Bhavish pulls an Elon Musk

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Aakriti Anand & Raghav Bikhchandani

The Big Q: Why did Kota Fall?

Welcome to our new news show titled ‘The Big Q’. In each episode, we take up one big question and look for answers. As with splainer, we try to understand the world a little bit better—and have a good laugh. In this episode of ‘The Big Q’, splainer Editor Lakshmi Chaudhry looks for answers for a mystery in Rajasthan: the sudden decline of India’s coaching mecca—Kota. Why is it haemorrhaging students? What does this say about the future of exam prep in India—the one dhanda guaranteed to make you moolah.

Watch the new episode below—and be sure to follow us on YouTube to catch the next instalment—which is on Rahul!! Also: check out the first episode on the US election—and the queen of memes: Kamala.

Bhavish pulls an Elon Musk

We now have our own ‘Olan Musk’. That’s Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal’s new nickname—courtesy his newfound nemesis Kunal Kamra.

How it started: On Sunday, Aggarwal got into a phadda with Kamra because he criticised Ola EV scooters’ after-sales services—tagging Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, to boot. Aggarwal’s response was a bit OTT:

Since you care so much [Kunal Kamra], come and help us out! I’ll even pay more than you earned for this paid tweet or from your failed comedy career. Or else sit quiet and let us focus on fixing the issues for the real customers.

Unfortunately for Aggarwal, it’s not just Kamra who is dissing Ola’s customer service: “HSBC analysts said in a note last month that they visited multiple Ola service stations and most appeared overwhelmed by the service requests and were struggling to provide adequate service quality.”

How it’s going: The convo veered wildly off-track into lots of back-and-forth—over Kamra’s new career as an Ola service exec (don’t ask). The real casualty, however, appears to be Ola’s stock price—which fell by 9.6% on Monday—a decline neither Ola nor Bhavish can afford:

Despite holding a 27% market share in India's e-scooter market, Ola has experienced a 43% decline in its stock price since its impressive stock market debut in August. The company has been facing mounting frustration on social media platforms due to its service quality, and analysts have expressed concerns about its declining market share.

In any case, Kamra has been christened hamaara Hindenburg—and Bhavish has figured silence is indeed golden… for now.

The big picture: Beyond Aggarwal and Ola’s terrible service—EV vehicles have more serious safety and infrastructure problems. Owners have to deal with everything from ‘spontaneously’ exploding vehicles—to a lack of charging stations—and not just in India. Our Big Story back in 2022 laid out the challenges in detail. Mint and Times of India have the story on the Bhavish-Kunal lafda and stock slump. Mint (paywall) also reported on the 80,000 after-sales service complaints to Ola Electric.

A Chennai airshow disaster

The context: The spectacular annual event—put on by the Indian Air Force—returned to Chennai after 21 years. The attendance was staggering—between 1.2 to 1.3 million—spurred on by aggressive PR. Some reports claim the IAF was eager to set a Limca Book of World Record—of 1.5 million visitors.

What happened now: The event resulted in the deaths of five spectators—who died of heat exhaustion. Another 100 were hospitalised due to “heat exhaustion, dehydration, and medical issues exacerbated by the congestion.” The real culprit: Lack of event planning, as usual—and as the Air Force officials admit:

Everyone, including us and the authorities, failed when it came to the exit plan. There should have been a priority path for children, women, and the elderly. The lack of such planning, combined with the public’s hurried behaviour to leave the venue soon after the show, created the trouble.

That's a bit of an understatement. The Hindu has a detailed account of the chaos—while Indian Express offers a more sympathetic report—based on official sources. A must-read: This Big Story on why India is the #1 hotspot for crowd disasters. Most of them occur during religious gatherings—and for good reason.

Maldives’ message to Indians: We miss you!

The context: The island nation is a strategic asset for New Delhi due to its location in the Indian Ocean. But in 2023, President Mohamed Muizzu ran for elections on an ‘India Out’ campaign—accusing his rivals of being stooges for New Delhi. More importantly, deputy ministers have heckled Indian tourists—and even the PM as a “clown.” All of which led to a campaign to boycott Maldives. Our Big Story has all the context you need on the fraught India-Maldives relationship.

What happened now: Muizzu is in India on his first state visit to the country—acting as New Delhi’s BFF. More shockingly, he made an urgent call to Indian tourists to visit the country. The reason:

According to data from the island nation’s ministry of tourism, the flow of Indian tourists in the first six months of 2024 was down by 43%. India, which was the top source of tourists in 2023, has now dropped to sixth place. Last year, Indians made up 12% of the 1.7 million tourists who visited the Maldives, but this share has halved to 6% in 2024 so far.

