Posted inPOV
Return to Neverland
I had been away from Lucknow for only four years. Memories of the city simmered inside, relived like moments with a long-lost sweetheart and shorn of all blemishes.
Posted inPOV
India, There’s A Lot to Give Thanks For
If Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for all that we have received, India would be at loss for where to begin. This year, we’ve made significant leaps in the conversation around sexual assault and we didn’t have to suffer another round of demonetisation.
Posted inPOV
Thank You, Next: Today’s Relationships and Gadgets Aren’t Made to Last
We have little tolerance for disruptions and would rather spend our time and energy on the new and exciting. Why should I stick to a cranky piece – of a gadget or a person – that demands constant attention when there’s a sleeker, more seductive version in the market?
Posted inPOV
What Mumbai Stands to Lose When Chawls Turn to Skyscrapers
As Mumbai undergoes redevelopment, skyscrapers are taking the place of the city’s old chawls. For the people living in these 10x10 pigeonholes, it means moving into apartments with a toilet inside the house. It also means giving up the bonhomie and security that living in a chawl affords.
Posted inPOV
When Did Our Parents Go from Hating the “Idiot Box” to Being Addicted to It?
My parents have adopted the television as their own child. From 8:00 am to 11:00 pm, there’s a constant hum of static in the background, punctuated by a laughter track every 10 minutes. It’s ironic that the biggest consumers of the television today are the same parents who hated it.
Posted inPOV
Fear, Anxiety, Post-Grad Depression: What the New Graduates of the Class of COVID-19 are Inheriting
For new graduates, a perfect storm is brewing. It’s imbued with fear, anxiety, and dread. We are stepping into a Covid-afflicted world, along millions of Indians waiting to enter the workforce. Jobs are scarce, and we are all looking at a long, unending line of unpaid internships.
Posted inPOV
A New Hope for the New Year: How to Thain Thain Your Way into 2019
It might look like the world is coming to an end, but this is the first day of the new year. We hope the indomitable spirit of “thain thain” will be with you. In the days that follow, if you find yourself in a hopeless place, remind yourself, as the police officer did, to always keep punching.
Posted inPOV
Why Millennials Should Read the Bhagavad Gita
That the Gita is given a religious connotation which limits its reach, is a pity. Much before Twitter threads told you that your biggest enemy is within, the Bhagavad Gita had already got it covered.
Posted inPOV
Jai Shri Ram, Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Chants that Once United Us Now Leave Us Divided
From being used to heckle Opposition MPs in Parliament to providing the soundtrack to a mounting number of public lynchings, sayings like Jai Shri Ram that once provided us comfort and united us, now create fear and sow division.
Posted inPOV
Back Off Chennai, Let a Lady Smoke in Peace
In Chennai, I have to pay 200 rupees at a posh café, every time I want to smoke a 16-rupee cigarette. Not that chauvinism doesn’t exist in other Indian cities, but it is especially pronounced in my home city.