India @79

 

Happy Birthday India!

'Tis time for the annual India post on the occasion of Independence Day, now in its 19th edition (Link for 2025 edition) Its been another weird trip around the Sun!

The nation's political landscape was shaken up by the emergence of a Gen Z movement sparked by a remark from the CJI. A movement based on a cause but fueled by reels! We have witnessed similar uprisings across the neighborhood but couldn't watching it unfold in India was surreal. All election calculations now need to take into account the mindset of an entirely new & different vote-bank! 

On the other hand, we have elected politicians merrily switching parties, making a complete mockery of the entire electoral process itself! While the common citizen is scrambling to prove their citizenship (given that none of the documents actually prove it!) and trying to search the electoral rolls from 2002 for the names of their relatives. Sifting through them is a mental roller-coaster given the sheer volume of typos and the fact that most of the constituencies themselves have undergone a drastic change due to delimitation. There couldn't be a better showcase of bureaucratic theatre than the SIR exercise!!

Moving from politics to the subject of geopolitics. A full scale war in West Asia, leads to choking of key energy transport routes sending most of the World including India to scour for alternate options. The situation may have eased out a bit but things continue to remain volatile, once again emphasizing the critical need for assured domestic energy supply.

And the energy must to be clean & green. Otherwise the already scorching heat wave is going to get hotter. The energy transition also needs to be fast especially with the emergence of AI as an energy guzzler. In the age of AI, it is becoming more and more difficult to differentiate the real from the fake. The more cynical folks now believe everything to be AI generated unless proven otherwise. Better to be safe than sorry in a more AI propelled scammy world.

On the other hand, lots of infrastructure being built but somehow not built to last. Falling bridges, potholed roads, leaking airports - this is one area which needs a permanent fix and not a bandaid solution.

Real money gaming was banned. Good riddance. Something which should have happened much earlier.  Still better late than never! This ban has also lead to a pause in the mushrooming sporting leagues. 

Given that it is still midway in the Olympics cycle, most Indian sports coverage is in a slumber. While sports administration is in shambles. Perfect example being football where an ISL champion club was sold for Rs. 100! India now holds the unwanted tag of being the global leader in doping violations. In this doom and gloom of the back pages of the newspaper the only silver linings have come from cricket - with the Women winning their first ever world title , the men retaining the T20 World Cup, and a 15-year old wunderkind blazing away all and sundry with his bat without a care in the world

So this was it as we enter into the 80th year of existence as an independent country.

Happy Independence Day! 

Jai Hind!

P.S. a map showing the princely states of pre-independence India coloured according to the number of gun salutes!

Bees Saal Baad!

13th August 2006

In the wee hours of one rainy night, sitting in the hostel room, exactly 20 years ago, this blog came into existence with the following

The Genesis

Why am I doing this?

Why did I start this blog?

Will anyone ever read this?

Do I really care if anyone reads this at all?

Why do I want to share my thoughts with the world?

The answer to all the above questions...

...simply, I dont know. I am not sure of the answers but it...

maybe I am doing this because its the latest fad.

or maybe I want an outlet for my feelings

or maybe I want another connection with the outside world

Or maybe at 1 A.M on a Saturday (actually Sunday) night I couldnt find anything better to do...so started a blog

Well, with these confused thoughts, I have made a beginning. I do not know where this journey is going to take me. I do not know what the destination is, I dont even know the route. But as its said "A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step".....This is my first step.

That first tentative step has been followed by a few more (more than 500 in fact). A journey which has lasted 20 years now. Just how old is this blog - to give a perspective, in 2006, Orkut (now defunct) was the social media rage, Facebook was still not available outside campuses, Twitter (now X) did not exist, Chatting medium were Yahoo Messenger & GTalk, not WhatsApp, internet was still more text dominated, unlike its more visual avatar now, and still dominated by computer rather than mobile! It pre-dates amongst other things - iPhone, Instagram, streaming services! In short, in tech terms - quite old! And despite all the changes, this blog trundled on!

To be honest, I still do not have the answers to the questions raised in the very first post. The posts themselves have evolved over time - random, cricket, few personal incidents, movies, to now - books (just me showing off), India's roads to the Olympics (in itself a long journey and not just once-in-four-years-event), year-end lists (TYIL & others) and the annual Independence Day post. Reading back, some of the posts are quite weird & cringe-worthy, but I guess that part of growing up as well!

And across this journey of 500+ posts over 20 years, there is also a realization that the blog was never for an audience but just for myself! Here is to the unscripted route and wherever it goes next!!!

Road To Los Angeles: Episode 7

Well, its been quite a while since the last episode on the Road To LA. After a prolonged hiatus, time to get this journey back on its path!

Since the last edition quite a few things have happened!

The Women's Cricket Team is the first from India to get a quota place via being the highest placed Asian team at the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile the Men's team is in prolonged slump after having successfully defended their own World Championships title!

In Hockey, the women's team returns to the Pro League, while the Men just about retain their place. Both have World Cups coming soon.

Athletics has seen a slew of records being shattered including some long standing ones. While great to see the progress being made, we still are quite a bit away from the world standards. To give a perspective, in most of the events, our current National Records are at the same level, where the World Records were in 1960s & 70s. So, while the improvement is there, there is still a long way to go. Meanwhile a mention for Sarvesh Kushare for a 3rd place finish on Diamond league debut.

Also PV Sindhu has returned to winning ways with the Japan Open title

On the other hand, wrestling continues to be a mess, with Vinesh Phogat's return symbolizing all the chaos that is the sport in India.

