General
Book Review: The Argumentative Indian
Its been over a week since I finished this book by Amartya Sen but the review had to wait till the Mumbai blasts. It is, in brief, an excellent book with but a few weaknesses. Yet, the appeal of this book is at many levels.
It is, first and foremost, a fresh perspective on India. In [...]
Salaam Mumbai: Blogging the Blasts
The final counts are in. Just under 200 dead, 500 injured. Mumbai’s bomb blasts yesterday have taken a heavy toll.
I could talk of the blasts themselves, but they have been amply reported. So I’ll talk instead of what struck me about the response of Indians.
News came to me primarily from three sources. The standard channels [...]
On Football
In the dying moments of extra-time a German fan urged her countrymen to score - “I don’t want to see a penalty shootout”. Minutes later, Italy scored once, then again, sealing Germany’s fate. The German fans, never too boisterous, were stunned stone cold. For a moment I felt defeated too, having supported Germany since Brazil’s [...]
Book Review: The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
My friend Bidisha, over in Frankfurt, is a prolific reader with books plastered on her every wall. So when she gifted me Richard Feynman’s The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, I had to take the tiny book seriously.
I never read Feynman in high school, even when I was fascinated by physics and wanted to pursue [...]
To What End Travel?
On ne voyage pas pour se garnir d’exotisme et d’anecdotes comme un sapin de Nöel, mais pour que la route vous plume, [...]
Book Review: Out of Africa
I picked up Karen Blixen’s book, Out of Africa at a flea market the other day. At 2CHF it was a bargain, even for someone that avoids books that are far too popular for logic. And this book has certainly carved a name in history, romanticizing Kenya to so many that followed Karen to her [...]
What’s Wrong with an Unpaid Internship?
Good question. I spent the better part of the last year answering that question. My IOMBA program required an internship with the UN. Yet, a novice to this field after 6 years of paid work experience, I was surprised to discover that the UN does not pay interns. Nor, for that matter do most NGOs [...]
Reservations (Affirmative Action) in India’s Private Sector
The caste system is well known. Less well known is the positive discrimination, in favor of the less privileged sections of society. By establishing quotas, India’s reservation system goes far beyond the American Affirmative Action. In the public sector between 50-75% of all jobs are reserved for various castes.
By some miracle, some parts of the [...]
