What is literacy, really? The government of India theoretically defines it as the ability to read and write with understanding. Read and write, one can still define with some degree of objectivity, even if there are degrees involved. In practical reality, the ability to read or write can vary from “I can understand Shashi Tharoor … Continue reading The Girl from Cheranmadevi
Every day on social media, Indians indulge in their favorite pastime – Solutionism. Your flight was late? Of course, the cause is the lack of Air India’s privatization. Your Swiggy order was late? The restaurant doesn’t follow Six Sigma. But this behavior goes well beyond posturing on the internet. The single most common Indian response … Continue reading You Do One Thing
Supra Amani, the Fifth Count of the royal estate of Amani sat in his imported Chesterfield sofa, gazing out of a French window that opened into a view of rolling hills dotted with grazing cows mercilessly mutilating grass while deftly using their ears to flick flies away. A voice from behind suddenly interrupted his reverie, … Continue reading The Identity of Indiscernibles
Good evening. Tonight’s programme is going to be different. The Nation demands to know how a prime time TV panel debate is designed by my illustrious channel. So, tonight, instead of just seeing a debate in action, I will take you through the backstage process that we have perfected over the years. Some viewers might … Continue reading The Noisehour Debate
I think human beings suck at online discourse. Let me rephrase that – I think social media technology is designed in a way to amplify a particular kind of human suckiness. For starters, it is constantly nudging and persuading us to share more stuff online. Apparently, 70% of our smartphone time is spent inside … Continue reading Clever Hans
I’ve come to realize that Ovo-lacto-vegetarians will never win elections in India. Why, you ask? But first, consider this question – Why is milk considered vegetarian while eggs are not? This was the subject of a discussion I had with a gentleman who forwarded me a “Cow farts cause global warming and ancient India knew … Continue reading The Elephant and The Rider
Over the last few years, quite a few people who run into me have posed a declarative statement masquerading as an accusative question – “You don’t blog nowadays”. And I’ve always given an answer that, in retrospect, was rather stupid – “But I post on Twitter”. I’ve come to realise rather late that there is … Continue reading Electrify Me
Doordarshan. A name that evokes imagery of stately and erudite news readers and mind numbing footage of Giani Zail Singh cutting ribbons at state functions, Professor Yashpal (go well, dear sir) explaining Newton and UGC lectures with slightly less oomph than videos of paint drying. A state-owned, centrally planned, bureaucratically run symbol of the old … Continue reading A New Logo for Doordarshan
The rest of the world (a.k.a “Not the USA”) has been eating popcorn for the last several months while watching the slow-motion train-wreck reality show that is the 2016 US elections. And today, the Trump-Pence dropped this on us The problem is that this logo looks like 2 straight male letters doing very non-Republican things to each other, and … Continue reading A Few Design Suggestions for the Trump-Pence Campaign Logo
Several years ago, an eccentric cousin of my father’s called his office and loudly demanded that the chap who picked up the phone hand it over to one “Kutty Ambi”. The poor man picking up the call was confused. It wasn’t a name he was familiar with, not just in that office but in New … Continue reading Kutty Ambi (1944-2015)
