Indians love a good bargain. At stores where display boards declare “Price is final,” one has to be subtle and say, “Dekho bhaiyya, paanch dress lene hai to kitna lagaoge?” But in the online world, there is a science to mining discounts from an infinite collection of websites and apps.

My father for the longest time believed going cashless equals being careless. He is from a generation that believes in keeping cash in hand. I’m slowly trying to convert him.

It’s 2019 and yet in some of the year’s biggest scripts, actresses continued to play second fiddle. Save for Gully Boy’s Safeena, most of them were devoid of a personality. In one of the highest grossers of the year, Kabir Singh, Preeti exists only to get exploited, and in Kesari, we still don’t know if Parineeti Chopra is a ghost or a memory.

When I was five, my friend’s grandfather forced himself on me. I called for help repeatedly but none came. In that moment, inside that MRI machine, I was that little girl whose almost lifeless body was on the floor, being violated.

It took just one day of me leaving my wallet at home to realise how unimportant it was. With the smartphone’s infinite capacity to get things done and the rise of the cashless economy, will wallets soon join the MP3 player and the torch as yet another item slain by the mobile phone?

The most natural reaction to losing the World Cup on a technicality would have been of excessive outrage. And no one could have held it against New Zealand captain Kane Williamson were he to be taken over by anguish. It stung deep, but not even an imminent heartbreak was enough for Williamson to get carried away.

The last month has been about the World Cup and Wimbledon and it all ended with an ultimate showdown on Sunday. But now that it’s over, how long will we continue to dissect the two greatest games of our time? What do we do with our evenings?

An indispensable asset of every Bengali, whether they are probashi, bheto, nyaka, or ghoti is their absolute dependency on the wide-ranging powers of the handy Boroline. For us, it’s not just an ointment, but a way of life; just like aloor chop on a Sunday evening or a KKR match at Eden Gardens.

Rendezvous with Simi Garewal will be back soon and even in this talk show-saturated climate, I’m waiting with bated breath for the return of the queen. The old-fashioned talk show was not bogged down by any “revealing” rapid fires, instead Garewal’s spotless white couch was more like that of a therapist.

Even after the most heartbreaking of defeats, Kane Williamson’s New Zealand and Roger Federer came across as winners. In a rare sporting moment, the second runners-up were celebrated more than the men who lifted the trophy. It made us realise that sport can exist without a loser.

As the final season of Suits airs today, I can’t process the fact that this will be the last time I will see Harvey Specter sit down in his office with the finest scotch in hand, surrounded by signed basketballs, and an enviable LP collection. To paraphrase one of his evergreen catchphrases, anyone can do his job, but no one can be him.

As an Indian daughter, I was made to believe that fathers could be patriarchs, but they were not the kind we should be revolting against. Unlike movies, which gloss over the regressive mindsets of desi dads, the cruelty of real life doesn’t afford the luxury of skimming through. It’s something us daughters have to wrestle with every second of the day.

After the release of Kabir Singh, everyone had one question on their minds: Could movies really depict toxic masculinity without glorifying it? The answer lies in Kumbalangi Nights, a Malayalam film where toxic masculinity isn’t the hero, but is its villain.

I tried to be rational when I found out that my father was having an affair. But I was only drawing more lines for him to toe, for his halo to remain untarnished.

As Tabu signs off the year with her exemplary act in Andhadhun, she is already gearing up for 2019 with two interesting projects. All this while Bollywood has been steering us toward the hyped comebacks of her contemporaries. But Tabu has made us realise that when you are so good at your craft, you never really go away.

Baazigar introduced us to a new weapon of mass destruction, the power of attorney. And Shah Rukh Khan’s Ajay Sharma taught us that if your contact lens game is on point, you can conquer the world.

The Indian male preference for underwear instead of swimwear is not a problem of dodgy aesthetics alone. Like with almost all things Indian, there is a cultural angle.

There’s no denying that the old relationship between cricket and courteousness had become archaic. But after the latest Koffee with Karan episode, which featured Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul on the couch, it might have finally died for good.

We live in a country where we take two minutes to make our noodles and take five to change our Whatsapp display picture. So why are we outraging about the Indian adaptation of The Office based on a one-minute trailer?

I’ve seen perfectly rational Indians pronounce awesome as “awwhsum” and sandwich as “sammich” while conversing with touristy Caucasians. Why do we feel the need to impress white folks with our English?

In Gujarat, Marwari women lead dual lives. They fast with their mothers-in-law and sip mojitos with their friends.

Growing up, Durga Pujo was all about garnering a shot of freedom, of carefree behaviour, every single year. But adulting compromises the novelty of Pujo. Now, as an adult, reminiscing about the Pujo of my childhood is possibly my favourite Pujo activity.

A couple with one partner in Mumbai and the other in Pune, can’t claim to be in a long-distance relationship. But a couple between Andheri and Colaba can. In the time that it takes to get from one end of the city to another, you could finish binge-watching End of the F***ing World.

It scares me that Western civilisation has hung out on the moon, built the fastest cars, and continues to innovate at technology’s cutting edge, but still fails to grasp the concept of the humble jet spray. They won’t do the dishes without running water, but are frighteningly happy to go without it while doing their business.

A Caucasian friend who recently visited Mumbai, did not fall for our famed spirit. I took it upon myself to convince him about Mumbai’s magic, and shoved him inside a kaali-peeli, after realising that Uber was charging a surge price, and showed him the glorious BKC, Bandra, and uh, the cooler parts of Colaba.

You’re not a cat mom, dog dad, cat person, or even an animal person. You’re just an empty person, trying to fill a void in your life by forcefully trying to rid an animal of its basic instincts.

After seven long years, Delhi’s moment in the IPL has finally arrived. Delhi Capitals seem to have found their mojo after being the butt of jokes for years. Along with the name of the team, the outfit’s fortunes have also changed.

I grew up at a time when a victory for India was equated with hitting the ball rather than the stumps. When “Indian fast bowler” was a paradoxical term and a cautionary tale. That’s why Jasprit Bumrah feels like a miracle.

Indian students rarely ask questions, because in our schools, a “why” is never treated as an innocent question, but an open challenge to the authority of a teacher. We are all expected to be Eklavyas, ready to offer our thumbs to our gurus without doubting them.

For those who don’t devote a good portion of their time keeping abreast of the smartphone market, it can be a pretty overwhelming place.