Roald Dahl, the celebrated children’s author has suddenly become problematic for the self-proclaimed guardians of 21st century sensitivities. Puffin has hired sensitivity readers to replace ‘problematic’ words such as fat, black, Kipling etc and bring in a gender-neutral tone to his writings, even if it means changing the meaning and tone of his works. The … Continue reading Sanitizing Roald Dahl
Month: February 2023
On Fandom
Despite growing up in the nineties, I never managed to understand the brouhaha over the phenomenon called Shah Rukh Khan. For me, he was one of those Bollywood superstars, acting in over-the-top melodramatic movies and never really showcasing real talent that would make you sit up and take notice. All this changed during the pandemic. … Continue reading On Fandom
Beware of the ‘Life as Narrative’ motif
In my line of work (development), I often come across stalwarts. The defining feature of a stalwart, in most cases, is a grand narrative arc that explains their lives. There’s drama, chance encounters, promotions, higher studies, periods of wilderness, feathers in their caps and a culmination in the position they find themselves in today. If … Continue reading Beware of the ‘Life as Narrative’ motif
The ‘Out of Eden’ Walk
We don’t walk much these days. I mean, humans as a species. With the rise of modern transportation and our frenzied lifestyles, our sense of space and the time needed to cover vast distances has also been lost. Rahul Gandhi, in his Bharat Jodo Yatra managed to cover an average of 25kms over 4 months … Continue reading The ‘Out of Eden’ Walk
Understanding ‘Awesomeness’
Philosophers have a nice skill of taking a random emotion or a word and then analyzing it in the form of a book. The Oxford University Press has a seven-volume series covering the Seven Sins, Agnes Callard wrote about Aspiration, Annie Duke on Quitting, de Botton on Love and so on and so forth. Nick … Continue reading Understanding ‘Awesomeness’
