Blogs

 Illustration by Chad Crowe (USA) 8am Election mornings in Mumbai have a familiar rhythm: mild domestic combat and misplaced civic pride. After a brief argument with my daughter on why her school is open while other schools are shut because of the BMC elections, I tell her, ‘The only candidate you are likely to support is…

“I always wanted to be a writer. A writer of science, like Carl Sagan.” Rohith Vemula wrote these words days before his death on Jan 17, 2016. Ten years later, they remain a reminder of what Indian universities failed to recognise: not only a student marked by caste, but a young mind with intellectual aspirations…

As the India-US rift enters its sixth month, many continue to treat it as an aberration in an otherwise successful strategic partnership. They blame the crisis on US President Donald Trump, arguing that he has needlessly departed from decades-old American policy to pick a fight with India. This reading is flawed. The shape of the…

Farida Khanam In Iran, ongoing protests are not merely isolated incidents of unrest; they reflect a profound and growing desire among its population – especially youth and women – for greater participation and consideration in decisions that affect their lives. This demographic is no longer content to be passive recipients of policy; they demand to…

If an ant is drowning in a puddle, should you try to save it, bioethicist Jeff Sebo asks in an article. If yes, is your decision based on Indian tradition, which teaches that all life manifests God, or emotion, or cold logic? While it’s unlikely you’ve weighed the pros and cons of saving an ant, in his…

Halwas are among India’s most original and enduring desserts, deeply rooted in the country’s culinary and cultural history. Long before elaborate confectionery and modern sweets became common, halwa was made in Indian homes using simple, locally available ingredients—grains, lentils, vegetables, milk, ghee, and jaggery. From atta halwa offered during prayers to gajar halwa prepared in…

Indicatively, yesterday the PM 2.5 level in Delhi was 1000% higher than in both Denmark and Singapore. This extreme winter pollution, unmitigated year after year, is not a matter of opinion. Every official and institution acting like this data is disputable, only worsens the problem. Others have a chalta hai attitude. Against this tide, those…

I just posted a bunch of photos to Instagram. They are pictures of my friends and I at a big fat Indian engagement party. We are in full make-up, hair and wardrobe – all of which were carefully planned (or curated, if I thought we were more important than we are). Gazing at the photos…

School bullying is neither a new nor a recent phenomenon. It has been recorded as early as medieval Greece and Rome schools dealing with physical bullying. Even children’s literature has stories, like in Tom Brown’s school days and Enid Blyton’s school series, depicting bullies and the bullied. In our schools too, bullying according to the…

Politically assertive Mumbai’s voters benefited the Thackerays for decades. Not only did it help them install their mayors from 1970s onwards, it gave them complete control of India’s richest civic body for 25 years straight from 1997. Those same voters have now asserted themselves against the politics of fear and multi-community bashing. As well as…