Category: Medley
A medley of stories – features, oddities and a mix of everything beyond the day’s headlines.
Photo: TGCFROM A PILOT’S DREAM TO THE FRONTLINE OF DIPLOMACY
“Education and upbringing are not the same thing. Someone can be highly educated and still have deeply ingrained prejudices.” From dreaming of becoming a pilot as a schoolgirl to joining the Indian Foreign Service, Manita K’s career has taken her from Moscow and Tajikistan to the front lines of two major evacuations. During the…
Photo: TGCDigital Media and Mass Communication
The landscape of human interaction has undergone a radical transformation, moving from the centralised broadcasts of the 20th century to the hyper-connected, real-time ecosystems of the 21st century. At the centre of this evolution is the convergence of digital media and mass communication, a shift that has democratised information creation, fundamentally altered public discourse, and…
Photo: AI ImageThe Speed of Thought: A Historical Evolution of Shorthand
Shorthand—the art of using abbreviated symbols, characters, or strokes to record the spoken word at the velocity of speech—stands as one of humanity’s oldest and most enduring information technology systems. Long before digital voice recorders, stenograph machines, or artificial intelligence transcription tools, shorthand served as the vital bridge between fleeting acoustic speech and permanent written…
Photo: TGCKuldhara: The Village That Vanished Into the Desert
About 18 km from Jaisalmer, the ruins of Kuldhara have become one of India’s most famous “haunted” destinations. But behind the ghost stories lies a much older mystery: why did an entire community abandon its home ? There is something unsettling about arriving at Kuldhara. The road from Jaisalmer cuts through the dry landscape…
Photo: AI ImageWho Will Watch the Watchers? The AI Race and the Crisis of Control
The most unsettling question about artificial intelligence is no longer what machines can do, but whether humans will remain capable of controlling what they build. Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than many of the institutions designed to govern it. The debate is no longer limited to whether AI will transform economies, displace jobs or reshape…
Photo: AI ImageWhy We Keep Accepting the Same Painful Relationship Patterns
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” ~George Santayana I was gone about two hours. I’d gone to see my stepbrother, who lived nearby. My girlfriend didn’t want to come, so I told her to rest, and I’d be back soon. When I got back to my father’s property, where we…
Photo: AI ImageEfficacy of International Law for Resolving Bilateral Issues
International fora—ranging from the United Nations (UN) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to regional bodies like the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU)—were established to foster global cooperation, maintain peace, and provide structured mechanisms for dispute resolution. However, when it comes to resolving issues of a strictly bilateral nature—such as territorial…
Photo: AI ImageIndia’s Cities Are Expanding. But Are They Being Built to Last?
India’s cities are expanding at remarkable speed. The uncomfortable question is whether they are being planned to accommodate that growth—or simply left to sprawl. Urbanisation is usually a sign of economic transformation. But growth without planning can turn the city itself into an obstacle course. Across India, monsoon rains expose the weaknesses of roads and…
Photo: AI ImageThe Palimpsest of Human Values & the Digital Stylus
The metaphor of the palimpsest—a parchment or canvas that has been written upon, scraped clean, and overwritten, yet still retains distinct traces of its original script—is perhaps the most accurate framework for understanding the moral landscape of the twenty-first century. Human values are rarely discarded wholesale; instead, they are layered. Today, the accelerating forces of…
Photo: AI ImageWhen Covid Science Becomes a Political Prosecution
America needs answers about Covid’s origins. But it also needs to resist turning scientific uncertainty into a political criminal case. There is a dangerous moment in American public life when the search for truth begins to resemble a search for enemies. The latest FBI and Department of Justice scrutiny of scientists involved in research surrounding…
