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So who wants to date an IIT boy?
Back in 2008, Rashmi Bansal posed a tongue-in-cheek question on her blog: "Are IITians really inhabiting Girlfriendville right now, or only in their imagination?" The responses were more earnest, offering a variety of reasons why the once-disdained nerd was now A-grade boyfriend material. "IITians are the best gals can #Aamir Khan #Chetan Bhagat #CultureDecoder #Geek #IIT graduate
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The vegan question: Is there a cure for our meat and dairy addiction?
"Vegan fine dining?" snorts an avid masahari friend in amusement, "That's an oxymoron!" The notion of gourmet food without plates heaped with mouth-melting steaks, succulent kebabs, or buttery lobster is unthinkable. Even the vegetarians among us expect a generous serving of cream at a high-end restaurant. And yet here I am #Animal rights #Cruelty-free #FoodForThought #Vegan food #Veganism
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Remembrances of St Stephen’s past: Not so liberal, after all
No one can wax quite as rhapsodic as an ex-Stephenian when pressed on the subject of his alma mater. "What St Stephen's gave me was a consciousness of what is right and what is wrong," which "did not come through sermons on morality, it was there in the atmosphere that #Education #GoodReads #Male reservation #St Stephen's College
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The Richard Loitam murder: Denying our inner bigot
Richard Loitam, a young architecture student, was found dead in his hostel room on 18 April. The most contentious aspect of this murder – and its shoddy investigation – is this: Is Loitam's death damning proof of racism or not? This in turn has led to a broader debate as
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Confessions of a former social activist: A learning moment
Moral conviction is a good thing. Or so we assume. Deeply-rooted values enable us to engage the world in an ethical way. Ambiguity, doubt, scepticism undermine us, leading us down the garden path to dangerous relativism. And yet when we look around – and within – us, what we see more #GoodReads #India #Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi #social activist #Yoginder Sikand
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Satyamev Jayate: If Aamir fails, it will be our fault
Patriotism has always been a winning card for Aamir Khan. Be it Lagaan or Rang De Basanti, he tapped into our nostalgia for the glory days of the freedom movement, a pinnacle of national achievement that we've never quite managed to match since – despite all the fuss over hefty #Aamir Khan #Cinema of India #IdiotBox #Rang De Basanti #Satyamev Jayate #Satyameva Jayate #ToWhatEffect
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Aishwarya’s weight watchers: 3 reasons why fat shaming is for losers!
Aishwarya Rai can never get it right. Too perfect, too plastic, too fake, and now, alas, too fat. Ohmigod, look at the "chubby cheeks" on that aunty! Clearly, Ash didn't get the memo laying down the ground rules for a celebrity pregnancy. Step one, look like a stick insect with a perfect #Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan #Angelina Jolie #pregnancy #ToTheContrary #weight
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Convicting the Talwars: Middle class murderers like us
"Everything is possible in these days of modern era wherein moral values are fast declining and one can stoop to the lowest extent," writes Special Judge S Lal in his order rejecting Nupur Talway's bail plea. Offered as a rebuttal of the defense counsel's claim that Aarushi's mother as"the #CultureDecoder #Noida double murder case #Rajesh Talwar #Social Issues
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Obama and Osama: Ordinary men with great luck?
Obama and Osama, two men separated by a mere consonant and united by destiny in a moment of history. One year later, the retelling of this story centres on vagaries of divine fate, which chose one to play the unlikely avenger who brings the other – the great villain – #Barack Obama #Mitt Romney #Osama bin Laden #TheLongView
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Chitra Subramaniam and Bofors: The myth of the lone crusader
"You want to be like Chitra Subramaniam, eh?" was the inevitable response from my relatives any time I expressed my teenage desire to become a journalist. In the aftermath of Bofors, the "girl reporter" (in Rajiv Gandhi's words) who brought a government down to its knees became an emblem of #Bofors #Chitra Subramaniam #MediaCrit #Narasimhan Ram #Rajiv Gandhi #The Hindu