Over the past few days, I flipped through Tirthankar Roy and K. Ravi Raman’s ‘Kerala, 1956 to the Present: India’s Miracle State’. The book is part of Cambridge University Press’s Economic Histories of Indian States series. The next volume expected to be published in a month is on West Bengal. The central argument of the … Continue reading A Critique of the Kerala Model of Development
Through a cracking CWT episode, I discovered Julia Ioffe’s ‘Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy’. The book traces the entire arc of Russian history from the Bolsheviks to Putin through a feminist lens and the lived experiences of Ioffe’s own family (who also happen to be Jewish and experienced the … Continue reading The Tragedy of the Russian Woman
I finally watched Wim Wenders' 'Perfect Days' which came out in 2023 only to discover that the wonderful movie was commissioned as a marketing pitch for the 'Tokyo Toilet' project. The 'Tokyo Toilet' project was an initiative of Nippon Foundation under which 17 toilets were redesigned by 16 world famous architects including Pritzker awardees, in … Continue reading The Tokyo Toilet
I’ve always been sceptical of the nostalgia and sentimentality associated with bygone eras and yesteryears. But despite this, each and every time I step into an Indian railway platform, a wave of memories washes over me. There were the childhood journeys from Bombay to Kozhikode in the pre-Konkan era, the Madras Mail to Salem, the … Continue reading A Paean to the Indian Railways
The World Health Organization (WHO) historically considered a C-section rate of 10–15% as an approximate threshold. Over the past three decades, however, the global prevalence of Caesarean deliveries has risen sharply, tripling from about 7% in the early 1990s to roughly 20–21% today. A number of countries stand out as clear outliers: Turkey reports rates … Continue reading The C-Section Boom
Will Eisner, is often credited to be the first person who introduced the term ‘Graphic Novel’. Today, the Eisner Awards, named after him, are the most coveted recognition for artists and publishers of comics and graphic novels. But a little known aspect of his career is the fact that before venturing into commercial comics, his … Continue reading A Rifle, a Photograph, and a Cartoonist
I embarrassingly realised that I knew next to nothing about the workings of the District judicial system in India until I picked up Prashant Reddy Thikkavarapu’s and Chitrakshi Jain's ‘Tareekh Pe Justice’ - Reforms for India's District Courts'. I came across their work when I saw it featured in the Ideas for India podcast. Article … Continue reading The Tragedy of the District Judiciary
If there’s one unmistakable feature of our society today, it should be the falling birth rates. Unlike the generation of our parents, its quite common today to come across couples who have voluntarily decided to not have kids. Having a first baby in your 30s is common. And anyone having more than two children are … Continue reading Fertility Rates, Gender Equality and the Math of Human Extinction
During the Christmas break, I spent three days visiting Kerala’s most celebrated tourist destination – Munnar. The place lives up to its reputation for natural beauty. Contrary to my expectations, the ‘concrete jungle’ that I was bracing for was largely absent for most of the trip. But the tragedy was to see how rudimentary most … Continue reading Munnar Notes
My little one recently represented her school in an inter-school quiz competition. True to form, she got eliminated in the first round itself. On reaching home, she tested my knowledge of the questions that tripped her. Authoritatively, I was informed that Pani-Puri was discovered by Draupadi. For someone who has read the whole of the … Continue reading Draupadi and Pani Puri
