The argument for keeping knowledge and memory on our devices instead of our heads has far-reaching implications for the way we function in the real world. How much geography should we know? Or history? Only what we are interested in or some that should be imposed starting at the school level? Self-discovery is over-rated. It’s …
It’s hard to be interesting every day. But in today’s news-saturated world, the rules of the game have changed. If you aren’t making news, you are out. So Lady Gaga goes to the extent where she never repeats the same outfit – even at interviews held within hours of each other. Her handlers have to …
If you’ve submitted your number to a Do Not Disturb (DND) list and think you can rest peacefully, here are a few exceptions. Would you like SMSs that tell you if your flight is late? Or if a book you ordered is on its way? Or if your waitlisted PNR number on the train is …
While we’re working our butts off and accumulating more stress than raindrops in a puddle, we seem to be indulging in prolific playtime as well. Work hard and play hard is the mantra that the world loves to live by. The annual market for tourist receipts for destinations in the world exceeded $900 billion in 2010. This year, …
Everyone thinks advertising film shoots are glamorous affairs but the truth is, all the glamour is within the frame. If you saw the contortions that light guys go through to keep the lights in the right place, the shouted instructions to the camera assistants on keeping people and objects out of the frame and the …
I noticed our neighbourhood postman stuffing mail into the apartment mailboxes yesterday. The khaki uniform that characterised him is history. The modern day postman wears crumpled clothes and until I saw his bag full of junk mail, I did not even make the connection. The tribe is now unrecognisable. People had a close relationship with …
Who do we find interesting? People like us. We may be lawyers, doctors, engineers, accountants and um, advertising copywriters but we find lives gone wrong interesting. Unpalatable and horrifying perhaps, but interesting. It’s like looking through a window into complex lives and watching them unravel episode by episode at prime time. They are usually about …
Morbid obesity is now on the rise in India and acquiring proportions of an epidemic. Over 5% of India’s population is obese, an unwelcome side effect of our growing prosperity. This puts a lot of stress on the medical system as well, as morbidly obese individuals are certain to have diabetic, cardiac and orthopedic problems. …
Everyone has their favourite Steve Jobs story. For us in India, it was the first time we set our eyes on products that seemed to have been invented on another planet. Even back then, they obviously catered to a different aesthetic and helped to elevate our perception of what computing could be. PCs with Windows …
The sentiment against corruption has reached a feverish pitch in India. The middle class has taken to the streets and is raising the banner of revolt against a government and a bureaucracy that it perceives to be highly corrupt. In a sense, it is scary to see such anger. Right now, the movement is peaceful, …
