The World Inequality Report 2026 is out. As every year, it has generated the predictable reactions: concern about poverty, outrage about concentration, debates about redistribution. All necessary, all important. But reading it this year, my attention drifted elsewhere – not to the poor, but to the rich. Specifically, to how differently the rich behave among […]
Chronos personifies time. Like most Greek gods, he is depicted as an old, wise man with a long beard. He (he/she/it) represents the inexorable passage of time and its progression from the past to future. He (he/she/it) is the symbol of a powerful, inevitable force that governs the life cycle of all beings and the […]
I struggle to explain this in a conversation with friends and family. So, I decided to write an article about it. The only way to illustrate my point is to conceive it as a conceptual battle of lifestyles. There is Mr. Maximalism on the right corner in swashbuckling red. And then there is his mild […]
Time is the usual fall guy. There has been an enduring myth that brand building took years and decades. Then, along came upstart tech-fueled startup brands seeking brand equity and impact in a matter of days. This time-shift is being conveniently blamed for the recent entropy in brand building. But, is ‘time’ the genuine reason […]
As we navigate through a different normal, physical distance has brought the world emotionally closer. It has rewritten all known norms of socialising. But what do these changing norms mean for a country like India that has never been big on personal space? Think about how close we stand to each other in any queue, […]
Earlier in 2020, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the world saying, “COVID-19 could reverse the limited progress that has been made on gender equality and women’s rights”. With the gloom and doom in the past year, his words seem less like a warning and more like a prediction. The impact of the pandemic has largely […]
There is a distinct patriotic buzz in the air, as the countdown to the 75th anniversary of India’s independence from its colonial rulers begins. Local governments are distributing free flags to fly from every household. Bollywood celebrities are sending out best wishes on Instagram. Most marketers have prepared special Independence Day promotional materials. Even politicians […]
EdTech has been creating a profound impact at all levels of education across the world and in India. The online education market in India was valued at INR 39 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach INR 360.3 billion by 2024, expanding at a Compound Annual Growth (CAGR) of ~43.85% during the 2019-2024 period. […]
To stereotype or not to stereotype, that’s the question. (Apologies to Shakespeare!) Every story confronts a dilemma. At some point of the narrative, it has to decide on whether to advocate or challenge the stereotype. A good book may take several pages to build the story to arrive at this fork and resolve it. But […]
Any Indian discourse can be traced back to a cow. Known as Kamdhenu, or the giver of all desires, the cow is the most sacred of all animals in Hinduism. In the Mahabharata, Bhishma observes that the cow acts as a surrogate mother. She provides milk to human beings for a lifetime making her the […]