A list of good reads
- Deb Olin Unferth in The Paris Review pens a lovely essay about her friendship with a goose named Goo—which is also a meditation on love and loss.
- Leslie Jamison in Orion Magazine writes eloquently of her experience in a hospital—and what it means to become a ‘patient’.
- NPR profiles a young midnight jogger in Delhi who became a viral inspiration to many.
- Now that everyone is finally out and about after a long pandemic, why are people behaving so badly? The Atlantic looks for answers.
- Two good pieces in The India Forum: One: Why feeding monkeys in cities is bad for the forests. Two: A review of a book titled ‘Sacred Cows and Chicken Manchurian’ which looks at meat-eaters in India—not the ideologues on either side of the debate—and how they navigate eating meat in everyday life.
- Nearly 200 languages in India are in danger of disappearing. Mint reports on their last speakers battling to keep them alive.
- FinShots has a good explainer on what the merger of India’s biggest theatre chains, PVR and INOX, means for all of us.
- Bloomberg News put trackers on a plastic bag and tracked its recycling journey—with eye-opening results.
- IndieWire has the great director Pedro Almodóvar's diary of his night at the Oscars. He says very little about The Slap—and none of it is favourable.
- Vice has a useful guide to cutting down on alcohol—as opposed to going entirely sober.
- Washington Post documents the growing popularity of ‘Type II’ fun—which is typically an unpleasant outdoors activity—and yet you enjoy it. No, this isn’t about extreme sports.
- Aeon has an interesting piece on how ancient Dharmic fables encouraged a life of compassion.
- If you missed the Reporter’s Collective’s three-part investigation in Al Jazeera, this YouTube video offers a good summation.
- Scroll has a very good interview with Tarunabh Khaitan—professor of public law and legal theory—who explains why courts should not be in the business of interpreting religion.
- Historian William Dalrymple’s thread on the influence of Buddhism on ancient Chinese culture is very, very good. Also a treat: The lovely images of artwork it includes.
