Blogs

Census must not record live-in couples as ‘married’. It defeats the purpose of capturing social changes  If a govt doesn’t measure x, does x not exist? Furthermore, what are the implications of govt refusing to measure x? Census 2027 will be recording live-in couples, who are staying in a household in a “stable union”, as…

People have always wanted to know the future. Long ago, they asked fortune tellers, astrologers, and people with crystal balls. Later, they started trusting “experts.” But experts can be wrong too. For example, just before the big Wall Street Crash of 1929, a famous economist said stocks would stay high forever—which turned out to be…

Will markets for prediction be any better at guessing the future than ‘experts’? Can they be manipulated? What will be, will be, but people want to see tomorrow, today. Our curiosity birthed oracles, astrologers, crystal gazers, and their analogues. When superstition became unfashionable, “experts” took over. And they could be spectacularly inaccurate, too: days before…

It’s a blockbuster, at the movies and at home “Everyone else has watched it. Except us,” Kamala declared angrily. I thought she was talking about Trump’s confusing press conferences. But the missus was having mid-life FOMO about something more predictable: Dhurandhar 2 – The Revenge. All the word-of-mouth publicity is propelling the movie to delirious…

The situation between Iran, a group called the Houthis, and the United States is getting more serious, and it could affect the whole world. First, the United States seems to be preparing to send more soldiers into the region. There are reports that they might plan missions that could last weeks, like attacking certain coastal…

India’s latest gas shortages, triggered by the current Middle East conflict, highlight how vulnerable its industrial energy system remains. From textiles and food processing to chemicals and metals, manufacturing relies heavily on fossil fuels to generate heat, much of it supplied by imported oil and gas. When global disruptions tighten supplies, factories face soaring costs or…

Our journey continued from Lavasa toward the ancient caves—a transition not just in geography but in inner experience. It took us about two and a half hours to reach Bedsa Caves near Kamshet. The first hour of the drive felt almost dreamlike as we moved through forested hills, the road gently curving alongside a quiet lake that mirrored the sky. Nature…

Gas is the unseen backbone of modern India—fueling kitchens, fertiliser production, industry, and increasingly transport. Since India is an energy-dependent country, each geopolitical shock—sanctions, conflict, or blockades—triggers cascading disruptions: cooking gas shortages, price spikes, slower fertiliser output, rising transport costs, and weakened industrial activity. Besides Heavy reliance on imports, inadequate infrastructure, and persistent policy and…

For a certain generation, magazines held a magic that is difficult to imagine now. It was the closest we had to the idea of holding a world in our hands. The world depicted in the magazines was different from ours, yet not too far removed. It was a form of travel before travel became a…

The Middle East war has become a crisis with humanitarian, economic, diplomatic, and legal effects across the region and the world. Over a million civilians are displaced, and oil prices rose by more than 15% in the first month. Shipping disruptions have slowed the movement of goods, affecting global food and energy supplies. In light…