Why one won, the other lost

Being a well-meaning candidate in the electoral fray isn’t enough. This is what Atishi’s defeat and Pragya Singh Thakur’s win tell us about India More than 100 years ago, in the iconic Citizenship in a Republic speech, US President Theodore Roosevelt outlined the key drivers of a successful republic: the quality of its citizens and […]

33%: A goal too far

A country which had a woman prime minister for 15 years has managed to put a measly 78 women in the Lok Sabha this time. Only Bengal’s TMC and Odisha’s BJD made a conscious effort to boost the numbers For those interested in gender issues, three standout images on TV after the poll results were […]

Keeping up the flow

Haryana has accused Delhi of taking too much water, while the High Court observed that the former has restricted Yamuna’s flow into the Capital. In all this, the people suffer The requirement for water is year-round but come summer months, with temperatures soaring above 45 degrees, water is a commodity along with electricity whose consumption […]

Achari Begum

Pallavi Chaturvedi endeavours to relive the childhood through culinary means. She’s a self-taught food anthropologist Pallavi Chaturvedi’s presence brings solace. That’s not entirely because she cooks brilliantly and feeds liberally. The kitchen is the most active room of the house, sort of a food laboratory, where love is loaded into food. She loves food, eating […]

Button as art

Ceramic artist Megha Rawat had the courage to quit her well-paying job and explore the field of pottery to come closer to her true calling Have you ever wondered about the number of workers involved in making a piece of clothing and what it takes to bring to life a design? From the designer to […]

Take a breath of fresh air

Instead of filling your lungs with tobacco smoke, do yourself a favour and kick the habit that damages your health without giving you any benefits The World Health Organisation (WHO) has earmarked May 31 to be celebrated as No Tobacco Day every year. However, what health professionals like me really wish is that every day […]

Storm in the family

Political discussions in our family are not only virulent but personal, with motives being imputed and our entire characters being questioned The conversation started off in a cozy living room at my maternal grandmother’s home in Dehradun. “Why would you even bother supporting a party which doesn’t have a leader?” asked my cousin to the […]

GROWING PAINS

Parental pressure to secure good marks and thereby ensure a ‘good’ life takes a heavy toll on teenagers who may have extra-curricular passions. How to strike a balance? When asked about their successes, interests and hobbies, an incessant barrage of words is likely to pour out of these teenagers. Like Oscar winners, they reel off […]