Death by black magic: Why an 11-year-old was sacrificed inside his own school
Last month, an 11-year-old boy died in a ritual murder. Blind faith, lack of awareness and inadequate legal mechanisms allow these practices to continue
My Story
Senior Assistant Editor at The Times of India, Mumbai | Chevening SAJP Fellow | Formerly with The Telegraph, Calcutta
Couldn’t believe what the newspapers said and so I became a journalist! It's been 16 years since and what a life-coach it's been as I wake up to it’s power and value, every morning. A good story isn't always about the president or popstar but everyday people and places with compelling tales. Those are the stories I hope to tell... and find the extraordinary in the ordinary!
TIFR study uses psychedelic drug to trace neuron that can reduce anxiety
The word psychedelic may evoke wild, mind-bending trips out of the ‘60s. But what if the same trippy substances used in LSD & magic mushrooms could be harnessed to treat mental health issues? A TIFRScience
team may have unlocked that
team may have unlocked that
Black is back but guess who is scalping your Coldplay tickets?
Remember dus-ka-tees outside cinemas? Black is back—online. Ticket scalping that crushed Coldplay fans isn’t just for concerts anymore. Tech experts weigh in on how bots skip queues for gigs, matches & train tickets and what event sites could do to prevent it
‘I envy your country, you still have many movie theatres,’ says Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore
Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore. The man is a curious mix of bittersweet nostalgia for the past and excitement for how AI might level the playing field for future filmmakers
Modern Medicine Collaborates with Traditional Healers to Transform Tribal Healthcare
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! In tribal areas where traditional healers hold more trust than doctors, a tribal health collective is partnering with these vaidyas to bridge gaps in healthcare—making them allies, not competitors, to modern medicine
Biometric Identity Crisis: Hand Transplant Recipients Face Challenges
In a world where biometrics are key to identity, what happens when it doesn’t quite match up? A number of transplant patients find themselves in a twilight zone as surgeries rob them of their digital uniqueness
Pink chaddis to spine models, how small props play big role in protests
In India, civil unrest usually involves chants, posters, street plays, night marches, songs… & sometimes, something more tangible to get a point across - protest props - everyday objects that are hard to miss, harder to ignore & the desperation that drove people to it
Makdi madness: India weaves web of friendly neighbourhood Spideys
Wondering why spandexed crusaders are sprawled on car bonnets or rolling rotis? For young content creators, the Spiderman costume has a special superpower
NHRC issues new guidelines to end discrimination against widows
In May 2022, two villages in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district banned regressive customs against widows, inspiring others. MP Supriya Sule introduced a bill to eliminate these practices. Recently, NHRC issued guidelines for protecting widows' rights, including setting up support cells and maintaining welfare homes
As ‘killfie’ threat mounts, what happened to planned no-selfie zones?
With people losing their lives while trying to capture the perfect shot, 16 'no-selfie zones' were planned in Mumbai in 2016. Eight years later, the much-hyped ‘no-selfie zones’ are nowhere to be found
Michelin meals to logo-less luxe, the new, new status symbols
Michelin meals to logo-less luxe, the new, newer status symbols or what you can call the new flexes of the elite
Meet Kyra, Naina and Zara, the new AI influencers who even get hit on
Whether it’s taking part in pageants, chatting up celebs or becoming the face of brands, India’s rising tribe of AI models is disrupting the influencer industry
Long live longevity! Why everyone is trying to turn the clock back
A greying world has meant a new focus on living longer and healthier. A look at how science and money are coming together in the quest for immortality
Gen Z teens ‘coming out’ younger with stronger family & peer support
For many queer individuals in India, the social pressure of ‘coming out’ — a metaphor used by LGBTQ+ persons to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to friends and family — is already daunting. But teenagers opening up to parents is a growing phenomenon of adolescents bravely owning their identities as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender while still a middle grader. What is remarkable is how families and schools are stepping up to guide them through this phase and find acceptance in ways that were once unthinkable.
The bitter truth of quickie gate-cane weddings in Marathwada's sugar belt
Despite efforts by village authorities to crack down on child marriages by roping in priests, tent owners, music bands, decorators, caterers and card printers, these impromptu gate-cane weddings — stripped of all wedding festivities — remain difficult to detect or prevent.
A river of forgotten promises lies buried in Mumbai’s poll noise
As a sudden dust storm swept through the city, followed by rain, bringing both relief from sun-parched days and havoc to the homes lining the banks of the Mithi River, it was a grim prelude to the impending monsoon season for families settled along the brackish river’s edge. Two decades on, not much has changed, say its residents. As monsoon clouds gather, it’s a familiar scene every year.
Even after a year on Ozempic and 20 kg lighter, I am still really conflicted about it
The protagonist of British-Swiss author Johann Hari’s recently released book ‘Magic Pill’ is Ozempic — the diabetes medication-turned-weight-loss marvel that helped him go from 92 kilos to 73 in a year. Yet, as 44-year-old Hari globe-trotted from Tokyo to Iceland, conversing with its makers, experts, and fellow users, he was left pondering if this hunger-slasher was indeed the answer to his lifelong struggles with food, weight, and body image. Hari talks about the promises and perils of Ozempic
Is stethoscope losing its pulse or docs their ear for the beat?
For over 200 years doctors have leaned on this trusty medical tool to poke, prod, listen and draw accurate inferences about what ails the patient. Until technology changed it. With echocardiograms and nifty pocket-sized ultrasound devices elbowing their way into the diagnostic arena, a recent conference on AI and healthcare at Bombay Hospital in Marine Lines, became the stage for doctors to deliberate the fate of this iconic medical relic—the stethoscope and whether the revered art of “auscultation”— the act of detecting maladies from listening to sounds from the heart, lungs or other organs—might actually follow the path of the doctor’s head mirror and fade away.
Koliwadas say low catch, soaring diesel prices are factors in poll
Vast Koli settlements in Andheri Versova, Khar Danda, Worli, Madh, Colaba, Vasai and Satpati face common concerns. Educated young men and women are leaving the occupation. Fishing is a diminishing trade thanks to the high cost of diesel used to fuel boats. The catch is vastly depleted owing to polluted waters and overfishing, the use of purse seine nets and LED lights. Infrastructure projects like the Coastal Road have driven another nail to the coffin of their dying trade, they say. The Kolis uniformly feel that govts do not consult them or take them into confidence over issues that put their livelihood at stake.
Politicians' vocal cords suffer silently as poll campaign picks up
As we brace for the impending political showdown with candidates giving it their vocal all, spare a thought for the unsung hero — the voice box — that often bears the brunt of their campaign rhetoric.
Talk like a woman: Surgery helps trans women find their voices
Those who struggle with their old, ‘male’ voices now have the option of completing their transition as voice feminisation procedures become more accessible in metros
Groom riding on a horse? That’s so yesterday. Car-copters latest craze in UP, Bihar shaadis
Jugaad choppers fashioned out of humble hatchbacks have become a flourishing business, thanks to dulhas who want to make a grand entry
Bonded Labour in Maharashtra’s Sugarcane Belt: A Bitter Reality
Greedy contractors shackle vulnerable tribals with promises of a proper house or salary advances. It could lead to generations of bonded labour.
Urdu is an inherently Indian language. I’m not worried about its future: Gulzar
What questions do you pose to a man whose legacy spans eight decades? But Gulzar has a way of holding forth when we meet him at his Pali Hill bungalow. Dressed in his signature white kurta-pyjamas, the 89-year-old, who has just been named recipient of the 58th Jnanpith Award, spoke about how languages adapt and endure
Load More
