Author: Dilip

I'm a scholar, writer and teacher; and my blog is designed for intellectual exploration. It carries no advertisements and requires no cash subscription

Students’ role in French protests shows depth of anger towards Macron

Angelique Chrisafis The depth of the domestic crisis facing Emmanuel Macron can be measured by the growing university barricades and packed student assemblies where angry young people have gathered in recent days to intensify protests and help teenage high-school pupils blockade their lycées. As long as the country’s youth largely stayed away from the two months of trade-union-led… Read More Students’ role in French protests shows depth of anger towards Macron

Dilip

The smell of history

Smells hover just below our conscious awareness, conjuring up emotions and memories that shape how we perceive and navigate the world. An unexpected whiff of a long-forgotten snack or a dusty book can transport a person to years past — enabling a kind of time travel that makes hazy memories more vivid. It’s puzzling then that… Read More The smell of history

Dilip

Brain health

Dr Ginni Mansberg Brain health can be a heavy subject. By midlife many of us are caring for parents or in-laws affected by dementia. It’s a stark reminder of our own brains’ vulnerability. That’s not to mention the ocean of information that exists on the subject, so deep that sifting through it all can be… Read More Brain health

Dilip

Mainstream, March 25, 2023

Letter to the readers, Mainstream, March 25, 2023 India: Lurches Closer to “Opposition-Mukt Democracy”!? | Sukla Sen Budgets 2023-24 Punjab Haryana compared | Sher Singh Sangwan Upcoming 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections | PS Jayaramu Regenerating The Forest Ecosystem: Few Concerns | Suranjita Ray Saffron Clad Babas in Odisha’s Politics | Radhakanta Barik A Discourse on State of India’s Democracy | Arup… Read More Mainstream, March 25, 2023

Dilip

Disruption by the Ruling Party Signals a New Low for India’s Parliament

In the last two weeks, parliament has been witness to majoritarian bullying like never before. The Opposition’s demands for immediate discussion on the Adani scam were bludgeoned into submission by the Treasury benches, who instead demand an apology from Rahul Gandhi. Jawhar Sircar Seventy-three years may not be enough to pronounce a judgement on whether… Read More Disruption by the Ruling Party Signals a New Low for India’s Parliament

Dilip

Horta on Faial: one of the world’s most extraordinary post offices (see video)

Sitting in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a humble port town is home to one of the world’s most remote post offices, which holds mail for yachters from all corners of the globe. Fernando Teixeira and Izabela Cardoso The Azores islands, an archipelago in the centre of the Atlantic Ocean that makes up an… Read More Horta on Faial: one of the world’s most extraordinary post offices (see video)

Dilip

South Georgia: The lost whaling station at the end of the world

First posted June 10, 2014 “When we killed the sea whales,” Roddy Morrison, from Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, remembers, “they used to make a noise, like a crying noise. They seemed so friendly, and they’d come round and they’d make a noise, and when you hit them, they cried really… It is difficult to recover… Read More South Georgia: The lost whaling station at the end of the world

Dilip

Cold, remote and short of women: A portrait of life on the Faroe Islands

Oscar Holland, CNN In her striking images of the Faroe Islands, a remote archipelago between Iceland and her native Norway, photographer Andrea Gjestvang depicts islanders and livelihoods that are as tough and unforgiving as the windswept landscape. Fishing trawlers travel through frigid seas. Clouds roll over craggy mountains and cliffside villages. Clothes and boots are stained… Read More Cold, remote and short of women: A portrait of life on the Faroe Islands

Dilip

Renuka Chowdhury to file defamation against PM Modi over ‘Surpanaka.’ ‘Lets see how fast courts act now’

Calling PM Modi a ‘classless megalomaniac’, Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury said she will now file a defamation case against PM Modi for his alleged ‘Surpanakha’ comment made in Parliament in 2018. “Let’s see how fast courts will act now…’ The former Union minister said tweeting the old clip of Narendra Modi asking the Rajya Sabha… Read More Renuka Chowdhury to file defamation against PM Modi over ‘Surpanaka.’ ‘Lets see how fast courts act now’

Dilip