How to reform your son because you watched a TV show
My dear son, I’m watching Adolescence on Netflix, and I need to over-articulate my limited understanding of human nature using terminology from therapy and gender studies. If you feel like killing a girl, don’t forget to talk to us about it. You must talk about your feelings; the modern man must talk, talk, talk. Not […]
The Indian Constitution is a bad place to look for freedom of expression
A FEW YEARS ago, someone got in touch with me asking if I would agree to be a part of an interview series where authors are interviewed in front of a live audience by a person who has never read a book. I immediately agreed because I knew that this interviewer had to be interesting […]
How language keeps people unfit
ONE of the unhealthy things people do is the way they speak of themselves. They speak poorly, especially about their physical health. They express a low opinion of their prospects. How they have “aged,” when they are still in their 40s or 50s. This view emerges from their false perception of how people at this […]
What champions of ‘hard work’ don’t get about workers
About 20 years ago, the five-day week was not common in India. Some people in an office in Mumbai approached their boss to demand it. The boss said he had no problem with this very modern global idea; he would ask the proprietor. But, he said, they should know what the owner would probably ask. […]
How Entertainment Got So Boring
A few weeks ago, I read a headline in The Guardian: “Is Netflix deliberately dumbing down TV so people can watch while scrolling?” I had to read the rest of the article, even though I knew that if a newspaper asks a question in the headline, it means it doesn’t know the answer—otherwise, the answer would […]
The Loneliness of Losing the West
Once, what did we want our nation to be? Like the West. What did we want to be? To enjoy life like people in the West, but with better food. Where did we want to be? The West. Where did we want our children to be? Okay, you get the idea. To many of us, […]
Our Beliefs are Shaped by People We Can’t Stand
Most people do not have strong beliefs. They arrive at them by developing the exact opposite views of those they despise. The ongoing political drama in the United States gives us a chance to see this clearly. The legend of Elon Musk was the creation of wokes, who include people who call other people woke. […]
If There is a Secret Vote in Gaza on Relocation
The plan to relocate over two million Palestinians from Gaza to neighbouring Arab nations is the second-best idea for lasting peace in the region. The best idea is for all Israelis to move to an uninhabited island with a temperate climate and excellent soil. The second-best is not Donald Trump’s original idea. Such a plan […]
Why nobody talks about India’s ‘brain drain’ anymore
Rhyming words have promoted many dubious ideas. Like ‘brain drain.’ Not long ago, everyone was talking about it, as though those of us who stayed behind in India had no brain at all. Yet, we enthusiastically debated the issue. The debate wasn’t over whether brain drain existed, but whether the government should stop it. Now, […]
Migrating to the US has always been a rite of humiliation
Long before Donald Trump, from the time I remember, migration to the United States was a rite of humiliation. Yet, it was exactly what the finest of my generation prepared for. Even the most dignified part of the process, which was the first step, where the bright applied for a student visa to go study […]