Hats, turbans, scarves, ghunghats, and hijabs
To wear or not to wear a hat, a cap, a turban, a gamchha, a scarf, a ghunghat, a hijab, or even shaving your head is a choice that need not ever be the cause for a controversy. It is in the same league as wanting to have the freedom to wear torn jeans, short...
Travel, Music, and Technology
Travel changes you. So does music. I have always believed that a trek in the mountains is jazz for the nerves, a dip in the sea is pop for the mind, and steps into the diverse cultures of the world are the ragas that connect life with creative thoughts. And if you aren’t already aware,...
Fair, white, and light
We know now that the word ‘fair’ has been eased out of brand promotion for a certain product and that Sunny Jain, president of Unilever Beauty Division has even gone on record to announce that the company recognizes ‘that the use of the words fair, white, and light suggest a singular ideal of beauty that...
The idea of well-being in education
Well-being isn’t a fairy tale that exists only in books and board-rooms… or as discussions and debates in the staff-rooms of colleges, if this sounds more appropriate. As Hans Christian Anderson once wrote: ‘Just living isn’t enough’, said the butterfly, ‘one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.’ When I told a university professor...
Design your dreams
‘Hug style. Without it, you’re nobody,’ said this voice inside my head. Well, you know how some people have long conversations in their mind… I had one a few days back and that was when it occurred to me that a smartphone is more than just a tool for communication. In this world of instant...
I still love my Parker Frontier
Last week I sat at a press event and was busy writing probable questions with my Parker Frontier fountain pen in my black Moleskine notebook when a twenty-something YouTuber whispered in my right ear, ‘Is that an ink pen?’ ‘Yes, it is,’ I said and looked up towards him. He said nothing but his expression...
Always give more than what you get
This is the text of my email conversation with Shiv Khera, the iconic speaker on leadership and motivation and author of many books. He says that 85% of self-made millionaires globally today are first generation. A survey said that they read about 50-60 self-help books a year because they realize that one good idea could...
Connected to excitement
When I look at a car, any car, the two hemispheres of my brain get whirring. One whispers everything that is sheer poetry and goads me on to discover the rhythm, the beat, the iambic meters in technology and aesthetics. The other hemisphere has its feet firmly on the ground and speaks in monosyllables about...
The wireless headphone that is gentle on the wallet and the ears
Some days are created to be full of interesting discoveries. Like today. One political party discovered that even exit polls could be sane as well as deadly. Another party found out finally that repeating a magical performance isn’t as difficult as it sounds. And I wondered why I hadn’t activated the Blaupunkt BH01 wireless on-ear...
When E isn’t email, electronic, or encrypted
If you’re fond of travelling, you will know how few people prefer getting up early just to watch a sunrise. They invariably miss watching a miracle. Hal Elrod writes in his book that getting up early is a habit that can be ‘the most practical, result-oriented, and effective method’ to ‘empower anyone to overcome seemingly...
Ove and the magic of MG Hector
Love is a strange thing. It takes you by surprise. This is somewhat like my love of Ove, a character created by Fredrick Backman as well as my new-found love for the new SUV on the horizon, the MG Hector. As I went back and forth through the new-age features of this car, I was...
Laptops are now customizable and colourful
There is a definite shift in the way people use their laptops today. I see revelers carry them to the beach with them, trekkers work on updates while relaxing on a boulder high on mountain tops, and the urgency of remaining in touch means they are used in in trains and buses as well. Laptops...
