In his seminal and thought provoking book, HOMO DEUS, Yuval Noah Harari has some very interesting observations about mankind’s quest for immortality. He postulates that, having triumphed over starvation (famines), disease (plagues) and violence (war),- the primary cause of deaths over the centuries- mankind in the 21st and 22nd centuries will strive to conquer death […]
Digital Immortality Is Already Here! Read More »
This has been a particularly bad year for Himachal and its embattled Chief Minister, Mr. Sukhu. He has certainly grabbed the TRPs but they are of the negative, Arnab Goswami and Navika Kumar type. Actually, the year began well, in pure eye-ball terms, with our own raging torrent, Kangana Ranaut, occupying the headlines with her
HIMACHAL’ S GAME OF SNACKS AND LADDERS Read More »
In my tiny village above Shimla the only sounds one hears in the total stillness of the nights are the howling of jackals, the calls of a barking deer, the rhythmic hooting of a barn owl, or the rare coughing of a wandering leopard. But now I am back in the NCR and all I
STOP THE WHINING , MR PAWAN KHERA, AND SMELL WHAT’S COOKING Read More »
While our Supreme Leader is accepting inconsequential awards in Nigeria and Guyana (do you even know where they are?– Clue: they are nowhere near Manipur)) and hugging war criminals and their accomplices in Rio de Janeiro, his own capital is invisible from outer space, or from my balcony, blanketed in a toxic cocktail of dust,
THE THREE TRILLION DOLLAR SMOG Read More »
A heartwarming and sensitive portrayal of a growing bond between Yusuf, a British Pakistani grandfather, and his mixed heritage teenage granddaughter, Rubi, Sairish Hussain’s second novel Hidden Fires highlights the importance of preserving the histories of South Asia’s most tragedy ridden generation. ‘This whole thing is far from over. It’s been dormant since 1947 and
Review of Hidden Fires by Sairish Hussain Read More »
My first introduction to Anita Desai’s work was as a ten-year-old borrowing books from my school library over the summer holidays. ‘The Village by the Sea’ was an intriguing title and I, having lived near the Arabian Sea for all of my childhood, immediately gravitated towards the book. This was a time when English fiction
Review of Rosarita by Anita Desai Read More »
The ever effervescent PG Wodehouse once said that golf, like measles, should be caught young as it builds character. For it takes a strong character to hit the ball on to the wrong fairway and yell FORE instead of F–K ! Unfortunately, I missed the bus on that one and discovered the game quite late
A BIRDIE IN HAND IS WORTH AN EAGLE IN THE BUSH – MUSINGS ON GOLF Read More »
These days Mr. D.Y. Chandrachud, Chief Justice of India, is talking of, and worrying about, the legacy he will leave behind when he retires from the job next month. And well he might. He was elevated to this position at perhaps the most critical juncture in the nation’s recent history, when every democratic and humanist
A LEGACY THAT IS BEST FORGOTTEN Read More »
Many years ago, more years than I care to remember, I was posted as a probationer under district training in Mandi district of Himachal. On two days every week I had to sit with the Deputy Commissioner (DC) in his court when he heard grievances and received petitions from the public. The purpose was to
VOODOO ECONOMICS – DON’T ILLEGALISE THE BRIBE- TAX IT! Read More »
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