But, but, but: The overall number of tourists in Maldives has, in fact, increased by 10% in 2024—primarily due to China. Even so, the Indian boycott has cost Maldives $150 million in foreign exchange—which it can ill-afford: “[Maldives] had only $437 million in foreign exchange reserves at the end of August, which would cover only a month and a half worth of imports.” Reminder: The island imports almost everything—including food, construction-related items, and electronics—all of which make up 61% of its GDP. Mint has a good primer on the effect of the Indian boycott. (Indian Express)

Hilsa rising: A fishy Pujo crisis

The price of the fish greatly beloved by Bengalis is soaring:

In Kolkata's wholesale fish markets, Padma ilish, or Hilsa from its Padma river, a Hilsa fish of 1.5 kg now costs Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,200, up Rs 600 from last year. In the retail market, prices are Rs 100 to Rs 150 more.

In fact, there’s just less Hilsa to go around these days—a disaster during Pujo season. One reason is the falling catch—which has dropped by 70% since the 1980s. Also: Bangladesh—accounts for more than three-quarters of the world's Hilsa catch, followed by Myanmar (15%), and India (4%). Dhaka is far more protective of its fish than New Delhi—and imposed a temporary ban on exports earlier this month. Although the ban has been reversed, the prices remain high due to festival demand. Al Jazeera has the big picture on Hilsa production. (Mint, paywall)

In other bad news about food prices: An RBI report has found that farmers earn only one-third of what the consumer pays for three essential veggies—“around 33% for tomato, 36% for onion and 37% for potato.” The rest is pocketed by middlemen and retailers. The reason: These vegetables are perishable—and we have terrible storage infrastructure which routinely results in boom-or-bust retail cycles. This must-read Big Story lays out the core supply chain problems in India’s vegetable market. Point to note: The farmer’s share in case of dairy and poultry farming, and sometimes pulses, was as high as 70%. (Indian Express)

Elephant blues at the Delhi zoo

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) has suspended the Delhi zoo’s membership for six months. The reason: mistreatment of a 29-year-old African elephant named Shankar—who was gifted by Zimbabwe in 1996—and has reportedly been kept in chains ever since. The zoo must present a six-month action plan that either relocates Shankar or improves his current living conditions. It will be kicked out permanently if it fails to do so.

Point to note: In 2022, the Delhi High Court had ordered an inspection into Shankar’s living conditions at the zoo—acting on a petition filed by 16-year-old activist Nikita Dhawan that alleged animal cruelty: “[Shankar] is often beaten, chained for 17 hours a day and does not have adequate space to move around”.

Living in denial? The zoo denies any wrongdoing—with director Sanjeet Kumar saying: “Shankar is currently not in chains and allowed to roam freely in his enclosure”. The key word being ‘currently’. (PTI via The Telegraph, The Print)

The Amazon is drying up

One of the largest rivers in the world—spanning 6,400 km (4,000 miles)—hit its lowest water level in recorded history. In some parts, waters have fallen by 25 feet. You can see how bad it is below:

Why this happened: The Amazon suffered two droughts back-to-back and has had no time to recover. FYI: the annual dry season is between June to October. So, climate experts expect the situation to get worse.

Why this matters: The river is the lifeline for Brazil: “Everything that arrives here usually comes by boat… Without the rivers, there’s almost no way to navigate the Amazon.” New York Times via The Telegraph has the best reporting on this.

This artificial plant is good for you

Air pollution is making breathing hazardous to health—even indoors (as Delhiites well know). Scientists have come up with a new way to tackle the problem: artificial plants. They have fake leaves powered by solar cells and photosynthetic bacteria—and can remove carbon dioxide buildup indoors by 90%. A ‘real’ plant can only remove 10%.

A happy bonus: it can generate enough electricity to charge a smartphone. What’s interesting: The fake plant also requires water and nutrients to thrive—so you could possibly ‘kill it’ like all your other house plants. The other downside: It’s not very attractive—as you can see below. (Independent UK)

Get ready for Fawad’s Bollywood comeback

The context: After the 2016 Pulwama attacks, India placed an unofficial ban on Pakistani actors and other performing artists—because, why not? Cue great heartbreak among Fawad Khan fans—who was the Bollywood ‘it’ guy at the time after starring in KJo’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. But in 2023, the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition to make the ban official, saying “Arts, music, sports, culture, dance, and so on… rise above nationalities, cultures, and nations.” But it had little effect… until now.

