CATEGORIES

Is bridal wear on the wane?

So many guests walked out of Sabyasachi's grand 25th year celebration in Mumbai last weekend, a little confused, even outraged. How can India's most famous bridal wear designer not showcase a single bridal outfit? Guests were underwhelmed, or disappointed, unable to wrap their coiffed heads around the fact that India is changing, and fashion is now more than a lehenga.

The wedding goes slim

So Jeet Adani is to have a 'traditional and simple' wedding sans celebrities or media glare. His father told the press that the auspicious date was finalised during a visit by the Adani family to the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, where the muhurat was decided in the presence of vedic scholars.

INTO THE MOCHA-VERSE

Did Pantone get it right with its colour of the year 2025?

The art is in the right place

Joining a growing league of India's privately-owned museums is Sarmaya, a modern space that chronicles historic journeys

New words for old feelings

At a recent literary festival in Pune, its curator, the author Manjiri Prabhu, challenged me to prove my love of words by coining a few new ones. Inspired by the English language's habit of borrowing freely from the world's languages, I essayed these:

OIL AND MORE

India cannot be a spectator to what is unravelling in West Asia, say experts

We hope India will support two-state solution and help rebuild Gaza

War-torn Gaza, once home to Yasser Arafat, dreamt of self governance for the Palestinian territories. This time, its people are looking towards the Palestinian Authority to play a bigger role in helping implement the phased Israel-Hamas ceasefire, rebuilding territory and uniting Palestinians.

BACK TO BROMANCE

India's strategy will be to convince President Trump that there is no daylight between him and Prime Minister Modi in advancing their shared goals

Next industrial revolution will be driven by biotechnology and bio-economy

IN AUGUST 2024, the Union cabinet approved the BioE3 policy—Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment, a framework policy to leverage biotechnology for India's economic growth, environmental sustainability and employment generation. It prioritises bio-manufacturing initiatives in various sectors like biopolymers, smart proteins, bio-therapeutics, climate-resilient agriculture, and marine and space research.

AMERICAN NIGHTMARE

With his strident anti-immigrant rhetoric and actions, Donald Trump is killing the American dream for both documented and undocumented workers. Indians, especially the H-1B visa holders and aspirants, could suffer the most under the new administration's policies

ARMS LINKED

Trump may accommodate India's defence requirements, given his longstanding animosity towards China's military might

Sync the watch; go clockwise

Time travel is all fiction. You get into a time machine, shut yourself in, and vroom! The next moment (oops! no 'next moment' in time travel) you show up in Akbar's court, Asoka's vihaara or Ajatashatru's battlefield. Take care; the last guy killed his own pop.

TRUMP CARD

Key Israeli and Arab leaders alike will fear the cost of saying no to President Donald Trump, and that is what is needed to end the Israel-Gaza war

Give or take

The power-sharing pact in Karnataka cannot be conveniently forgotten now

The AAP doesn't have a face

WHILE THE BJP has swept the last three Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, it has faltered at the assembly stage. Since October, Baijayant Panda, BJP national vice-president and Lok Sabha member from Odisha, has been spearheading the party's campaign to break its “capital jinx”. In an interview with THE WEEK at his home, adorned with works of Jamini Roy and M.F. Husain, Panda was optimistic that Delhi voters were ready for change. Excerpts:

Free for all

The Delhi elections will be a referendum on freebie politics, and the stakes have never been higher for the Aam Aadmi Party

DISRUPTER-IN-CHIEF

Trump starts his second term signalling retribution, sparking concerns about diversity, civil liberties and democratic collapse

Claim the name

What's in a name? Shakespeare asked. A rose by any other name would still smell divine. Yet, call it \"bramble-blossom\" and it immediately loses its allure. In that single twist of language, we experience how names can alter our perception of the world. Name is not a mere label to identify us. In carefully chosen syllables, it is an echo of our roots and a tribute to the faith others have placed in us. It carries with it the memories and legends of the ones who have come before us and also the gentle reminder of new beginnings.

Doctor's doctors

Internists deal with prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all kinds of diseases, while also coordinating with doctors across specialties

WORK THIS OUT!

What is the true cost of a 90-hour workweek? Reduced productivity, mental health issues and severe health risks, say doctors

The experience of oppression

The British enacted several laws that might appear liberal, only to then veto the invocation of progressive measures. Nevertheless, these milestones guided the founding fathers in conceiving and creating the Constitution of India

One, two, buckle my shoe!

“Darling,” I said to my life companion of more years than I care to remember, “Do you think there is any correlation between pain in the feet and attending prayer meetings?”“You really are a stupid old man!” said the light of my life. “Can’t you think of anything more bizarre so late at night?”

A helping hand

Over the past year, Imaginarium has placed 3D-printed parts in space, in human bodies, in oil fields in the Middle East, and as drones on the Indian border

Fading federalism

One of the most visible indicators of the erosion of state autonomy is the diminishing financial independence of states

FOUNDING MOTHERS OF THE CONSTITUTION

THEIR CONTRIBUTION IN THE MAKING OF THE REPUBLIC REMAINS EXEMPLARY AND INSPIRING

Value every breath

VO2 max is the best way to measure fitness and predict life expectancy

Statutes of unity

The Constitution reminds us that national oneness comes through addressing inequalities, not enforcing uniformity

Incomplete equality

Equal marriage rights is one of the last bastions of patriarchy and to dismantle it, the recognition of marital rape as an offence is non-negotiable

Navigating around the limitations of a helpline

In the early days, because nobody had ever directly responded to rape survivors, the understanding was that if a hospital receives a rape survivor, a CEHAT (Mumbai) team member will go to that hospital.

Fifteen extraordinary women

Fifteen extraordinary women of the Constituent Assembly not only helped draft the Constitution but also laid the foundation for a democratic and inclusive India.