Going KooKoo!
Read More
Sanity Break #1
In , one of the great French philosophers Alain Badiou offers a wonderfully eloquent defence of love as “a real, risky adventure”—more needed than ever in a consumerist culture that emphasises individualism, perfect compatibility and endless choice. You may not agree with all that he says, but it is totally worth 15 minutes of your time. Fair warning: He speaks in French w/ English subtitles.
Headlines that matter
TAPOVAN TUNNEL TRAGEDY CONTINUES Rescue workers had to abandon their efforts when “a huge mass of black ice and water mixed with mud and sludge” came hurtling down the mountainside—raising water levels in the Rishi Ganga river. And the local villagers are : > “We had never seen such a spectacle before… This is beyond our imagination... The water level goes up in the hilly rivers when > there is rainfall but today was a sunny day. There must be some lakes on the top of the mountain and they are collapsing for > some reason.” It has also forced the rescue teams to : > “[T]he rescuers are now also focusing on drilling through the hardened debris in the choked tunnel in Chamoli district, rather > than just shifting mounds of silt and sludge heaped there by the sudden flood. The aim for now is to set up a ‘life-saving > system’, possibly to pump oxygen into the blocked tunnel.” More worryingly: Some experts warn that rock and debris from the avalanche may have created a natural dam, blocking the Rishi Ganga river. One of them shared a video clip of the location, : > “It is clearly visible from here that because of the flooding, the Rishi Ganga has been dammed. I don’t know when, but at some > point, this [natural dam] will be breached and could cause another flood, and so the workers downstream need to be warned and > prepared.” STREAMING PLATFORMS RUSH TO SELF-REGULATE Even as the government readies to roll out a new set of regulations, 17 streaming platforms unveiled a ‘toolkit’ to monitor themselves. It essentially executes a self-regulation code all of them signed last year—and which was rejected by the government. So the likelihood that it will fob off the government clampdown is very low. FYI, the one big platform that isn’t part of this effort at self-restraint: Amazon. () A BREAKTHROUGH OBESITY DRUG Trial data of Semaglutide—delivered as a weekly injection—shows that it is highly effective in suppressing appetite. The 2000 participants shed an average of 15 kilos during a 15-month period. It is typically used to treat type 2 diabetes, but researchers upped the dosage of the drug—which fools the body by mimicking a hormone called GLP1 that is released after eating a filling meal. Why this matters: Until now, doctors could only recommend bariatric surgery for people who need to lose large amounts of weight for medical reasons. Point to note: While the weight loss feels effortless, side-effects include nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, and constipation. () MUNNAR’S WORRYING WEATHER The Kerala hill station’s temperature hit a freezing -2°C—a bizarre occurrence that is one of the strongest indications of the effects of climate change. Munnar’s winter typically lasts between November and January, and it starts to warm up by February. : > “The temperatures in these places are beyond control and the weather is tough to forecast. The change in its formation is clear > and distinct. In the past, there have been changes in the formation of the weather, but they were not regular.” CHINA BANS THE BBC The government has banned the BBC World Service in retaliation for a similar move made by the UK—which stripped the state-run China global television network of its broadcast license. Point to note: The BBC was never allowed to broadcast directly into Chinese homes and was largely available via satellite in international hotels. () AIR TRAVEL IS GETTING PRICIER The government is easing price restrictions put in place during the pandemic by 10-30%. So you should expect to pay more until March 31. The price caps vary based on the duration of the flight. has the details. MARS IS GETTING CROWDED A day after a UAE spacecraft established orbit around the planet, it was joined by a Chinese mission—which has arrived to put a rover on the surface. The Mars trip is a first for both nations. Joining them soon: NASA. has more on the Chinese mission. Bonus: To mark its achievement, the government images of Mars’ Phobos and Deimos over Dubai—causing among residents. Faking their achievement: Two Indian mountain climbers who have for six years by the Nepalese government. Their crime: pretending to have climbed Mount Everest back in 2016 by submitting doctored photos. One of them, Narender Singh Yadav, was slated to win the prestigious Tenzing Norgay Adventure Award—which has now been retracted. How they were : > “[V]eteran mountaineers said they saw a lie in the photographic details: