Innholdsfortegnelse for 3 October 2022 i India Today

Long before Covid-19 entered our lexicon, cancer was the Big C. And long after that virus of unknown origin slips into history—or becomes a tame omnipresence like the common cold—the mysteries of cancer will still loom menacingly in our midst. In fact, all through the pandemic, the enigmatic crab was silently exacting its toll. In 2020, nearly 800,000 people died of cancer in India—almost seven times those felled by Covid. It is those numbers that give us cause for Code Red-level alarm and vigil. For, though cancer is by no means a purely modern affliction, its rising graph in our times depressingly resembles that of an epidemic. Through lived or anecdotal experience, most Indians already know the bad news. But here are some broad, and grim, numbers to help map…

ASHOK GEHLOT, 71 Rajasthan chief minister EXPERIENCE: Former NSUI president, general secretary in-charge (organisation), five-time Lok Sabha MP, three-time chief minister STRENGTHS Organisational man, understands Congress power structure and realpolitik, OBC face from north India, good equation with other Opposition leaders and corporate world, acceptable to the veterans WEAKNESSES Poor oratory skills, lack of charisma, below par electoral record SHASHI THAROOR, 66 Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram EXPERIENCE More than 30 years at the United Nations, ex-Union minister, three-time Lok Sabha MP, author of several acclaimed books STRENGTHS Erudite and charismatic, massive following among young and educated middle class, brings a fresh energy to the party WEAKNESSES Very little organisational experience, outsider in the Congress’s internal power dynamics, prone to controversies, not from north India…

The occasion was sombre, yet politically significant. Members of the Gujjar community had reached Pushkar, about 150 kilometres west of Jaipur, on September 12, to take part in a mass meeting and pay tributes to Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla, the man who gained a manner of iconic status after leading the agitation to demand special reservation for the community in Rajasthan. But what was expected to be a show of strength for Gujjars—who can influence election results in at least a dozen eastern seats of the 200-member assembly—was marred by ugly scenes. Two cabinet ministers belonging to the community were heckled by the crowd. Shoes flew in the air, as did imprecations. The fissures that lay revealed centre upon the figure of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, almost an…

There are no better places than international conferences to thrash out national differences, even the most intractable ones. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 15-16, anticipation grew about the possibility of a meeting between Chinese president Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines. The two were sharing a stage for the first time since the protracted border stand-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh that began in 2020 grievously damaged bilateral ties. The speculation was not without reason: after a breakthrough in corps commander-level talks (the 16th round) on September 8, troops of the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China began disengaging from Patrolling Point (PP) 15 in the fiercely disputed Gogra Hot…

If you have seen video advertisements of life insurance products, they generally revolve around a happy family and contrast the message with a ‘what if’ context to stress the importance of life insurance. Some advertisements very clearly communicate how the family managed its financial affairs because of a life insurance policy taken by the primary income earner. Such stereotypes have created a strong association for life insurance with events leading to death of a family member. Indeed, life insurance is not just a financial protection tool; it is a financial solution for your peace of mind. Yet, chances are that most people often buy life insurance for reasons other than financial protection. They buy it to save tax, as an investment option or a savings option that also provides financial…

UNDERSTANDING RETIREMENT NEEDS Is Rs 1 crore enough to retire comfortably? To accumulate Rs 1 crore, you need to invest Rs 15,000 a month for the next 15 years in an instrument that earns 15 per cent returns. Now, this monthly investment could go up if the investment earns lower return or when the time to reach this goal is shorter than 15 years. However, savings towards retirement is not about how much money you accumulate, it is about how much income you will draw from the retirement savings to manage your retired life. Suppose you retire today with Rs 1 crore and need Rs 25,000 a month for the rest of your life; you can draw this sum without the corpus having any gains for about 34 years. However,…

PHYSICAL GOLD: Gold coins, bars, bullion and gold in ornamental form are physical gold. These are the purest physical form of gold that can be bought or sold and used to make jewellery. There are, however, security concerns when buying physical gold. GOLD ETFS (EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS): These are financial instruments that have gold as an underlying asset. These are listed on the stock exchange for trading and investors can buy units of gold ETF that are backed by physical gold. This is an instrument monitored by market regulator SEBI. These are transparent and safe investment options. You need a demat account to invest in them. SOVEREIGN GOLD BONDS (SGB): Periodically offered by the RBI on behalf of government of India. These are securities denominated in multiples of grams of…

