There is a large section of India where caste continues to matter a great deal; indeed caste can sometimes become a matter of life and death. But there is another India, albeit a small one, where caste or at least any reference to it is difficult to find. For people living in this ficult to… Read more »
The faded wall-painting in Raipur is for an event management company called Crazy Chaps. Only one part has been repainted, the only bit that matters: the mobile phone number. In a small but telling way, it speaks of the centrality of the mobile phone in India; it is as if almost every aspect of one’s… Read more »
The image of the Gujarati within the country has undergone a sea change As a Gujarati growing up in Delhi, one didn’t really feel any weight that an outsider usually feels in a setting removed from home. For being a Gujarati was seen to be a harmless affectation; a declaration that one was not from… Read more »
Liberalism accompanied with a surge in conservatism It is increasingly difficulty to escape labels. One is either a liberal or not, and along with that description comes a whole set of readymade beliefs. The very act of being able to slot yourself in these neat categories, brings along with an ability to exude certainty from… Read more »
WRITING ABOUT India is never easy; it is too large, too diverse and, in general, is given to cussedness of a kind that makes assertions of any type difficult. Insiders writing about India take too much for granted and outsiders extrapolate too much from limited forays into a wide-eyed form of cultural tourism. In this… Read more »
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