"Knowledge of history has been reduced to meagre levels, so that most of the population lacks information about what happened." "The educational system does not provide tools for critical thinking, which affects the difficulty of conceptualising the historical past."

How Warmongering Necessitates Humanitarian Aid The one way to not feed war machines is TO NOT PROMOTE AND/OR START WARS. The WSJ article "How Humanitarian Aid Feeds War Machines" sidesteps the root cause of conflict. I offer a rebuttal. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/08/11/h...

I introduce Daniel Boorstin's 1961 book The Image. The book remains even more relevant today; we need to understand how we are living in a bubble away from reality. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/t...

I introduce Daniel Boorstin's 1961 book The Image. The book remains even more relevant today; we need to understand how we are living in a bubble away from reality. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/t...

My review of Aghaat, a movie released 40 years ago. Why now? Cos it has learning for us today. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/10/a...

A tweet extolling efficiency sends me down the memory lane and leads to a mini-rant on how we over-glorify the wrong things (in my opinion, of course) and miss out on what it means to be human. Add idleness to your life. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/04/a...

To counter the frequent, vile rants about slums in Indian cities, I post something I wrote on Quora few years ago. Privileged folk in India need a real education. Slums are a manifestation of a failed rural livelihood and urban housing mechanisms. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/01/s...

Stolen (A review) I saw #Stolen on @PrimeVideoIN and loved it. I write here to say why, without giving too much of the plot away. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/06/09/s...

Capitalism didn't give us the internet. Large-scale cooperation, open protocols, and free software gave us the internet. Capitalism gave us mobile sites that don't work because fifteen ads cover the screen.

My synopsis of Robert F. Mager's "Goal Analysis", a book that remains relevant 50+ years after it was published. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/05/01/g...

The Hindu Gods of Ancient Syria by Sam Dalrymple. Loved the last line "What a crazy world the bronze age was…" It seems that the apple doesn't fall far away from the tree, eh @willdalrymple.bsky.social? open.substack.com/pub/travelso...

The Cynefin Framework is a way of thinking. In an uncertain world, Cynefin reminds us that not all problems are alike and hence not all solutions are alike. Part of my series on demystifying development jargon makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/c...

Indian media personalities are also becoming international icons. See how Bill Maher had adopted their style and approach.

#BookRecommendation IRU : The Remarkable Life of Irawati Karve by Urmilla Deshpande and Thiago Pinto Barbosa.

My take on #Santosh, a movie that may never see release in India because of an over-reaction by government of India. I cannot figure this out. It is not as if these things have been not been shown earlier. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/s...

My reflections on the Netflix mini-series #Adolescence. The questions it raised. The thoughts it provoked. And why you should watch it. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/03/21/a...

#BookRecommendations2025 Conclave, by Robert Harris. I watched the movie first and then read the book. I am not surprised that the movie won the Academy award for Best Adapted Screenplay. They haven't deviated much from the well written book.

#BookRecommendations2025 Annie Zaidi's "Prelude to a Riot". "Please read out of the syllabus. A syllabus is 'set' for you. You understand? It is 'set' by people whose job it is to limit your knowledge." Garuda Sir, a fascinating character now in short supply in India.

In John Grisham's The Pelican Brief, POTUS is shown to be a weak, indecisive man uninterested in governance, leaving it all to his chief of staff. He spends his time inviting people in his administration to play golf. Only those he can beat and humiliate, ofc. Art or life?

This is NOT prose, it's poetry. What writing by @willdalrymple.bsky.social in The Golden Road. ❤️ This passage describes the sculpture of Vishnu in the Varaha avataar at Udaygiri. Image from Wikipedia.

Overstepping.

Stephen Colbert once asked Keanu Reeves “What do you think happens to us when we die?” Keanu responded with, “I know the people who love us miss us.” Sometimes, it's as simple and profound as this. No philosophical or religious discourses are needed to answer this question. ❤️ H/t Mike Mann

A 100 years ago, a rich man spent a fortune to publish a newspaper that spread hate and divide society. He was too powerful to stop. Today, another is doing the same. He must be stopped. The first rich man once said "The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing"

Jim Hacker's on answering Qs: 1. Attack The Question 2. Attack The Questioner 3. Compliment The Question 4. Unload The Question 5. Make It All Appear An Act 6. Use The Time Factor 7. Invoke Secrecy 8. Take Refuge In A Long Pointless Narrative. Which one did he use? The 8th?