What happened now: After an eight-year-long wait, Fawad will be leading man once again—in ‘Abir Gulaal’ alongside Vaani Kapoor. The film—directed by Aarti Bagdi—is about “the journey of two individuals who unintentionally help each other heal, with love blossoming as an unexpected consequence.” It is being filmed in London—far away from the ‘love jihad’ haters. Ofc, it remains to be seen whether the I&B ministry allows an India release—given it has recently blocked Fawad’s Pakistani blockbuster ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ for unspecified reasons. Check out the first look photo below—100% guaranteed to piss off the Hindutva brigade. (Variety)

what caught our eye

business & tech

In news that surprises no one, users of Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform are losing ridiculous sums of money to scammers.
If you’ve seen blue ticks next to certain links on Google search lately, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you—Google has been testing out a new feature.
Swiss authorities have suspended the use of a ‘suicide capsule’ after it was used on an American woman.
The Print has a fascinating deep dive into the world of spam calls and the lives of telemarketers.
Technology Review has a must-read on how people are using Google study software to make weird AI podcasts.

sports & entertainment

After a successful few months in charge on an interim basis, Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed as the Sri Lanka men’s cricket team’s full-time head coach until 2026.
Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar has retired. Her best finish: fourth place at Rio 2016, as she became the first Indian to compete in Olympic gymnastics in over 50 years.
CNN has a must-read on the life and career of Viv Anderson, the first black footballer to play for England.
Hollywood Reporter breaks down why—for years before his arrest on charges of sex trafficking—the Diddy Party was once the most coveted invite for A-Listers.

as for the rest

For the second consecutive year, the world’s best Indian restaurant is…Dubai’s Tresind Studio?!?!? Indian Express has more on chef Himanshu Saini’s achievement.
An update on the RG Kar rape and murder case—the CBI has filed a chargesheet against the main accused, Sanjay Roy. Check out our Big Story for more context.
Mumbai’s first underground metro line is now operational—taking passengers from Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Aarey.
An embarrassment for Gurgaon—the Delhi suburb has recorded the second lowest voter turnout in the ongoing Haryana assembly elections, despite special measures in place.
China has ordered schoolteachers and other public sector employees to hand in their passports, in an apparent move to control and monitor foreign travel.
John Burn-Murdoch in Financial Times (splainer gift link) argues that the US may have passed the point of peak obesity, having dropped by two percentage points last year.
After decades of improvements in average life expectancy, the human race may be closing in on peak life span, a new study suggests.
Amid allegations of rigging, Tunisia’s incumbent President Kais Saied is set to record a landslide win in his bid for reelection.
Pairing caffeine with your workout can improve how you feel and perform, new research has revealed.
A vaccine for ovarian cancer—OvarianVax by scientists at the University of Oxford—is in development, after receiving up to £600,000 in funding from Cancer Research UK.
Washington Post (splainer gift link) looks at whether we dream in colour or black-and-white.
JSTOR has a must-read on how the sixteenth century merchants of Venice conducted their affairs in code—so much so that the state professionalised and regulated cryptology.

Four things to see

One: Paul Newman was famously hot—on screen and on the racing track. Sadly, Keanu is not. The actor got behind the wheel at the Toyota GR Cup in Indianapolis—but spun right out—finishing at #25. Not so ‘speed’-y after all (yes, it's a terrible pun and we stand by it!). Mercifully, he wasn’t hurt. (Associated Press)

Two: Celine Dion showed up in a surprise promo for Sunday Night Football. The funny bit: Celine explaining why her lyrics—“When you touch me like this / And when you hold me like that”—are just right for the uber-macho sport lol! (Variety)

Three: Brace yourselves, Modi-ji has penned a garba song titled ‘Aavati Kalay’ as a tribute to Durga Ma. It is sung by Purva Mantri and has a surprisingly fun video. (The Telegraph)

Four: The trailer for Rohit Shetty’s ‘Singham Again’ just dropped. This is an action flick for the ‘Ayodhya’ era—with Ajay Devgn as Ram, Kareena Kapoor as Sita, and Arjun Kapoor as Ravan!? Hai Ram! Let’s not forget Deepika Padukone and Akki—almost every major Bollywood star eager to prove their ‘good Hindu’ cred. Yes, it is slated for a Diwali release. You can watch the long and exhausting trailer below: (Indian Express)