India

Societal rupture reflected in one family's life on the internet

a new Oscar-nominated documentary from India

In May, a group of 18 Republican senators sought to block U.S. support for an IP waiver for Covid-19 vaccines, one that is fiercely opposed by the pharmaceutical industry.

Through the rolled-down window of the cab I saw the myriad hues of a September morning in Delhi slowly returning to the look and rhythms of pre-covid times.

I started hating this tradition. In doing so, I ran from myself, more worried about whether my authentic self was acceptable. I would make faces and moan about how annoying the process of applying and removing Mehndi is – just like my British friends do now – while also secretly loving how beautiful and elegant my hands looked.

The English language arrived in India with the British colonists of the 17th century, giving rise to unique genres and variants, including some that characterize formal communications on the subcontinent to this day. “It seems that some judges have unrealised literary dreams,” one former judge told me. “Maybe it’s a colonial hangover, or the feeling that obfuscation is a sign of merit… It can then become a 300-page judgment, just pontificating."

The renewed relevance of 'eyes on the street' as the pandemic ebbs