Spengler on mass culture
By: Mubarak Ali When Spengler was writing his book the ‘Decline of the West’, published in 1918, he had plenty of material at his disposal. Archaeologists had excavated ancient civilisations and decoded the cuneiform and hieroglyph writing scripts of Mesopotamia and Egypt respectively. This provided enough material on civilisations which had till then remained hidden. […]
Alas, poor Bernard Lewis, a fellow of infinite jest
On Bernard Lewis and 'his extraordinary capacity for getting everything wrong'.
By: Hamid Dabashi “Here’s a skull now; this skull has lain in the earth three-and-twenty years,” the gravedigger tells Hamlet. It turns out the skull is Yorick’s, the king’s jester. It is here that Hamlet says his famous lines: “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.” […]
‘The People vs. Democracy’ review: Liberalism on the brink
Economic stagnation, major migrations and the rise of populism are destroying democracy as we know it
By: Neera Chandhoke Charles Dickens authored one of the greatest opening lines in his A Tale of Two Cities: ‘It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.’ Mounk, wittingly or unwittingly, reinvents the theme. Most of us have spent our lives in ordinary times. Today we live in extraordinary times. Our […]
Mohammed bin Salman and the gold rush of singularity
Japan's billionaire Masayoshi Son has sold the idea of singularity to Saudi Arabia. But is this investment a good idea?
By: Bill Law Masayoshi Son, with a net worth of $21.5bn, is reputed to be Japan’s wealthiest person. He is also one of the world’s slickest and smartest salesmen. In September 2016, Son met then Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. By the end of the 45-minute meeting, bin Salman, MBS, as he is […]
DEALING WITH SEPARATION ANXIETY IN YOUNG CHILDREN
By: Dr. Tasaduq When was the last time you played a game of peek-a-boo with an infant? Have you ever wondered why infants show so much surprise when you hide your face and then reappear within seconds? The answer lies in object permanence, a term first coined by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. According to Piaget, […]
Love through the generations
THE SPARSHOLT AFFAIR By Alan Hollinghurst, Picador, Rs 450
By: Sonia Sahoo| The regimented monotony of life at wartime Oxford is momentarily broken for a group of undergraduates when the young and charismatic David Sparsholt arrives at Christ Church College for a single term before his inevitable call-up to the RAF. Life suddenly acquires purpose, even beauty, as the nagging futility and anxiety of […]
Wrong end of the frame
Proposed changes in how UPSC entrants are allotted services misunderstand administration and reform.
By: K M Chandrasekhar I have seen statements by many of my colleagues on a recent missive sent out to cadre controlling authorities on allotting candidates successful in the UPSC examination to various services after the foundation course rather than on the basis of preferences indicated by them and marks obtained in the examination. This […]
The classroom as the instructor’s castle
The autonomy of the teacher has been cramped, and it reflects in the state of higher education
By: Pulapre Balakrishnan Some months ago, a global leader of the IT industry set sections of India’s corporate-sector elite aflutter with the comment that Indians are not creative. It is possible to disagree with the criterion Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple Computer, had adopted while at the same time agreeing with some of his […]
POPLAR COTTON AND COTTON FREE POPLARS
By: CHOPAN JAVID Ranging from plains of Jammu to the aired zone of Ladakh- the state of Jammu and Kashmir is adobe to many species of trees shrubs and herbs. The state is blessed by unique flora and fauna owing to its geographical and climatic diversity from sub-tropical, temperate to cold desert of ladakh. Like […]
SHOULD I BREAK THE FAST OR WAIT?
By: Atta Ul Munim Zahid I haven’t seen him yet. Someone called his dad and we came here. The villagers were humane in organising a vehicle which came fetching us here. We came in a hurry. I can’t find my pouch which has some two thousand rupees left after I bought some notebooks for Musavir. […]