In the ‘Parsi Nose Project’, fashion photographer Porus Vimadalal recasts the representation of the country’s robust Parsi community in popular culture. The series of images trains its gaze on Parsi noses, distinguishable by their large proportions, and caricatured often, as a harmless physical identifier of a Parsi everyman. It is this stereotype that Vimadalal reclaims in his photographs, overwriting a traditional depiction of his community from a completely different vantage point. In that, the ‘Parsi Nose Project’, displayed as part of a showcase titled Hearts on Fire—Reflections on Parsi Photography: Past, Present and Future, subverts the legacy of the Parsi identity by forcing the viewer to confront its evolution. Much of the exhibition, available to view at Chemould Colaba until October 15, alternates between disrupting a conventional way of seeing…

Q. How would you describe your new series? It’s a contemporary crime drama, with fascinating female characters. This is an interesting time for women in our country. Each of us is struggling to balance modernity and progress with traditions and everything that’s ritualistic. What got me interested was, of course, that it is a female-led story. The series format really allows you to explore in a layered way the relationships and lives of multiple women. Q. What is it about streaming as a medium that makes it more welcoming to stories about women? Unlike films, streaming shows don’t have too much risk. The medium lends itself because we can genuinely stretch our imagination and explore the lives of women. I don’t think cinema has the bandwidth to do this, maybe…

The traditional Indian bridegroom as we know it is a thing of the past. What may have been the norm just a few years ago—read conservative colours, predictable ensembles, with hyper-embellished accessories limited to gold or bejewelled sherwani/coat buttons and turban ornaments (sarpech)—is giving way to the Indian groom 2.0. What, then, are the sartorial choices of the modern Indian man for his big day? A couple of industry insiders help decode this trend. “The change in the way grooms are dressing is significantly more radical,” says couturier JJ Valaya, “women were always glamorous in lehengas and the like. When I started my career three decades back, men used to get married in three-piece suits. Probably one per cent of India used to wear sherwanis. Cut to the present: Men…

Judiciary: Why law minister Kiren Rijiju wants a reboot of collegium system By Kaushik Deka He blames collegium system for pending appointments in the higher judiciary, which has increased the case load https://bit.ly/3eWLVn4 Spotlight: How the BJP is wooing tribal voters By Anilesh S. Mahajan The Modi government’s move to add 15 communities, across Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, to the list of STs is expected to boost the BJP’s poll prospects https://bit.ly/3xKtGYD Lifestyle: Gem of an investment By Umang Gupta Precious stones are a good option for those looking to diversify their investment portfolio https://bit.ly/3BYgqlF Health: Can reducing your carbohydrate intake reverse diabetes? By Sonali Acharjee Endocrinologist Sunil Kumar Mishra talks about the link between carbohydrates and blood glucose levels https://bit.ly/3DYSctd From The Archives (2015):…

India, not Hindia’. As a war cry, that’s a softer and refined version of what rang out from the same geography of dissent back in the 1960s, when it played close to a secessionist line. But in its rejection of Hindi as national language, it is as resolute. There’s another difference: this time Tamil Nadu isn’t alone. The six decades in between have seen a growing awareness—and positive evaluation—of India as an incredibly rich repository of linguistic cultures. The idea that it’s this richness that deserves to be conferred with an official halo, rather than the old notion of a unitary and internally colonial nation, now sits well with more and more Indians. Thus, as Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin takes the campaign for equal language rights into the…

The monsoon session of the West Bengal assembly was expected to see a recharged Opposition cornering the treasury bench over multiple scams. Instead, there was hullabaloo over opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari telling a lady cop—“Don’t touch my body, I’m a male”—during the BJP’s Nabanna Abhijan yatra. Women MLAs holding placards saying ‘Don’t touch my body’ paraded through the House. Some ruling party MLAs questioned Adhikari’s sexuality. In all the melee, the real issue was forgotten. Kaushik Deka with Anilesh S. Mahajan, Rahul Noronha, Romita Datta, Amarnath K. Menon and Amitabh Srivastava…

