One Step Forward
This won Renee Capozzola this year’s Underwater Photographer of the Year award—making her the first woman to achieve this honour. It captures the sharks circling with the sunset and seagulls seen from below—underneath the surface of the French Polynesian waters. See the other winners either over at or .
THE ‘TOOLKIT’ CONSPIRACY: THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS The Bombay high court has granted Nikita Jacob—the high court lawyer named as one of the accused—three-week transit bail. This means she cannot be arrested during this time, and will have the opportunity to make her case in front of a Delhi court. has more on the arguments presented in court. In other Jacob-related news: When the Delhi police raided Jacob’s home on February 11, they seized her laptop and phone. The 100GB of data has revealed a “comms package”—a fancy term for a bunch of secure messaging apps including Telegram, Signal, Proton, Cyberghost, and Signal. They also claim to have recovered communications with the now infamous Pieter Friedrich ()—and two new names connected to a 70-person WhatsApp group created to amplify the toolkit. has more on this. Also this: The third named suspect Shantanu Muluk’s family says that two persons claiming to be from the Delhi Police seized a computer hard disk and other items from the house—and they did so or the permission of the family. On the Disha Ravi front: reports on a social media hate campaign to smear her by claiming that she is a Syrian Christian from Kerala, and her real name is Disha Ravi Joseph. Meanwhile, in the US: The New York Times published expressing solidarity with the protesting farmers. It was paid for by 75 non-profit organizations primarily focused on human rights. This was pushed out on social media: A WINTRY DISASTER IN TEXAS The United States is experiencing a hellishly cold winter thanks to something called a “”: > “Around the North Pole, winter’s ultra-cold air is usually kept bottled up 15 to 30 miles high. That’s the polar vortex, which > spins like a whirling top at the top of the planet. But occasionally something slams against the top, sending the cold air > escaping from its Arctic home and heading south. It’s been happening more often, and scientists are still not completely sure > why, but they suggest it’s a mix of natural random weather and human-caused climate change.” This polar vortex breakdown is the worst scientists have seen since the 1950s—and unsurprisingly, many which is warming up the Arctic. Temperatures in central and southern parts of the country have hit . One of the worst-hit is Texas—with Dallas lower temperatures than Alaska! So far the freeze has claimed . Adding to the misery: Crippling electricity shortages due to a record spike in demand and drop in supply due to the effects of the snow and ice on supply grids (Read for more detail). More than 4.2 million customers in Texas had lost power as of Tuesday morning, when temperatures dipped as low as -15.5°C. Humans are doing poorly, but so are animals. Monkeys and birds in a local wildlife sanctuary—while volunteers are scrambling to save . Coming up next: due to bursting frozen pipes. AMAZON INDIA’S SHADY STRATEGY A Reuters investigation based on internal company documents show that the company is indeed doing its best to crush small Indian retailers—and giving preferential treatment to a select group of sellers on its platform. The confidential notes show: * 33 Amazon sellers accounted for about a third of the value of all goods sold on the company’s website. * Two other sellers accounted for around 35% of the platform’s sales revenue in early 2019—and Amazon has an indirect equity stake in both. * In all, 35 of Amazon’s more than 400,000 sellers in India accounted for around two-thirds of its online sales. * The most favoured among the sellers: Cloudtail, a joint venture between Amazon and Narayana Murthy. lays out how that ‘special relationship’ worked. FACEBOOK GOES NUCLEAR IN AUSTRALIA The company has been embroiled in a nasty war with the Australian government—which insists that Google and Facebook should pay news outlets a licensing fee to link to their content. FB, OTOH, insists that they are doing publishers a favour by helping their users discover and consume their content. Now, Google has buckled and cut a deal with Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp to pay for links to its content—and is apparently in talks with Australian TV networks. But Facebook has upped the ante instead. It announced that no one in Australia—users or publishers—can view or share any kind of news content, be it Australian or international. Read: explaining the decision. has more context on this slug fest. Also getting tough: China, which is planning to restrict export of rare-earth minerals that are used in everything from smartphones to fighter jets. Beijing’s target is the US military which uses these in F-35 fighter jets and other high-tech weaponry. It is seen as a way to put a squeeze on the Biden White House which has been talking tough on human rights issues. Point to note: China controls most of the world’s rare earth mining, and accounts for 80% of rare-earth imported to the US. (paywall) has the exclusive. has a