Edwin Lutyens’ Delhi is unique. India’s political class must not tamper with it
Lutyens’ Delhi is inhabited mostly by politicians and civil servants. They are the birds of passage who have no long-term interest in retaining it.
How Scotsman Patrick Geddes may have started India’s obsession with vastu
Sociologist and pioneering town planner Patrick Geddes also coined the term ‘temple-city’ after seeing the towns of Madras Presidency.
Lucknow isn’t just chikan & kebabs, these 100-year-old essays by ‘Sharar’ reveal its spirit
Today’s B-towns can become culture-towns, if they don’t lose their way in malls and flyovers. The Lucknow described by Abdul Halim was one such city.
Syed Ahmad Khan’s book on Delhi and its ruins would ‘numb’ other writers, said Mirza Ghalib
Asar-us-Sanadid was published in 1847. Yet, Syed Ahmad Khan distresses over the 'recent' increase in Delhi’s population.
Stigmatise and shame nations that keep nukes if treaties are futile in banning them
Stigma could, in time, turn domestic opinion in China, sway public attitudes in Russia, India & elsewhere, or even bring the U.S. back to the arms-control negotiating table.
Wellness, watches & even weed — What the future holds for luxury retail
Covid has made 2020 the worst year for the global luxury market in modern history, but it is also why health is likely to be the ultimate luxury product in the next decade.
Defence
India, China working on Ladakh peace formula — alternate week patrolling, after disengagement
Patrolling in alternate weeks has been the established practice in the Northeast, and has worked well, barring the occasional face-off.
If Modi is a true reformer, he’ll bury Vodafone ghost and campaign on reforms in Bihar
No politician sees economic reform as a vote-catcher; it’s the old, povertarian economy that gets votes. Can Modi bring farm and labour reforms centre-stage?