In Europe without papers

How I became an illegal immigrant in Europe for one week I travel every year for a month to Europe to visit people instead of places. This year was special for many reasons, one of them was that for a week I was an ‘illegal immigrant.’ It was not a deliberate act. I took an […]

Honey, I shrunk the bookstore

Brick-and-mortar bookstores are surviving but the space allotted to books is shrinking as cafes within their premises attract more footfall. Also, they tend to do better in malls than in older markets Anyone familiar with the iconic Full Circle book store in Khan Market would be taken aback on stepping into the redesigned store. Café […]

The rain in the main is going down the drain

Rainwater harvesting is the only hope for Delhi to avert the major crisis predicted by NITI Aayog – and for this, every household’s contribution counts It rained about 199.2 mm from 1 to 30 July in the Capital city this year (around 1% less than the 30-year average of 201.1 mm), but was it collected […]

What went wrong with the JNU entrance exam

From incorrect answer keys to a lack of transparency in cut-offs, 2019’s entrance exam was riddled with irregularities Recently, Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University witnessed a complete refurbishment in the entrance procedure. The university, which has an established tradition of carrying out offline exams, conducted entrance exams for the MA, MPhil, and PhD courses from May […]

Decoding Super 30 phenomenon

Beyond the grit and glamour of its success stories, Super 30 is a reminder of what an IIT education has done for thousands of Indians over the years I know you have watched Super 30, the movie, so have I. We all love underdogs and their impossible dreams, and we exult when they win. But […]

Pots and bans

Potters don’t believe that their furnaces are adding to the pollution in the city. But the NGT has asked the pollution control committee to demolish their means of livelihood It’s business as usual at Kumhar Gram in Uttam Nagar, west Delhi. Some children are playing on the narrow streets and some are helping their parents […]

No place to walk

When you come out of a fancy Metro station and encounter traffic chaos, you wonder whether the city has any concern for pedestrians at all Choked traffic, jampacked lanes and garbage at every corner — three things make Vikas Marg stand out among Delhi’s main roads. While the street name suggests ‘development’, the nightmarish scenario […]

Any Lemebels here?

Although the LGBTQIA+ community has made great strides with the archaic Section 377 being struck down, issues of class and caste are yet to be tackled Pedro Lemebel  cuts a striking figure, caked in makeup, shocking people left right and centre. The Chilean who wore many hats should not be remembered as someone who worked […]