A list of good reads
- Keshav Guha’s scathing review of Vir Sanghvi’s memoir titled ‘A Rude Life’ in Scroll says the book displays a classic case of the Delhi Syndrome.
- The Hindu offers an eye-opening interview with Vandana Kumar who works with people from low income groups with mental illnesses.
- Manu Pillai’s column in Mint tells the fascinating tale of Maharani Jamnabai of Baroda—who successfully pulled off a political coup at the tenger age of 17.
- Ian Jack in The Guardian offers a thought-provoking essay on how the climate crisis has made the idea of imagining a better future impossible.
- Also in The Guardian: Stuart Jeffries offers a scathing take on James Bond and his inevitable retirement—an “old misogynist with his infantile projections is finally getting the symbolic castration.”
- InsideHook answers a burning question for single men: Should you order for your date at a restaurant?
- Roxann Sharma in The India Forum offers her painful fight to gain custody of her child in an Indian system rigged to favour the father.
- Also in The India Forum, a thought provoking critique of Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 book, ‘Caste’—which compares American racism to casteism.
- Newsweek offers a must-read on how magic mushrooms are replacing Prozac as a far more effective treatment for a variety of mental illnesses.
- Michael Azerrad in the New Yorker offers a wonderful first-person account of his relationship with Kurt Cobain—and the uncertain rewards of celebrity friendship.
- The Hindu offers a lively take on why fashion is universal—and not merely the preserve of the privileged.
- Indian Express reports on the demise of old Amritsar—and the nearly-unrecognisable city that is taking its place.
- South China Morning Post offers an off-beat interview with Charlie Porter whose book looks at the fashion choices of great artists like Jackson Pollock.
- Bustle offers a handy trick to make you feel better instantly. Hint: It involves cold water.