About 125 years ago, a Parsi banker wanted to have home-cooked food in his office and hired someone to collect it from his home and bring it to him at work. He was the first ever Dabbawala or tiffin carrier. Many people liked the idea and the demand for Dabba delivery soared. In the beginning the deliveries were informal, with…
From an economically and socially under-developed country to one of the world’s best nations, Singapore has come a long way. Lacking in natural minerals and resources, it drew its strength from being a “stable and progressive economy” to drive more foreign direct investments and private investments. The country and everything that it is today reflects public-private sector partnerships and investment…
Catch-22 is a tragicomic novel specifying the efforts of a man named Yossarian, a captain in the US Army Air Force, to avoid flying any more combat missions. The novel takes place on Pianosa, a small Italian island, during the Second World War. At first he tries to get medically grounded on the basis of insanity, but Doc Daneeka, the group’s medic, argues…
The terms “affordable housing” and “public housing” are frequently used interchangeably, causing a lot of confusion in the process. They are actually two very different. Affordable housing refers to housing units that are affordable by that section of society whose income is below the median household income. Houses are owned by the households. Families buy the homes at affordable prices.…
Everywhere on the ground lay sleeping natives– hundreds and hundreds. They lay stretched at full length and tightly wrapped in blankets, heads and all. Their attitude and rigidity counterfeited death. – Mark Twain, on a nocturnal drive through Bombay in 1896. The Early History of Slums Late in the 17th century, Gerald Aungier tried to attract traders and artisans to…
I came across an old map of Punjab and immediately thought of writing this article. How many people know that who drew this border? The answer is Cyril Radcliffe. The information provided to Cyril Radcliffe who drew the borders and divided India and Pakistan once said that the information given to him about the geography, demographics and even the maps were…
The 20th century witnessed death and slaughter on an unprecedented scale. It was the century of the Holocaust and two World Wars; of communist, Nazi, fascist and military dictators who between them killed more than 100 million people. The casualties of conflicts involving the U.S., the UK and France in Korea, Algeria, Vietnam, the Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq are excluded…
The beginning of spring and of autumn are two very important junctions of climatic and solar influence. During this period Earth is relatively much near to Sun facing its maximum gravitational pull. It is believed that during this phase, the divine energy intervenes with extra power to pass earth this course with much ease and smoothness. As per Hindu mythology,…
Land of India is not just limited to a great and sacred culture but it is also a holy hand of gods where many incarnations of the divine have manifested. There are many Puranic stories related to these incarnations. The whole universe, including the sun, stars, planets, constellations and five elements is governed mysteriously by the Supreme Being. It is an eternal truth that nothing possible…
