Six life lessons from Rhinos 1

Six life lessons from Rhinos
[This piece was published in Nature inFocus on 1st May 2017, for Save the Rhino day. ] I will admit this. It was not love at first sight. As our jeep rounded a corner in Kaziranga National Park, we caught sight of a large gray box in the grassland. It had long since struck me ...

Advice for misguided youth 4

It is spring in Bangalore and the famed avenue trees are blooming everywhere. It makes the citizen’s heart foolishly hopeful. You start to think Bangalore will be back to its glory days soon: Namma Metro will become fully operational, garbage will be cleared regularly, and our lakes will be full of water and not shaving-cream. ...

The startup that’s purifying India 8

It all started when Jai and Veeru went to a temple for prayers. “It was a normal day at the temple.”, says Jai, “We were all just chilling at the temple, on our way back from a Goa trip. Suddenly, some dude gets out of the line and walks towards the idol. At first, I ...

Eating isn’t your personal business 10

Dear worshippers of The Sacred Potato, dark and turbulent times are upon us. Even as the all-seeing sprouty eyes of The Supreme Carbohydrate in the Sky cast a benevolent gaze upon the earth, several atrocities are taking place to besmirch His creamy name. For so many years, we have remained a wise and tolerant faith, ...

How to be a nationalist 7

Like a good Indian, on Independence Day, I went to the local stationery store, purchased two Indian flags that were made in China, and put them up outside our door. The family and household staff for once, instantly approved of the placement instead of giving me conflicting bits of advice about how I could have ...

Tests of faith 4

“You should’ve seen it coming”, my PT sir said. He was right. What he didn’t know then was that I was a pre-teen with all the hand-eye coordination of a drunk panda. So, when my classmate threw the cricket ball at me during catch practice, I miscalculated the trajectory and moved my face directly into ...

Sunny salutations 2

We at the Ministry of Unsolicited Advice and Healthful Advertising (MUA-HA) wish you a very Happy International Day of Yoga! We hope you have received at least one or fifteen SMS messages this week reminding you to practice yoga. Some of you lucky citizens may have received it daily for the last three days at ...

It’s a beautiful life 2

Dear men, are you in a constant state of shock and confusion due to the women’s rights movements? Do you feel weighed down by their demands for extreme things like equal rights and opportunities? Does the thought of having to share your privileges and your chowmein give you sleepless nights? Fear not, sensitive souls, help ...

Home is where the cardboard box is 1

“Can I pack the fridge items now madam?”, one of the packers asked. He proceeded to wrap our pickle jars, sauce bottles and sundry other items from the fridge. He then took out a bowl with an open, half-used milk packet nestling delicately inside. As he lifted the wobbly plastic packet out with one hand ...

The truth in our stars 6

As we prepare for the arrival of a new year, one must ponder the wisdom of our great leaders. I am personally inspired by the honourable man who said in Parliament that “Science is a pygmy compared to astrology.” This is an astonishing statement. The problem, dear friends, is that for years, we have been ...