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Uber has an Incentive Problem
Unless you’re living under a rock or completely off social media – which is the same thing – you’ll have seen a lot of tweets, updates and posts expressing frustration over the declining service levels of app-based cabs, particularly Uber. The internet universe is rife with angst. People are upset being stood up, being refused… Continue reading
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Not Quite Humans of Bombay
Come budget season and we see a flurry of activity in the media. The television pundits are at it 24×7, championing announcements ad nauseum. Business leaders have their own PR machinery in place, with vacuous-sounding and upbeat bytes, sometimes tweet-sized. The circus is for us, the affluent TV-watching class. However, whatsapp groups and news media… Continue reading
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The Book of Guran
Everything that you read about The Phantom was a lie! Here’s what really happened. My father almost never spoke a straight sentence his whole life. If he wanted a drink of water, he would come near us and announce, “blessed are those who quench the thirst of a humble traveler.” As we would learn later,… Continue reading
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Reading #BoycottHalal Posts? Know more about “Halal”
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you may have read about a campaign against a leading ready-to-cook brand that specializes in south Indian breakfasts. The campaign alleges that the company uses animal products to achieve the consistency and quality of their product, and that the promoters adhere to Islamic financial principles. This has generated another… Continue reading
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The Stakeout
If you grew up in Kerala, you would have heard this story. Or at least a version of it. It’s a bit of an urban (or rural?) legend. Sukumara Kurup is one of Kerala’s most notorious fugitives. In the 1980s, he faked his own death by killing a lookalike and had one of his accomplices… Continue reading
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Seven Iranian Films to Watch
I’m not much of a movie buff, but I like to watch an engrossing film now and then. As a graduate student I had an exposure to film festivals and the opportunity to officiate in a couple of them. This gave me some appreciation of cinema, though not enough to be intellectual about them. Iranian… Continue reading
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How to Choose a Digital Marketing Course
A few weeks ago, a friend asked me for advice on which digital marketing course to enrol in. I promptly sat down to figure out a list of good courses. Stupid me – it didn’t take me long to figure that this was a futile exercise. There is no shortage of digital marketing courses in… Continue reading
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The Workplace of the Future
I’ve always believed that the news of the demise of the office is premature. It’s not my point that the nature of work requires us to be in an office. A lot of our work can indeed be done from anywhere we like. It’s not about our work. It’s about us. Since the beginning of… Continue reading
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Covid19 Press Conference #2 with an Imaginary Prime Minister
PIB Director: ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome to our second press conference. The usual housekeeping rules apply. Thank you for those who have chosen to join the audio and video bridge. Secondly, thank you for coming here, please keep safe distance. We are glad to see this being practiced without any need for… Continue reading