Surges, strikes, and skills
Cabs have always been the source for intense discussions. Our decision at home to go for a car was because we were not happy with cab-culture in Delhi. From drivers unwilling to give you a metered ride to those who asked for sums that even the Gods would have refused, this city had trouble written...
Between a house and a home
Between a house and a home Stand dreams and a groaning wallet So from store to store I roam Until the right balance is met. Lines like the ones I’ve just penned may not be true for everyone but the fact yet remains that the final conversion of a house into a home happens only...
Romeos, Outdoors, and Repellents
‘Are Romeos the new mosquitoes?’ asked a friend after having read the news about the new anti-Romeo squads in Uttar Pradesh, ‘and these squads the latest in the world of repellents?’ ‘Two questions together,’ I replied, ‘are like Romeos and mosquitoes knowing they are in the WANTED list and yet searching for an escape route.’...
The gender of Xender
I remember the days when gender option was between male or female. Those days are long over. News articles in the West are talking about ‘agender’, ‘two spirit’, ‘neither’, ‘other’ and tens of other options that are as valid as the choice a technology consumer has in choosing a storage option from portable hard drives...
Germs! Germs! Germs and the best hand wash
Let us look at life from a germ’s vantage point. They’re a happy lot today. The air around us in urban and rural India is pregnant with vehicles that help them travel long distances for free. The environmentalist calls them PM 2.5 or PM 10 or PM anything else but they are not just empty...
You can watch India’s finest films on television
Movie watching isn’t about any Ardh Satya talking about Gangoobai or Massey Sahib recreating a Qissa with a lot of Mirch Masala. Nor is it just about The Good Road to Dharavi that Mammo decides to take. Nor are they forever focused on Ek Doctor ki Maut or asking anyone to follow Gandhi. They do...
AI is getting smarter
We all have a somewhat hazy understanding of AI or Artificial Intelligence and have probably heard of terms like NLP without ever daring to explore further. Well AI is simply about creating systems that add the function of intelligence. A natural progression will be to then have systems that understand language. It is from language...
An idea is an enterprise
An idea is so much like an ephemeral strand in a dream that most of us allow it to wave frantically for a while before we turn our attention to some other such wisp. Only a few manage to focus on just one strand, pick it up gingerly to give it a shape that the...
By the fans, for the fans
By the fans, for the fans We are a cricket crazy country and I remember being glued to the transistor listening to commentary for days together. That was years back of course… much before the TV made its entry to our home and certainly much before smartphones and apps appeared. Even a visit to the...
A playfield called CSR
A playfield called CSR This happened ten years ago when I was heading corporate communications for a company and CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility was slowly attempting to penetrate our plans. The CEO said, ‘We need to project the company as environment friendly.’ The suggestions that followed included giving away hundreds of saplings during events...
Travel is all about new eyes and not new landscapes
The first time I was in London was sometime in the mid-nineties and then for the next three years the city became an annual celebration. There was then a gap of a few years and the London happened again… and then again a couple of years later. I remember a friend asking, ‘Don’t you get...
Apps are forever
Diamonds are forever’ has been hailed as a see-able fantasy and thriller, apps aren’t far behind. They cajole us into the imaginary world where everything is possible, seamlessly integrating into our lives like a well-crafted mobile app. These digital marvels make thrill merge with the blood corpuscles and reach every pore of our being, offering...