summary. TWO STUDIES OF NOTE One: New research suggests that a genetic variant inherited from the Neanderthals may explain why many people only get a mild version of Covid, or remain asymptomatic. They have identified a genetic mutation—found in samples of Neanderthal DNA and 30% of people of European and Asian origin—that reduces the risk of severe infection by 22%. () Two: A shows that coastal cities may be in even greater risk from rising sea levels. The reason: many of them are actually sinking from the sheer weight of development. The study focused on San Francisco, but its author says it likely holds true of many others: > "San Francisco might have sunk as much as 80 millimetres (3.1 inches) as the city has grown over time. Considering the Bay Area > is under threat from as much as 300 mm (11.8 inches) of sea level rise by 2050, the extra variation added by slow subsidence is > significant enough to be concerning". BLUE DOGS OF RUSSIA Stray dogs with bright blue fur spotted in the city of Dzerzhinsk are among Animal welfare activists. The reason: they think the “ethereal cobalt tinge” may be the result of exposure to copper sulphate at a nearby abandoned chemical plant: > “The dye on their fur implies they have had direct contact with or even ingestion of potentially toxic or harmful substances. > This could result in painful skin burning or itching or internal bleeding and illness that could lead to death, without > veterinary intervention.” And they : THREE FUN THINGS New iPhone emojis: include the mending heart, heart on fire, face exhaling, face in the clouds, face with spiral eyes. Also: in a nod to gender diversity, a woman with a beard. has an entire gallery. Our favourite is this one for feeling absent minded (we think): Levi’s❤️ Pokemon: The beloved game turns 25 this year and has with Levi’s to roll out of Pokemon-themed attire. The standout item: this floral-print Pokémon-themed denim trucker jacket. And it has matching jeans! A conch-tastic discovery: Researchers have discovered a musical conch that is more than 17,000 years old. It is the oldest known wind instrument of its type—although discovered bone flutes date back even further. Oh, and they asked a professional musician to play it. has more on this amazing find. Better yet: you can below:
Watching this short film on the art of making Tibetan butter sculptures is both soothing and delightful. Also read this piece on this wondrous Buddhist artform, and by Yeshe Wangmo on its spiritual significance.
Suckin’ on chili dog, suckin’ on a chili dog…that’s all we’re going to say. Snow art. The Oregon Zoo has a snow day!
READING HABIT BOOK EDITOR’S NOTE Thank you to everyone who wrote in with the books they’re reading. My TBR pile is now basically Jenga, and I can’t be happier about it. I want to give a special shout out to ‘’ by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, which is an enthusiastic and loving recommendation from subscriber Shyamala Das. The collection of essays about the natural world is gorgeous to behold. Keep them coming! A LIST OF NEW RELEASES Fiction: ‘’ by Amitav Ghosh, illustrated by Salman Toor: A new Ghosh is always exciting, and this one even more so, as his first-ever book in verse. An adaptation of an episode from the legend of Bon Bibi, a tale popular in the villages of the Sundarban, it’s a story of a mighty spirit, the goddess of the forest, and humans rich and poor, greedy and content, standing as cautionary tales for the rest of us. Find a sample , which also includes some of the gorgeous illustrations inside the book. ‘’ by Riva Razdan: This has the sound of an inviting twist to a much-loved genre. All Arzu wants is for her millionaire boyfriend to propose to her before the 1991 liberalization of the Indian economy sours his mood. But as things go totally not according to plan, Arzu and her bua (aunt), Parul, find themselves in New York, where the former is to attend finishing school. While there, she chances upon an idea that can change the face of an entire industry in India. The last line in the blurb says “can someone who has always played second fiddle to the men in her life discover how to become the heroine of her own story?” and I was SOLD. ‘’ by Avinuo Kire: A fantastic and essential collection of ten short stories that delve deep into a range of issues and sentiments rooted in the state. There are interconnected stories set against the backdrop of an as yet unresolved Indo-Naga conflict that originated in the 1940s; other tales find contemporary settings intertwined with Naga myths and folk legends. Kire is a teacher in Nagaland who deftly manages to disentangle the preconceived notions around her state from its ground reality through her writing. ‘’ by Sarah J Maas: The fourth in the incredibly popular series sees reluctant High Fae Nesta Archeron trying to find her way in the strange and deadly world she now lives in, while struggling with her conflicting feelings for the battle-scarred Cassian. Meanwhile, a new alliance poses a grave threat to the peace of the realms. Nesta and Cassian find themselves back in a war battling demons of various kinds as they both also search for who they really are. ‘’ by Chang-rae Lee: Two men from completely different worlds, personalities