Side hustles have always intrigued me. My second book was focused largely on professionals who have built interesting passion projects and created new income streams while retaining their day jobs. It isnt easy but with consistency and commitment, carving an alternate identity is a realistic possibility. This doesnt always mean hustling hard, doing more, and taking on more projects than we can manage. Take Cal Newport as an example. After his PhD from MIT, he became a computer science professor

So theres a new temple that has opened its doors close by. A temple with Gods of every denomination to please devotees of every calling. Gods to grant boons in return for cash. Gods who sit impassive in marble splendour, listening to everything. To impassioned entreaties, to earnest promises of good behaviour, to genuine but often temporary repentance for sins of all levels committed in secret. They listen to all this and more. But above all to the loud music that every place of worship now beli

Could we dwell for a few moments on the concept of happiness, please? Truth to tell, after Pharrell Williams catchy tune of the same name, we havent really paused to think too hard about the state of being happy. Again, truth to tell, we lead uber-hectic lives. We are jogging hard to stay in the same place, we are doing daily horrendous commutes despite following a hybrid office/home model of work, we, as that old song goes, work hard for the money. Who has time to pursue happiness? But there ar

Thrissur in Central Kerala erupted into controversy days before the crucial Lok Sabha polls after reports of police high-handedness during the famous Thrissur Pooram festival surfaced. The delay in the customary fireworks display, excessive restrictions imposed on devotees and police lathi charge on devotees sparked widespread outrage. Under attack from every corner, the state government transferred the errant police commissioner, attempting to douse the raging flames of public anger. This incid

Everything is not as it seems to be. We have no answers. Will she live or will she die? We give her three years. Doctors were skeptical I will make it through. I was skeptical about yoga when I enrolled to study it over three decades ago. Does yoga work? But with the failure of the popular beliefYou become famous, earn doodles of money, youve made it!I thought of a gateway to peace and prosperity. Success did not do it for me, in fact, it did quite the opposite. When you are unhappy especially w

In the vibrancy of Bharatiya democracy, elections serve as the cornerstone of our collective voice and aspirations. However, the sanctity of this democratic process often comes under scrutiny due to unethical practices. Its high time we reevaluate the efficacy of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) issued by Election Commission of India (ECI) and transition towards a more robust Ethical Code of Conduct. The MCC, designed to regulate the behaviour of candidates and political parties during elections,

Imtiaz Alis biopic on Amar Singh Chamkila is a wake-up call. The singer, known as the Elvis of Punjab and his singer-wife, who sang wildly popular dirty ditties, were gunned down in 1988 and their killers were never caught. Chamkilas detractors accused him of peddling sleaze with his ribald lyrics and raunchy beats, though the man seemed to have prided himself simply on giving the people what they wanted. Which was mostly horny humour and catchy tunes. After all, sex sells. Then, now, and foreve

The first sign was in the purple staining the ground. Little rivulets of purple bled from bruised fruit. Over our heads, birds grasped the bounty on the boughssome fruits were a fresh, leaf-green, and others were a wine-purple. If you touched them, they nearly exploded in your hands, and so you had to be gentle. Its the season for the mulberry or the shahtoot, that once-a-year abundance of handpicked sweetness. Mulberry trees can be quite small, which means you can reach for the fruit without br

Baba Ramdev has shown an uncanny and amazing ability to remain in the headlines, nor is he a stranger to controversies, harsh criticism and vile abuse. Some years back a leading English news magazine had published him on its cover with a picture in crass taste. He was also accused by Brinda Karat of exploiting his workforce and mixing animal products in his ayurvedic potions. It didnt take the Baba long to bounce back and land an almost knock-out punch displaying his nationalist credentials. But

I got scammed recently. I didnt lose any money; my son came and rescued me before that. But I did engage in a 50-minute conversation with two men masquerading as members of the Mumbai Police, threatening to arrest me under the PMLA (Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, in case you didnt know). Im a rational being normally and sceptical about most things, so Im amazed that I stayed in the conversation as long as I did. The odd thing is I wasnt scared; I knew I hadnt done anything wrong. And yet, I

At a time when violence linked to the Maoist movement is in rapid decline across the country, under mounting security forces pressure, there has been an abrupt and dramatic escalation in Chhattisgarh. Significantly, of the 99 Left Wing Extremism-linked fatalities recorded by the South Asia Terrorism Portal across India in 2024 (till April 7), Chhattisgarh alone accounts for 78. There were 88 fatalities in Chhattisgarh through 2023, and 72 in 2022. It is evident, moreover, that the escalation has