My review and introduction of Manu Pillai's "Gods, Guns, and Missionaries". This is a must read. makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/02/14/g...

I asked #ChatGPT "How would western media cover the first few weeks of the second Trump term if it were happening in a developing country?" 👇 Is what it came up with chatgpt.com/share/67a89a...

Does a serious historian, known for his knowledge and research of history south of the vindhyas, quoting the work of a pseudo historian known only for his hagiography of a man who wrote his own hagiography, give legitimacy to the latter? Is this good practice?

Immigration.

Deport illegal immigrants, if you must. However, handcuffing and shackling them in planes and not allowing them to move and / or use washrooms is cruelty for the sake of cruelty. Where the fuck were they going to run off to from 30,000 feet?

Tyrion Lannister: We've had vicious kings and we've had idiot kings, but I don't know if we've ever been cursed with a vicious idiot for a king. #GameOfThrones

The Trump presidency has 218 more weeks to go!

Over the last two days have been listening to songs filmed on SRK. Realised (1) how terrible most of them are; and (2) how much Udit Narayan has made them sound the same. The 2nd is not too surprising; SRK played the same character over and over. How would the songs be different?

If you are walking across (not crossing) a busy road with heavy, indisciplined traffic in the evening when street lights are not working, you wouldn't be talking on a phone. Ofc this is only applicable if you are not Indian. Indians have no value for life, not even their own.

Saying "he is lying" is just stating the obvious. If you say "he spoke" it also means "he lied" cos the man does not know what truth means.

The collapse of the USSR meant that there was no longer any need for the 'West' to support and hence influence developing nations. They lectured on governance instead. China stepped into the vacuum with money and their global influence / footprint expanded. Now #USAID is being shrunk. WHY?

#Pune Pushkar Rangmanch presents Dayashankar ki Diary, a play written by Nadira Babbar. If you are fond of #Hindi theatre and enjoy thought provoking plays, you might want to be at Box Too this evening.

#BookRecommendation2025 "There are Rivers in the Sky" Elif Safak weaves 3 stories across time and space; bound together by a single drop of water. If you like mystical romance, you will like this.

Hello #Pune Pushkar Rangmanch presents Manav Kaul's PARK this evening at 815 pm at Box2. If you like thought provoking plays, this maybe for you. #Hindi #Theatre

I grew up thinking that the State I come from (Maharashtra) was progressive. It boasted numerous social reformers and freedom fighters. It had the most cosmopolitan and diverse city in the country. In my lifetime, all the positive things in the State have been destroyed.

"We in India don't need to worry much about inequality / corruption / cronyism / discrimination / (any undesirable think) because it is everywhere" ISNT THE KILLER ARGUMENT YOU THINK IT IS. It is an argument that will kill your future though. Demand accountability.

Well. At least Trump does Press Conferences and takes unscripted questions.

Young people, who have all the information in the world at their fingertips, and still asking "Why is extreme #inequality bad?" make me weep. The question just demonstrates: 1. laziness to find the answer, need to be spoon fed 2. an utter lack of any critical thinking.

Charles Taylor, Liberian warlord, later President, and now convicted war criminal, campaigned in 1997 for President. Former child soldiers he created and exploited would chant "He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him." Reminded of this. Yet again. Today.

There are 3 Indias. 1% that can afford to enable Coldplay to make $50M on one tour (wonder how much was really spent what with travel, tickets in black etc) 80% living hand to mouth on rations. 19% thinking they belong to the 1%, but just one setback away from joining the 80%. #Inequality

In the job market if you hire a marketing person and then expect them to design chips and write code, your sanity might be questioned. What is one to do when you expect governance and management from a bunch that you yourself have hired to fix 'others'?

Serious question: Indians like to tomtom the 'IT Capital' status that people like Tom Friedman gushed about. In the last 4 decades, what has been a significant breakthrough in IT made by Indians working in India? All I see are wages arbitrage (body shopping) and me-toos.

Indian filmmakers seem to think that if the main character in the movie is Bengali, Brahmin, and male then they must (1) show a photo of Ramakrishna Paramhans on the wall and (2) have scenes/reference to fish, football, and Pujo. 🤦‍♂️ #IWantToTalk

Pataal Lok2 is a this is a must watch series. A binge worthy series. My review makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/01/27/p...

".. educating Indians was contrary to reason, because no intelligent people would submit to our government". Lord Ellenborough in 1858 as quoted by Manu Pillai in Gods, Guns and Missionaries. __ To me, it also seems like current Indian government policy.