Ideas News - Page 5
iSteve: The book of Jobs will hit stands soon
Time magazine Editor's biography of Jobs will likely hit the stands November, or earlier.
Chetan Bhagat: Mediocre, middlebrow, and mahaan
Chetan Bhagat has made a virtue of bad English writing, peddling it as anti-elitism. But his I'm-just-a-plebe defense -- now shared by ever growing ranks of IIM/IIT authors -- is completely spurious and self-serving.
Amanda Knox and a trigger-happy media
The UK press had a bad day yesterday, as, perhaps conditioned by years of coverage, a number of them announced that Amanda Knox had been found guilty, when, in fact, she had been acquitted.
From Ram Lila to Wall Street: The spread of middle class rage
The middle class around the world is mad as hell and taking to the streets. And irrespective of their demands, the biggest strength and weakness of their protests is the same: it is middle class.
Militant in exile: Meeting a Kashmiri in Gujranwala, Pakistan
Yoginder Sikand describes his encounter with Umar, former militant now an unhappy, disillusioned, and deeply homesick hosiery salesman.
The nineteenth century Durga Puja: Babus, hookahs, and nautchgirls
The Bengali babu looks on, an Egyptian mummy shrouded in zari and jewels. The roads filled with devout Marwaris, eager whores, and drunken rakes. A funny, satirical look at Durga Puja back in the good old days.
The good, bad and ugly of Facebook's Timeline
Once the Timeline feature is enabled prepare to see personal photos, comments and major life events since the time you opened an account on Facebook. Prepare also for some unpleasant memories.
Happy marriage = separate lives: The case against too much "togetherness"
Conventional wisdom says that couples should spend huge amounts of time together or else risk drifting apart. But Lakshmi Chaudhry argues that the pathology of marital "togetherness" is creating bored, restless partners, yearning to be set free.
Reebok gets $25 mn rap for deceptive advertising
According to the US Federal Trade Commission complaint, Reebok made unsupported claims in advertisements that walking in its EasyTone shoes and running in its RunTone running shoes strengthen and tone key leg and buttock (gluteus maximus) muscles more than regular shoes.
Paris Hilton does Mumbai: Revenge of the brown sahibs, sorry, floozies
Cold-shouldered by the Bollywood elite, America's most famous skank discovered there's a new power equation between India and Hollywood celebrities. But in one unintended way, she also proved that we remain sad little wannabes, after all.
Confessions of a Mark Zuckerberg subscriber/stalker
So what did Pratishtha Dobhal learn about her favourite geek when she signed up as his subscriber? For starters, the man is a sappy romantic who loves kids.
On Bollywood Khans, Pataudi, and the 'good Muslim' celebrity
All Muslim icons need to pass an unspoken "secularism test" that requires them to play down their faith to assert their Indian-ness. But the Pataudi funeral offers hope that we may be willing to fully embrace them as who they are.
Reservations for Muslims: Good politics or good sense?
Now that elections are around the corner in UP, both Mayawati and UPA are proposing reservations for Muslims. A debate that inevitably raises thorny questions about the definition of 'Hindu' and the significance of caste.
TRAI's 100 SMS rule makes no sense
It's unclear how the TRAI arrived at the number 100, but there were immediate protests from some categories, such as airlines, banks, telecom services and DTH operators.
Form and fiction: a play with urban reality
An architectural illustrator who sketched unreal cities at 10, now builds dreams in 3D.
Facebook more important than dating, say Indian youth
The majority of Indian youth surveyed said that "keeping up to date on Facebook is more important on a typical day than dating, spending time with friends, listening to music, or going to a party," according to a survey.
Meet the new matchmakers: the pursuit of modern love
Caste, community and horoscope are irrelevant in Marrygold, a new type of matrimonial agency. But chucking the traditional checklist doesn't make finding that life-mate any easier.
Why marketing companies will allow access to Facebook
Increasingly, marketers will target those who’re 'always on Facebook' on Facebook. Facebook has arrived as a medium and as an advertising option – for any brand in any category.
Rajiv's assassination: 'Only a mother will know this pain'
Arputham Ammal, the 65-year-old mother of one of the three on death row in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, opens her heart.
Smack that bitch: Why Darshan is our self-made Frankenstein
Most Indians think of domestic violence as normal, even acceptable, because of deluded notions about "privacy" and sanctity of the family. And our movies and TV serials are eager to assure us it's true.
British Airways new TVC goes live on Facebook
If the communication reaches as many consumers as BA needs with no attendant media cost, it’s a harbinger of the future of advertising.
Rakhi and Ramdev: On sexy gurus and their babes
From Rajneesh to Nithyananda, India is the land of the sexy gurus. But the Rakhi and Ramdev circus offers a refreshing twist on an old tale.
The Narendra Modi fast: All hail India's new Caesar!
The Narendra Modi show is like a Cecil B Demille film on India’s new Caeser. And what he is offering is Caeserism – the possibility of a popularly elected autocrat who can provide stability, efficiency and growth.
Two Indias: Medical tourism destination and malaria hotbed
Malaria ranks among the top 10 causes of death in the Northeast. According to the World Health Organization, 311 million people are at high risk of contracting the disease in India.
A Chief Justice of India says "I am sorry" but 30 years too late
It's big news when a former Chief Justice of India apologises for a judgement. But Justice P N Bhagwati's apology for his role in a historic case during the Emergency is too little, too late and needs to be taken with a big grain of salt.
Happy 95th: The sublime comfort of MS Subbulakshmi
Today thousands of families across the world woke up to MS Subbulakshmi's suprabhatam just as they have done for decades. Carnatic music's most famous ambassador would have been 95 today. But for most of us she remains someone much more intimate.
Maharashtra's new booze law: Here comes the Mommy state
Imran Khan says he's fighting for the youth's freedom of choice in Maharashtra. But this isn't a fight about the right to knock down a peg versus a traffic accident while drunk. Is this kind of social control just one drink away from the writ of a khap panchayat?
Roald Dahl: Children's stories that were gritty and dark
Today is the 95th birthday of Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate factory, a man who created a gritty world for children. Dahl's family is also trying to preserve his writing hut where the author created his magical world.
The anxiety of 9/11 in my fiction: Manil Suri remembers 9/11
Perhaps what I remember most clearly from that day and the ones that followed is how preternaturally clear the sky was. Writer Manil Suri recounts the fateful day.
In memoriam: Indian American writers remember 9/11
Those who lived through 9/11 will always remember where they were when they heard the news. Ten years later, well-known Indian Americans writers and thinkers talk about the legacy of that Tuesday morning.