POV Archives

“Tu Bahar Mil”: Ashish Pandey’s Gun-Waving is Utterly Unsurprising for Delhi, India’s Rage Capital

For a Dilli boy, there was nothing shocking about a politician’s son waving a pistol outside the lobby of a posh hotel. Rather, I was filled with a weird sense of nostalgia, as this incident reminded me of all the Ashish Pandeys I’ve grown up with in my hometown.

Aakash Ahuja April 18, 2016

POV

Birthday Stress: It’s Your B’day So You Know You Want To Cry

Birthdays cease to be celebrations, once the needle goes beyond 25. Instead, they turn into annual reminders of unfulfilled potential, ever-ticking biological clocks, and how everyone your age is doing so much better than you.

Jackie Thakkar April 18, 2016

POV

How to Spot a Launda or Desi Frat Boy

The Desi Frat Boy has a superiority complex. He’s misogynistic, vile, and homophobic. Should we blame him for being a douchebag or our patriarchy?

Bhaskar Chawla April 18, 2016

POV

The Myth of BFFs: Why We Need to Let Go of Toxic Friendships

I laugh when my daughter tries to squeeze herself into a dress she has long outgrown, but it is similar to what I have been doing with the friends I’ve accumulated over time, holding on to those who deserve to be shelved.

Sangeetha Bhaskaran April 17, 2016

POV

Padmavati and the Unsung Heroines of Indian History

Rani Padmavati wasn’t the only victim of collateral damage between warring, ambitious, and powerful men, though she is the one we have chosen to remember and revere.

Anuja Chandramouli April 17, 2016

POV

India’s Two-Faced Eco-Activism: We Celebrate Van Mahotsav and then Axe Trees At Aarey

The Save Aarey activists are neither paid puppets with a hidden agenda nor overly woke anarchists. It has always been a citizen’s movement, and at the heart of it are people who have jobs to do, bills to pay, and are just as worried that this city will completely implode one day.

Riddhi K April 16, 2016

POV

Why the Supreme Court Verdict on Forest Rights Act Might Spell Disaster for Lakhs of Adivasis

The Centre’s apathy is the biggest enabler of yesterday’s SC verdict that ordered for forced evictions of over 1 million forest-dwelling households. The verdict is perhaps the cruelest blow on undermining the Forest Rights Act, that concerns itself with conserving the rights of the marginalised communities.

Arré Bench April 16, 2016

POV

Why Professionalism Needs to Die

It’s time we write an obituary of professionalism. Today, professionalism involves showing up at office (even though you can do most of the work from anywhere else), not asking questions above your pay grade, and wearing a shirt not folded at the elbows.

Himanshu Sharma April 16, 2016

POV

The Great Spaghetti Eastern of Bihar

Ruby Rai is all that is wrong with Bihar. But Ruby Rai may just become all that will be right with the state.

Vaibhav Vishal April 16, 2016

POV

Why All of Us Need to Start Considering Politics As a Career Option

We, the woke and the liberal, are politically and socially conscious, and have an opinion on everything – from the Congress’s failing fortunes to the future of democracy. We are out on the streets, protesting against hate crime and the unlawful chopping of forests, but why does politics not feature as a career choice for most of us?

Kavya J April 16, 2016