An oxygen mask with no tube connecting it to an oxygen > tank, no reflections of snow or mountains in a man’s sunglasses and limp flags in a place known for lacerating winds.” INDIANS REALLY LIKE THIS FLOWER A photo of on Wikimedia Commons receives 78 million hits a day. But no one could understand why. One clue revealed the traffic was likely coming from a mobile app. Another clue: The traffic shot up after TikTok was banned in India: “The evidence suggested that one of the TikTok replacements had inadvertently hot-linked to the flower image in their code.” Wikimedia has since confirmed the Indian origin of this mystery—but is yet to release the name. has more. Also: behold the flower! A MAORI MP SCORES A VICTORY We think of Kiwis as very nice people, but they are no strangers to racist bias—especially toward indigenous culture. Rawiri Waititi was prevented by the speaker from asking questions in parliament, and eventually ordered to leave. The reason: He was wearing a taonga, a Maori greenstone pendant instead of a tie. So he went out and made : By the evening, the speaker had changed the rules and made ties optional. () PIGS CAN BE GAMERS We’ve always known that pigs are very smart creatures—a lot smarter than we assume. Now researchers in the US have successfully trained four pigs to manipulate a joystick and control a cursor on a monitor—using tasty treats, of course. Ok, so they’re not as good at it as rhesus monkeys—but that may be because they have to move everything with their snouts. has more on the experiment, but here’s what it showed us: > “That the pigs achieved the level of success they did on a task that was significantly outside their normal frame of reference > is in itself remarkable, and indicative of their behavioural and cognitive flexibility.”
Sanity Break #2
The Mewar Ramayana is one of the world’s most beautiful iterations of the manuscripts—commissioned by Rana Jagat Singh of Mewar in 1649. The Guardian has both a and a lovely essay by on this treasure. Or for a very special treat, scroll through an amazing digitized version over at the .
Weekend advisory
SO YOU WANNA WATCH A DOCUMENTARY… Here is a list of true-life movies and series to keep you company this weekend. : This Netflix flick isn’t new but just made the Oscar shortlist for documentary feature and is a bona fide international hit. It tells the story of a unique bond between a South African diver Craig Foster and an octopus. A lesser known India connection: Foster is Swati Thiyagarajan who is the Environment Editor at NDTV—and she is also one of its producers. has more on the movie, or read review. : This new reality series—releasing on Netflix today—follows the family behind R Bernard Funeral Services in Memphis, Tennessee, known locally for offering “complete yet affordable funeral packages.” Don’t expect existential angst a la ‘Six Feet Under’ but lots of funeral humour. The Bernards are 100% whacky, and were first discovered when they did this for their services. : This true-crime docuseries explores the mystery behind the 2010 disappearance of 21-year-old student Elisa Lam who vanished from Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles—which is famous for being the scene of many crimes. and love it. gives it a big thumbs down. But it is already a big hit on Netflix. : This Netflix’s look at the big fat Indian shaadi follows six couples as they plan their insanely lavish weddings. We’re hoping it will be a can’t-look-away juicy watch like ‘Indian Matchmaking’. If all else fails, we will always have memes. A LIST OF GOOD READS * has an excellent piece on a three year study that shows how Delhi and Mumbai keep Muslim tenants out. * visits Chennai’s recently created art district Kannagi Nagar, and the photos are a delight. * has a fascinating book excerpt from ‘Four Lost Cities’ by Annalee Newitz that looks at how male archaeologists completely misread female statues—and extrapolated wild theories based on their misinterpretation. * The Arctic is getting greener with each passing year—as the period between when the snow melts and returns gets longer. explores these changes, and what they may signify for the future. * offers a thoughtful theory to explain our shallow obsession with really gross cooking videos. Yes, yes, guilty as charged! * The takes a jab at the upcoming SATC flick and its possible plotlines. * The offers a delightful riff on bathrooms and our complicated relationship with them. * Very timely read: on how the judiciary surrendered or resisted Indira Gandhi during Emergency. * Last not least: splainer founding member, Basreena Basheer recommends ‘On Living and Dying as a Muslim in Sri Lanka’.
Feel Good Place
When you’re working on your fight skills, never ever pick someone your size... Somebody really really loves their Shakira… You could just sit right down on that chair or… Guwahati restaurant with 150/100 service.