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is exploring ways to make it mandatory for all new insurance policies issued from December 2022 to be in dematerialised form. While insurers and other stakeholders are mulling the decision, insurance in demat form is not new. In 2013, the concept of insurance policies in demat format was introduced with repositories such as CAMS Repository, Karvy, NSDL Database Management Limited (NDML) and the Central Insurance Repository of India setting up operations to facilitate the opening of e-insurance accounts (eIA). However, unlike the demat form of stock holdings, which took off when it was made compulsory and earned wide acceptance, insurance repositories (IR) haven’t met with the same degree of success. In fact, there were five repositories originally, including SHCIL Projects, which…

In October 1686, Claude Le Peletier, Louis XIV’s financial controller, banned the import of Indian textiles to France. At about the same time, the East India Company’s flooding of Indian cotton to England brought about the collapse of the wool-weaving industry. The craze for chintz was so pervasive that Daniel Defoe (author of Robinson Crusoe) lamented that “from foot-cloth to the petticoat…our closets, curtains, cushions, chairs, and at last our beds themselves were nothing but calicos”. Chintz, of course, is a word of Indian origin. But, as Phyllida Jay points out, so are calico, bandanna, muslin, seersucker, shawl, dungarees, madras check, pyjama and khaki, evidence of India’s dominance in the rag trade’s age-old history. Jay is a trained anthropologist with an ability to gather innumerable strands of social, political and…

THE PROGRESSIVE MAHARAJA: SIR MADHAVA RAO’S HINTS ON THE ART AND SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT by Rahul Sagar (Editor) HARPERCOLLINS ₹699; 472 pages The first treatise on statecraft to have been produced in modern India, Hints on the Art and Science of Government comprises the lectures that Raja Sir T. Madhava Rao delivered in 1881. This new edition is crucial reading for those who wish to know what good governance looks like. THE MAVERICK MAHARAJA: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJA JAYACHAMA RAJENDRA WADIYAR by Deepti Navaratna HARPERCOLLINS ₹599; 316 pages The last Maharaja of Mysore, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, was a philosopher, photographer, conservationist, writer and a patron of Carnatic and western classical music. This book shows how both ethics and aesthetics shaped his predilections. GAJAPATI: A KING WITHOUT A…

THE BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING MAY HAVE GOT A BIT of a nip and a tuck during the long pandemic, but this year all bets are off as the Indian bridegroom seems poised to take tradition by storm. Rebellious, fashion forward and, even ready to steal the show from the bride, edgy fashion is all the rage with bridegrooms looking to build a trousseau. Assigning colours as per gender is just as passé as conservative colours and predictable ensembles; jewel tones in red, emerald and teal emerge as the frontrunners for the Indian groom 2.0. For the Spice cover story this issue, we asked designers and industry insiders to help decode this radical trend. Read the story to understand why geometric minimalism in tuxedoes and contemporary Indian fusion ensembles are…

Without the ocean, there would be no Old Pulteney single malt. The rugged wilderness of the North Coast of Scotland is breathtaking. Old Pulteney is no less so. Since 1826, Pulteney Distillery by Wick’s historic harbour has crafted single malt scotch whisky that is the very essence of its remarkable location on the most northerly shores of Scotland where the North Sea meets the Caithness coast. Old Pulteney, the Maritime Malt, owes its unique character to the sea. The brand’s single malt scotch whiskies are both distilled and matured by the sea. The spirit matures in warehouses a mere 300 metres from the North Sea. This, coupled with meticulous cask selection, creates a distinctive flavour which sets Old Pulteney apart. Even two centuries later, the same traditional craftsmanship characterises Old…

If Aron Ralston (played by James Franco) in the movie 127 Hours had the new iPhone 14 Pro (with SOS features) with him, the movie would have had a very different ending. For one, he could have been saved without losing a limb. Apple has become synonymous with innovation and the iPhone 14 Pro is a pioneer in more ways than one. Here’s why. Take a Chill Pill In terms of design, a lot has changed, yet not so much. Sounds confusing? Let us explain. The front of the device has changed. The notch is gone and now you get the face ID sensors and the front camera in a pill-shaped cutout. A new, stunning shade of Deep Purple is available, too. Coming back to the pill-shaped cut-out. Apple uses…

