The Service Charge Debate: What Happened and What It Means
Imagine going out for a yummy meal— You finish eating, get the bill, and feel… Wait, what’s this extra charge at the end? A “service charge” that you didn’t intend! This charge is like a...
View ArticleThe friend you forgot to tag: It’s never too late!
Life is a curious maze of relationships where every twist and turn demands careful navigation. A single misstep can not only blur your sense of direction but also stir frustration and regret — not just...
View ArticleA R Rehman, the piano and me
It has always been my dream to sing – no high ambitions, nowhere as close to Shreya Ghoshal, anyway. Or even Neha Kakkar for that matter. The closest and easiest goal I set myself was...
View ArticleGlycerine, gurujis and Bryan Johnson, some killer ways to save your marriage
Murder She Wrought is not the next season of the old Angela Lansbury’s ‘Murder She Wrote’ detective series. It’s India’s new reality if you go by what’s been happening in the last few weeks. In...
View ArticleHow India reclaims its own
The Indian industrialist, SL Kirloskar, used to take out full-page ads in national dailies in the eighties stating that India would progress once profit ceased to be a dirty word in the country. Well,...
View ArticleAurangzeb the bad, and our new black-and-white history
Some years ago, I had a memorable conversation with a cab driver, Mishra ji from Uttar Pradesh. It began because he had a near-accident and we agreed it was the other fellow’s fault. This created...
View ArticleWhy Ghiblified photos can’t replace real art
Last week, OpenAI released a new ChatGPT model capable of turning any picture into a specific art style. Since then, our X (fka Twitter) timelines have been flooded with hundreds of posts of people...
View ArticleJustice Varma case shows why judiciary needs an accountability commission
The alleged recovery of burnt stacks of cash from the home of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi high court has reignited an old flame. The National Judicial Appointments Commission had flickered...
View ArticleSolving water crisis of Middle East and North Africa
Centre for strategic and international studies conducted an event on March 11, 2025. This is a discussion anchored by Natasha Hall, senior fellow of CSIS. The topic for this event was “How to overcome...
View ArticleWhy are cities getting so hot?
Have you ever walked on a sunny day and noticed how some places feel way hotter than others? That’s because of something called Urban Heat Islands or UHIs. In cities like Mumbai, some places can...
View ArticleVoice-Off America
Trump targets foreign students guilty of nothing more than having some views. It’s UnAmerican Democracy and free speech are conjoined twins but it’s a rare govt that can abide both. Trump’s admin is...
View ArticleFree speech or punishment?
Imagine getting in trouble at school just for saying what you believe. That sounds unfair, right? But something like this is happening to some foreign students in the United States. The US Constitution...
View ArticleCementing disaster
Huge temp difference between two Mumbai areas shows what’s in store for Indian cities this summer A difference of 13°C in temperature within a 7km radius sounds hard-to-believe. It is the new normal,...
View ArticleJaane bhi do Ukraine
Geopolitical insights from a classic Hindi film War, much like a Bollywood comedy, defies logic. And the Russia-Ukraine war? It’s starting to resemble Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro– a chaotic mess where morality...
View ArticleCensorship and the question of artistic freedom
The controversy surrounding ‘L2: Empuraan’ is a reminder that the CBFC must return to its original mandate—certifying, not censoring, films. If India is to truly uphold its democratic ethos, it must...
View ArticleDose of strict law – a necessity for national interest
Parliament recently passed the Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025. This bill will have far-reaching consequences in many ways. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while speaking during the debate on this...
View ArticlePoverty of time: The hidden inequality shaping our lives
Time is the one resource we all receive in equal measure—24 hours a day. Yet, the way we experience time is anything but equal. The Time Use in India, 2024 report exposes a stark reality: time is...
View ArticleKunal Kamra and the arduous life of political satire
Comedian Robin Williams said, “Satire is not dead; it lives in the White House”, and America laughed. Comedian Kunal Kamra, in a show titled ‘Naya Bharat’ in Mumbai on March 23, referred to Maharashtra...
View ArticleDr Hedgewar’s vision reflected in ever-growing RSS
“Call me a donkey but don’t call me a Hindu” was the situation when Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar formed Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) in 1925. Situation has undergone a sea change when RSS...
View ArticleMeeting of intelligence chiefs and Raisina Dialogue: India’s role in shaping...
Two events in Mid-March underlined India’s growing significance in shaping the global order in a period of geopolitical uncertainties, severe economic competition bordering militant mercantilism,...
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