New Delhi, Jan. 4 -- As this is my first column of the new year, I thought I would do something challenging-write what is good about the modern world. Here are a few things: Billionaires versus death... Read More
New Delhi, Dec. 29 -- If you want higher standards for drinking water packaging in India, who do you turn to? A few days ago, the Supreme Court seemed to scold a petitioner for wanting that, calling h... Read More
New Delhi, Dec. 21 -- I am glad that Homebound's shortlisting for an Oscar nomination gives me an opportunity to say something tangential. Modern poverty, even if it comes with a smartphone, is worse ... Read More
New Delhi, Dec. 14 -- In a Netflix documentary that celebrates one hundred years of The New Yorker magazine, its staff writer Andrew Marantz says that he has often been in places where people would sa... Read More
New Delhi, Dec. 7 -- As far as I know, there is only one Indian city whose residents say life has improved in the last five years. That is South Mumbai, which is correctly pronounced 'South Bombay.' P... Read More
New Delhi, Nov. 30 -- A dangerous thing the Indian news media does is attribute reasons for suicide. Any straightforward 'cause' cited for this form of death is at risk of being erroneous, apart from ... Read More
New Delhi, Nov. 23 -- Some days ago, Bill Gates did the sort of thing that infuriates powerful activists. He said a doomsday was not coming. He did this in a single detailed article on his blog Gates... Read More
New Delhi, Nov. 16 -- They stood holding English placards, some of which even had commas. They were serious, and they were angry. The upper classes of Delhi were protesting the abysmal air quality in ... Read More
New Delhi, Nov. 9 -- There is a kind of person the Western press often profiles with the headline: "The Meaning of. (name here)." Zohran Mamdani is that person. We may not know what being modern exact... Read More
New Delhi, Nov. 2 -- You may have heard, your attention span is abysmally short these days. It would appear that it is remarkable that you have reached the second sentence of this column. You were not... Read More