With new versions of the Oyster Perpetual Datejust 31 sporting striking floral-motif dials, it’s safe to say that Rolex is calling to mind wild summer meadows. Striking visual references apart, the stunning design comprises 24 flowers that stand out distinctly from each other thanks to their varied finishes; choose from either sunray, matt or grained. Each of the flowers is luminescent from within by a diamond set in the centre. The floral-motif dial is azzurro blue on the first new timepiece——a white Rolesor version (combining Oystersteel and white gold) is fitted with a fluted bezel. The second watch is crafted from 18 carat yellow gold, and sports an olive green hue, while on the third——an Everose Rolesor version (combining Oystersteel and Everose gold)——it is in silver. On the second and…

After me, the deluge? No, with Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, that could well be recast as ‘After me, me’. The way he has been steel-plating himself through pitched battle, a phase that was to have felled him has actually seen Soren rise in stature as a political artist. From just another innocuous non-BJP CM, crisis has revealed him to be a nimble-footed, pugnacious opponent willing to redraw the rules—even controversially. On September 14, Soren’s cabinet pushed the ceiling of reservations in government jobs up to 77 per cent and set 1932 as the cutoff year to determine domicile status. A day later, he tweeted a video of his supporters cheering, ‘Jharkhand ka mukhyamantri kaisa ho, Hemant Soren jaisa ho.’ That may have seemed a bit strange to some. After…

Known for his love-hate relationship with Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) head Nitish Kumar, poll strategist Prashant Kishor first raised hopes of a rapprochement when he met Nitish on September 13, and then undid his own effort by tweeting a couplet from poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s ‘Rashmirathi’, in which Karna refuses the help of a snake king to kill Arjuna. Party pre sident Lalan Singh wasted no time releasing a video on Sept. 17, where he called PK a businessman skilled in political gimmicks. Singh also claimed that PK had approached him and Nitish in Delhi but was offered nothing. Now awaiting PK’s comeback.…

When Rahul Purwar returned to India in 2013 after training at Harvard Medical School in immunotherapy, a branch of precision or customised oncology that uses the body’s own immune system to prevent, control and eliminate cancer cells, he found the protocol entirely missing in the country. “There were only three options for patients—chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. If these didn’t work, you had no other choice —cancer was your death sentence,” he says. Yet, exciting trials on immunotherapy in the US, China, Israel and Europe were establishing it as a technology with the potential to cure cancer. “India had a far greater need for a cure because the country has more cases, but new treatments were being offered in other countries,” he adds. Purwar, who joined IIT Bombay as a professor…

The answer to this question is not a straight yes or no. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. Chances are that most people will vociferously say they are not the same. But there will be a section that will view them as similar, because both are fruits. Life insurance and investments are both financial instruments that are necessary in one’s financial life. A salesman may sell you life insurance as an investment product, in which you could also save income tax. But life insurance is an investment that you make on yourself for the secure future of your family. In this aspect, life insurance is different from other known investment instruments such as stocks or mutual funds in which the money that you deploy has the prospect to grow and…

BEGINNER Q1. Which is Asia’s oldest stock exchange? a) Bombay Stock Exchange b) Shanghai Stock Exchange c) Tokyo Stock Exchange Q2. How many companies are in the S&P BSE Sensex? a) 50 b) 30 c) 100 Q3. A must-have account to invest in stocks is? a) Savings bank account b) Demat account c) Trading account Q4. The NSE (National Stock Exchange) is located in? a) Delhi b) Mumbai Q5. What is Face Value? a) The share price of a stock b) The value of the stock as mentioned in the share certificate Q6. What is a bonus share? a) A free share for every share you own b) Additional shares given by the company to its existing shareholders at no extra cost INTERMEDIATE Q1. Nikkei is a stock market index…

