: return the Kohinoor. From corporate power to political optics…

Commercial mediation has become a quiet pillar of economic stability, allowing businesses to resolve disputes quickly, discreetly and pragmatically at a time when both markets and geopolitics are fragmenting. In an environment where cross‑border transactions intersect with sanctions, regulatory divergence and political risk, mediation offers companies a way to manage conflict without derailing deals, destroying…

Strength in engagement Every civilization leaves behind two kinds of architecture: monuments of stone and monuments of thought. The first endure as ruins; the second endure as arguments. What ultimately defines the intellectual vitality of a society is not merely the brilliance of its ideas, but the manner in which it receives ideas that challenge…