CHAPTER 3: The Girl in the Shadows I woke up early the next morning and set off to the river side to get the sunrise on film. It was still dark outside with a chilly breeze in the air. I had finally worked out a mental schedule for the next 3 days. It was unlike …
4 minute miles: Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2: Notes from the field – Part 1 After having the delicious fish curry meals, I retired to my room at the Paramount. I slept through the evening and woke up only the next morning when someone knocked on the door. I rolled over drowsily and unsteadily got on my feet. I hauled myself …
4 minute miles: Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1: A Town Called Seemapuram Not too many winters ago, I found myself with a small backpack and my camera on the glorious foothills of the Nilgiris. In those days, Seemapuram wasn’t the same tourist hotspot it is now – they preferred the more luxurious vacation that neighbouring Ootacamund had to offer. I didn’t …
The Silent Orator
I want to start this post with the following quote: Everyone is afraid of the consequence of error, but the greatest error is not to move, the greatest error is to be paralyzed by the fear of failure. Mike Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Program Mike Ryan was one of the key figures involved …
21 days for each other
By the time I post this, India would’ve started day 1 of a 21 day curfew. It’s an insane idea which will not just inconvenience a lot of people but also throw lives into disarray. The economics of it is of course terrible but the human costs are much more severe. Lots of people will …
Thoughts on Janata Curfew
Late last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered what can only be described as a statesmanlike address to the nation regarding India’s response to the Coronavirus. The 30-minute speech is one I’d encourage us all to watch and take to heart because the full force of that crisis is yet to hit India (and long …
For The People: Designing for Humans
Late last week the National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) published its findings after an investigation into the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines aircraft crash disasters of 2018. The report established that Boeing’s flawed assumptions of how aircraft crew would use the new safety sensor mechanism on the 737Max plane in the event of an emergency …
By The People
The response to Kerala’s worst natural disaster in a century has shown us (again) that citizens mobilize widely and rapidly when called on. So why doesn’t government take advantage of that more often?
The Other India
I. Can we move beyond outrage? On the 17th of December 2012, India’s capital New Delhi woke up to news reports about the gang rape of a 23-year-old female physiotherapy intern. When details began emerging about the horrors she was put through the previous night at the hands of 5 men (including a minor), it …
Poorna Swaraj: Why the roaring success of demonetization isn’t economics at all
How many times out of 10 would you listen to a politician asking you to physically go to a bank to either deposit your cash or exchange it for new currency notes, failing which any currency you hold would not only be worthless but also illegal? Until exactly a year ago I would’ve, in arrogance, …
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