Art has the power to foster cultural change and initiate dialogue transcending all boundaries. In the public sphere, be it murals or sculptures, it has always existed in ancient and traditional art and architectural marvels such as temple walls or caves of Ajanta and Ellora. In the contemporary era, public art has taken new shape in forms of experimental art through street art, graffiti and public installations among many others. A public space is a collective representation of the identity of a

Bengaluru is now in news for all the wrong reasons. What was once a charming garden city famous for its salubrious weather, charming lakes and flowering trees has become an urban hell-hole with nightmarish traffic, frequent power cuts, pot-holed roads in the last decade. Now, it has gone one step ahead and has exhausted all its water resources. With temperature touching nearly 40s, the city has kissed its famed weather too goodbye. In other words, Bengaluru has become just another dusty, dirty,

On a sweltering summer afternoon a few days ago, I found myself about to doze off while idly scrolling on Instagram, when a video jolted me awake. A person had a chart consisting of thousands of tiny red and white squares, meticulously arranged as a graphic visualisation of the number of weeks left in his life. The ones which hed lived were red, and the others were blank waiting for him to fill them. An assumed life expectancy of 80 years showed that he had 2,190 weeks left, since he was 38. He

The leaders of opposition parties preparing to enter the electoral arena have been shouting themselves hoarse about the absence of a level playing field, tax terrorism and government agenciesunder the control of the Centreacting not as watchdogs, but well-trained blood-thirsty hounds of the hunt. The fear of contempt has stopped the critics of Prime Minister Modi from criticising the judiciary for failing to safeguard citizens rights and the Constitution of the country. However, the baffling adm

A few days ago, I had occasion to engage in a very interesting conversation with a retired space engineer who has spent most of his working life designing and working on some of the most fascinating space vehicles at NASA. He had taken his first degree in engineering from India. I was not surprised to hear that he had not needed or used more than about 10 per cent of his engineering knowledge from his first degree. He averred that for most of his work as a space scientist, he had to devise innov

Prime Minister Modi has tasked key stakeholders for Modi 3.0 action plan aligned with Viksit Bharat@2047. Resting on its four pillarsPoor, Farmers, Women and YouthViksit Bharats recipe shall undoubtedly dominate the first 100-day plan document. Common denominators that link these four pillars are key socio-economic capital assets like education, healthcare, employment, sanitation, etc. Tracking and commenting on education policies for over 15 years, my heart beats faster for the first five highe

While the controversy of the Sangita Kalanidhi award for the virtuoso TM Krishna is rocking the Carnatic music world, another unsavoury controversy has broken out in Kerala. A veteran Mohiniattam artist, Kalamandalam Satyabhama, made disparaging comments about another veteran artists skin colour and physical appearance without taking his name. The crux of her comments was that Mohiniattam should be performed only by beautiful, fair-skinned female artists and not black-skinned male artists. This

With the pride of being the melting pot of the worlds cultures comes a challenge that is unique to Indias cultural and religious tapestry; ensuring equal rights and protection for all citizens while balancing personal laws. As a Directive Principle of State Policy, the Indian policy framework must strive to secure a pan-India Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The Uttarakhand government was the first to introduce a UCC for the state. While it is a largely progressive Code, there are a few hits and misses

One vertical and a second horizontal! said Brahm Dev, the doyen of Dehraduns photographers, to his household help. He was giving her tips on photography as she went around taking pictures at home. The 1940s saw Brahm Dev and his brother Raj arrive in Dehradun as refugees uprooted during the Burmese disturbances. They went on to build RK Studio on Ashley Hall (very close to where Ruskin Bond had in his early days written The Room on the Roof). All of us had met at a book release, and it was midni

The Berlin Wall, Eastern Europe, 221B Baker Street, Manhattan, Hudson, Thames crime suspense films often take us on a virtual tour to these destinations. But India as a backdrop has remained relatively untouched. But Homi Adajanias Murder Mubarak (2024) based on Anuja Chauhans novel Club You to Death, brings crime suspense home to India. The film is about a murder that takes place inside an elite club in Delhi, the investigation into which leads to another murder and uncovers dark secrets beneat