and cultures—the quiet Tiller and the larger-than-life Pong Lou—set out on a trip across Asia. The aftermath of the year-long sojourn is strange and startling as the two men come to terms with what happened on the trip and what their lives look like now. A perfect sampling of humour meeting darkness, the book is reminiscent of the classic bildungsroman about the many lives us humans end up leading. Non-fiction: ‘’ by Clyde D’Souza: The craze around “hygge”, “ikigai” and the many other ways to enhance one’s life makes this book even more exciting—Susegad is a Konkani word with no direct translation, but conveys a sense of fulfilment and relaxation that one is bound to find only in Goa. A great reprieve from our fast, filled-to-the-brim lives, D’Souza takes on a beautiful journey across Goa’s beaches, greenery, food, culture and so much more through this gem of a book, in the hope that we will also find our Susegad. ‘’ by Joan Didion: This slim, delicious volume collects some of the early essays by the extraordinary icon. Didion always has something for everyone, and this collection is no different—she writes about Hemingway, Martha Stewart, meeting Nancy Reagan, Gamblers Anonymous, being rejected by Stanford and so much more, each piece as perceptive, prescient and amusing as ever. ‘’ by Sahar Mansoor and Tim de Riddler: Another necessary addition to everyone’s TBR in my opinion, this book is by the founder of the sustainable brand Bare Necessities. It includes useful and simple-to-apply-to-your-everyday-life lessons on how to lead a more environmentally conscious lifestyle and minimize your carbon footprint, eventually living a zero-waste life. ‘’ by Neha Sinha: An eye-opening book, it helps shift our perspectives towards how we experience animal-human interactions and what we take away from them. An informed, almost loving take on how wild animals deserve to exist in tandem with humans with the same care and attention we give ourselves, it delves deep into conservation, agency and decision-making in animals, and combines science and storytelling skillfully. ‘’ by Elizabeth Kolbert: The author of the critically acclaimed ‘’ sets out to meet biologists, engineers, physicists and more in this pressing new book about the new world we are creating for ourselves through our actions. She examines our interventions into the natural world and how they act as double-edged swords—at times imperiling the planet, at others giving hope for our salvation. QUICK FIXES, AKA A FEW VARIED RECOMMENDATIONS What I’m reading: I picked up ‘’ by Simone St. James thinking it was a mystery, but it turned out to also be spooky, with elements of pure horror. Told from the points of view of Viv, who vanishes from the eponymous motel in the 1980s, and Carly, her niece, trying to figure out what happened to her aunt in 2017, it’s a story I’m completely on board with, though it isn’t much fun when you suddenly have to sleep with the lights on. A childhood fave: Oh man, ‘’ by Chris Archer, first in the awesomely named ‘’ series, was what I based my entire future on when I was 12—clearly, I’m related to a pirate who buried his treasure somewhere in my city, and my friends and I are supposed to follow ancient clues, underground tunnels and fiendish puzzles to claim what is rightfully mine. This is the series that I most associate with the Scholastic Book Fair at school, so you can tell that the nostalgia is strong with this one. Book-adjacent rec of the week: is my go-to place for carefully curated books reviews, essays, interviews, reporting and more that may fly under the mainstream radar. Its creator, Dana Snitzky, is wry and funny and picks/writes about topics both entertaining and informative. There’s something for everyone here. Underrated author of the week: went ahead and created a character that I’ve always wanted to be—even now. His eleven-year-old chemist/sleuth Flavia de Luce, operating in her tiny British village in the 1950s solely on will and gumption, is a straight shot of serotonin into my brain. There are 10 books out in the so far, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to hope that it keeps going on for as long as I’m alive and reading. Bookish adaptation to watch out for: I started on Netflix not knowing it was based on Ann Cleeves’ super-popular series; I just needed a murder mystery fix. It totally paid off. The characters are refreshing and feel new, despite some cliches, and the Scottish landscape (and accents!) is a sight for sore eyes (and ears!). Already twiddling my thumbs in anticipation of the next season. Note: Reading Habit is curated by our books editor Anushree Kaushal. Want to send along recommendations, feedback or just say hi? Email her at Suckin’ on chili dog, suckin’ on a chili dog…that’s all we’re going to say. Snow art. The Oregon Zoo has a snow day!
A lively look back at our pehla election of 1951. We’ve come a long way.
Read More
Scientists are trying to alter the evolutionary course of animals—so they can survive it.
Read More
The BJP is expending astonishing amounts of energy on Tamil Nadu this election season—and it’s all about 2029.
Read More
Early-onset cancer has been steadily rising but scientists have no clue why this is happening.
Read More