Jan 21, 2022Why India could not invent the printing pressMore appropriately, this article ponders on why cultures south of Himalayas couldn't invent the printing press or railway steam engine or aeroplane or computer chips. Printing Press-- the grand invention that changed the equation of whose ideas would spread or not and how far. Also the invention that detached the…India4 min readIndia4 min read
Aug 11, 2021Humans of Covid-19 Relief: Chennai VolunteersOur healthcare system collapsed in this Pandemic. A system developed by management experts, processes deliberated and sealed into policies by humans who were recruited via multiple selection criteria — failed. Something else thrived. Informal human networks. No qualifying criteria, no long experience, no specialized skills, no training from experts. Simply…Covid 19 Crisis6 min readCovid 19 Crisis6 min read
Jul 5, 2021Frames: Marriage(This blogpost is part of a series on love and life. The first post was on romantic relationships. It coincides with my 3-part conversation series with Reema Ahmad on her podcast Wideaways. The first podcast episode on Romantic Relationships is here.) Long back, a friend wrote about the virtues of…Marriage7 min readMarriage7 min read
Jun 28, 2021Subway Sandwiches and Biryani: What They Tell About UsTwo decades back, I landed in United States of America and soon found myself at a Subway. …Food4 min readFood4 min read
Jun 7, 2021Love, Loving, LovedLove, Loving, Loved #Chitrakadha Topics in the main room and water cooler conversations naturally varied from health to money to professional life to family to love. What was striking in what Chitra would share was this strange discomforting contentment with her brief married life. …Love3 min readLove3 min read
Jun 5, 2021GrievingDay 3 now of our dear one Chitra Nagesh’s passing. And I notice how our relationship has changed for all of us. For some Chitra Nagesh has become a guide, for others an artist-mentor, another a dear friend and confidante. …World Environment Day4 min readWorld Environment Day4 min read
May 16, 2021Zero Covid Now, IndiaRecently I attended a townhall on Coronavirus spread in South Asia in which epidemiologist Prof Shu-Ti Chiou from Taiwan spoke spontaneously. She said (paraphrased), that the meta message India is sending to the world and its own people is — We are in crisis. We need oxygen, medicine, and beds…Zerocovid2 min readZerocovid2 min read
May 16, 2021#Vaccination Stories-2 #Hyderabad#FirstDose April 16, 2021 I took the first dose in a PHC in Old City a month back. In my german-usualness, I had reached the centre very early and was first to register. Except, that the vaccine doses had not arrived. Soon we were informed that Covishield was out of…Vaccination4 min readVaccination4 min read
May 16, 2021#Vaccination Stories-1 #HyderabadUppal PHC Hyderabad. May 14. Second Dose. The Vaccine queue started at 6:30 am. In an hour, it had soared to 30. One line was for Covid Testing and the other for Vaccines (as in pic below). At 9 am we were split into further two lines — one for…Vaccination3 min readVaccination3 min read
