The dangers of precocious stardom
Admiration from strangers and social pampering are not easy things for children to digest. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The Ekalavya story from the Mahabharata is well known. Dronacharya, the master archer, is impressed with the skills and diligence of his young pupil Arjuna, so much so that he promises to make Arjuna the crème … Read more
The sweetest sound to hear
A name has to be treated with respect like any other part of an individual’s identity. | Photo Credit: Getty Images The usual question I face whenever I meet somebody for the first time is what my title, name, and surname stand for. It reinforces my belief that a name is not just a word … Read more
Writing for self-clarification – The Hindu
Once a reader is equipped with the inputs, there comes up the need and urge to communicate. | Photo Credit: Getty Images Writing has been often treated as a productive language skill for which a strong understanding of vocabulary, familiarity with the structures, skills in organisation of ideas, and understanding the contextual demands are essential … Read more
Social media and young minds
One of the most profound effects of social media on young minds is its impact on attention and concentration. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto While walking down the street, I noticed a five-year-old child sitting next to his mother, fully engrossed in his mother’s phone and scrolling through reels. It reminded me about my own … Read more
The broadcasting services regulation bill: A threat to digital freedom and innovation
The Indian government has laid the groundwork for a legislative change in recent weeks that can drastically change the digital media landscape of the nation. Concerns regarding the government’s growing interference with media freedom and online expression have been sparked by the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, which seeks to place news content creators, including digital … Read more
Language harmony versus language power
The average city Indian speaks three or four languages and has a nodding acquaintance with a couple more. | Photo Credit: Getty Images My wife’s maternal grandparents were a Rajput and a Malayali. Her mother married an Andhra, her sister a Punjabi. Their son’s wife is Algerian, our son’s is a Scot. That should make … Read more
Identities and symbols: On Tamil Nadu and the ரூ
Even as the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu engages in a political discourse with the BJP-led regime at the Centre over the delimitation of parliamentary and Assembly constituencies and the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), its use of the Tamil letter ‘Roo’ (‘ரூ’) instead of the Indian currency symbol ‘₹’ in the … Read more