It was Ernst Battenberg, a German publisher, who gifted Dayanita Singh her first camera. Singh used the Pentax ME Super judiciously. In the 1980s, she had little choice: “At NID [Ahmedabad’s National Institute of Design], I would make my own contact sheets. Nobody could afford giving them to labs. Also, making prints was an unimaginable luxury.” Instead of the usual 36, she would try to eke out 38 frames from a roll of film. Singh was not greedy or parsimonious. The times were frugal. Homebound during the pandemic, Singh pored over her contact sheets, “the heart of her work”. When looking at her photographs from 1981 to 1993 laid out in front of her, she instinctively knew she had a photo-novel on her hands. “But I didn’t want the book…

INDIAN TEXTILES: 1,000 YEARS OF ART AND DESIGN by Karun Thakar, Rosemary Crill, Avalon Fotheringham, Sylvia Houghteling and Steven Cohen HALI BOOKS ₹8,625; 391 pages Held at the George Washington University Museum earlier this year, the exhibition Indian Textiles showcased court weavings, folk embroideries and other fabrics that spanned over 1,000 years (from the eighth to the 20th century). Both visuals and essays in this accompanying catalogue are revelations. JAIPUR SPLENDOR by Mozez Singh ASSOULINE ₹9,766; 312 pages Jaipur affords its visitors so many delights that each leaves the city with impressions that are often varied and unique. If the stunning pictures in Jaipur Splendor are anything to go by, Mozez Singh seems to know only too well how the Pink City experience is innately kaleidoscopic. CONTEMPORARY HOUSE INDIA by…

The periodisation of Indian history remains a matter of scholarly debate, often contentious. It might then be wise to write a popular history of the subcontinent by avoiding the ancient-medieval-modern division, thus side-stepping these debates. John Zubrzycki’s ‘shortest’ account of India’s past (and present) covers the several thousand years from the earliest humans to the ongoing pandemic. He has selected representative aspects of key moments that correspond to standard narratives of serious textbooks. There are hardly any relatively recent single-author histories covering such a vast period, perhaps other than the book by John Keay. Zubrzycki has undertaken a rather daunting task in attempting a briefer history of the huge subcontinent, and has been successful. The account begins with the discovery of the Harappan civilisation and its dating in the 1920s,…

Time to Roar Portray your spirit in porcelain with quintessential Spanish brand, Lladro. The brand’s beautiful, handcrafted sculptures embody beauty and sentiment. The Tiger, from their Animal Masks collection is the latest addition to the Fierce Portraits selection. Availability Band stores; Price ₹ 2.2 lakh All that Glitters A vibrant new collection from iconic artist jeweller Fabergé, is a special capsule collection designed with James Ganh as Fabergé’s first ‘Featured Designer’. The new designs featuring transformable creations that surprise and delight in equal measure, and are inspired by nature and art. The versatility allows you the freedom of creating a signature piece. Availability Faberge.com; Price on request Horsing Around The new Polo ID Collection from Ralph Lauren introduces a new family of accessories that embrace a spirit of adventure and…

Marriage was no match for a good cigar that Rudyard Kipling had ever lit. “A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke,” was the tobacco trope that defined him as a white male of Britain’s imperial age where woman, if included “was merely as an ornamental appendage and in an inferior role similar to that of the trusted native,”—as feminist author Julia Bush put it. Kipling, Britain’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature, would have been as flummoxed as a Cuban in a ‘No Smoking’ lounge to learn that George Sand was no ornamental Belle Epoque maiden, but a celebrated French author who discovered that smoking a cigar can “fill the solitary hours with a million gracious images.” Now, at gatherings of George Sand Society in…

We recently got an exclusive sneak peek at Apple’s hotly discussed Apple Watch Ultra. In the run up to its launch, speculation experts had indicated that the tech giant would release a hyper-sturdy watch, built for the outdoorsy type. Turns out they were right. The Ultra, for short, marks a huge shift from both the aesthetics and the specs of the classic versions, which are far more classic and minimalist in design. This one, for instance, is resolutely bold with its space-grade titanium body and raised protective notches for the signature crown and button. At an impressive 49mm, the watch once tried—on my average sized wrist—did not appear chunky and is surprisingly light. While it does look sporty and outdoorsy, it can be paired with the classic 45mm watch bands…