Gabriel Garcia Marquez in the time of Netflix
IT IS inevitable that a tribute to Gabriel García Márquez would come under pressure to achieve a beautiful opening line, and having thus sidestepped the expectation, it would immediately mention one of the most famous opening lines in the history of literature: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, colonel Aureliano Buendia was […]
A right that women don’t have is the right to mediocrity
In a few weeks, when Donald Trump takes over as the US President once again, people will wonder if things might have been different had his opponent been someone other than Kamala Harris. By which, they also mean someone with a game, who was not so ordinary. There is an implication in this view that […]
The Hotel Room Need not be So Dumb
According to Indian five-star hotels, a guest likes to walk into the room and see the TV come alive on its own, blaring cheap copyright-free music and displaying promotions for the same hotel, as though this is the sort of entertainment that brought him to town. Later, when he decides to sleep, he apparently loves […]
Why national pride can’t clean India’s air
When India saves a life, it’s a great spectacle. An image I can never shake off is how once India moved a beating heart in an icebox from Chennai to Bangalore within two hours. First, a part of Chennai was brought to a halt as an ambulance sped to the airport; then Bangalore halted as […]
The good thing about ambitious old men
The world is tired of old men but the feeling is not mutual. Many countries are run by old men, many gigantic corporations too, and all housing societies too it would seem on some days. In response, the world has contempt for old men. For not receding into irrelevance quietly. This is odd, because being […]
Kangana Ranaut is India’s Trump
In June, a female constable at Chandigarh airport slapped the actor and politician Kangana Ranaut. The constable said it was in response to Ranaut’s past statements on people who participated in the farmer protests, calling them “Khalistani terrorists.” A few weeks ago, Ranaut got a legal notice for stating that India’s independence was not real, […]
Modern Science has been a Disappointment
There is a way that people in Mumbai still gape at a new metro line—with rustic wonderment at automatic doors and air-conditioned coaches. A few days ago, the world appeared to have the same look when Elon Musk’s company SpaceX managed to grab a descending booster with giant pliers. I don’t know why the world […]
Shared Delusion is All Around Us
Joker: Folie à Deux, the second edition in the ongoing attempt at seriousness by Todd Phillips, director of The Hangover trilogy, released a few days ago. The film probably triggered a mass googling of Folie à Deux, which means ‘madness of two,’ a phenomenon that is more formally known as shared delusion. So, what was […]
How did Buddhism survive its infancy in Hindu India?
In his latest book, The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World, William Dalrymple argues that India influenced the world immensely, even more than what some Indians in search of cultural pride have been saying all along. But what exactly was this influence? It was chiefly science and Buddhism, though Dalrymple’s enjoyable book cites […]
Success Requires Unhealthy Behaviour
Success is a gift given by friends. There is a fallacy among talented people, especially if they are young, that they can be exempt from this rule because of their immense talent. But they will find out it is not true. Even in the arts, and other solitary professions, the origin of success is in […]