Worse however, is India topping the list of doping offenders. Not something to be proud of.

Farewell and RIP Jaspal Rana, the man who brought Shooting into the news in the 1990s.

Now, over to the Commonwealth Games starting soon.

Qualification Summary for Team India: Sports 1, Events 1, Entries 1, Athletes 15

Till next time!

BookMarks #142: Alberuni's India

Title: Alberuni's India: An Account of the Religion, Philosophy, Literature, Geography, Chronology, Astronomy, Customs, Laws and Astrology of India About A.D.1030

Author: Edward Sachau

Genre: History, Culture

Published: 1910

BookMarks

Translation of Al-Beruni's Kitab ta'rikh al-Hind, an enyclopedia on India of 1030 AD. This is an account of learnings from his stay in India, where he was sent by Sultan Mahmud of Persia. Quite a vast work of knowledge from someone who spent considerable time trying to learn a new place's history, customs, religion, philosophy, literature, science, astronomy, maths.

Following are some of the takes from the book

Views on Hindus (the resident of Hind)

• Maḥmûd utterly ruined the prosperity of the country, and performed there wonderful exploits, by which the Hindus became like atoms of dust scattered in all directions, and like a tale of old in the mouth of the people. Their scattered remains cherish, of course, the most inveterate aversion towards all Muslims. This is the reason, too, why Hindu sciences have retired far away from those parts of the country conquered by us, and have fled to places which our hand cannot yet reach, to Kashmir, Benares, and other places. And there the antagonism between them and all foreigners receives more and more nourishment both from political and religious sources.
• Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs, no nation like theirs, no kings like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs. They are haughty, foolishly vain, self-conceited, and stolid. They are by nature niggardly in communicating that which they know, and they take the greatest possible care to withhold it from men of another caste among their own people, still much more, of course from any foreigner. According to their belief, there is no other country on earth but theirs, no other race of man but theirs, and no created.
• If they travelled and mixed with other nations, they would soon change their mind, for their ancestors were not as narrow-minded as the present generation is.
• The Hindus, like other people, boast of this enormous range of their language, whilst in reality it is a defect.

On knowledge & Vedas

• The scholars are well aware of the use of money, but the rich are ignorant of the nobility of science.
• Between man and God there are a thousand stages of light and darkness. Men exert themselves to pass through darkness to light, and when they have attained to the stations of light, there is no return for them.
• Veda means knowledge of that which was before unknown. It is a religious system which, according to the Hindus, comes from God, and was promulgated by the mouth of Brahman. The Brahmins recite the Veda without understanding its meaning, and in the same way they learn it by heart, the one receiving it from the other. Only few of them learn its explanation, and still less is the number of those who master the contents of the Veda and their interpretation to such a degree as to be able to hold a theological disputation.
• The Brahmins teach the Veda to the Kshatriyas. The latter learn it, but are not allowed to teach it, not even to a Brahmin. The Vaiśya and Śûdra are not allowed to hear it, much less to pronounce and recite it.
• If the Hindus happen to get some book which does not yet exist among them, they set at work to change it into Ślokas, which are rather unintelligible.
• The word dharma means reward, but in general it is used for religion

On Living Bodies

• There are three classes of them the spiritual ones in the height, men in the middle, and animals in the depth. Their species are fourteen in number, eight of which belong to the spiritual beings: Brahman, Indra, Prajâpati, Saumya, Gandharva, Yaksha, Râkshasa, and Piśâca. Five species are those of the animals — cattle, wild beasts, birds, creeping things, and growing things, i.e. the trees. And, lastly,. one species is represented by man.’”

On Hindu way of life

• They use turbans for trousers. (an interesting way to refer to dhoti)
• They do not ask permission to enter a house, but when they leave it they ask permission to do so.

On geography

The names of countries change, and particularly in the yugas. So Mûltân was originally called Kâśyapapura, then Haṁsapura, then Bagapura, then Sâmbhapura, and then Mûlasthâna, i.e. the original place, for mûla means root, origin, and tâna means place.”

Overall, quite an indepth reading of the India of a 1,000 years ago. An interesting external perspective of the life and times of our ancestors.

Previously on BookMarks: Matilda 

BookMarks #141: Matilda

Title: Matilda 

Author: Roald Dahl

Genre: Fiction, Children's

Published: 1988

BookMarks

Be outrageous. Go the whole hog. Never do anything by halves. Do something so crazy that it is unbelievable.

Basic Premise: Matilda is a precocious child neglected by her parents, who learns mathematics and reading all by herself. Such is the power of her brain that it can even perform telekinesis.

Overall, it is a tale with a little bit of magic, quite a lot of family drama, some fraud, while being a quiet commentary on parenting.

Roald Dahl also inserts his books recommendation in the story, comprising of:

• Nicholas Nickelby by Charles Dickens
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Tess of the D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
• Gone to Earth by Mary Webb
• Kim by Rudyard Kipling
• The Invisible Man by HG Wells
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• The Sound and Fury by William Faulkner
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Good Companions by JB Priestley
• Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
• Animal Farm by George Orwell

Trivia: Probably first time I have come across a protagonist who happens to be an Olympics Hammer Thrower

Previously on BookMarks: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (also by Roald Dahl)

Don't Grow Up. Its a Trap

From Calvin & Hobbes published in today's Times of India Mumbai edition (13-July-2026)

Calvin: "How come grown-ups don't go out to play?"

Calvin's Father: "Grown-ups can only justify playing outside by calling it exercise, doing it when they'd rather not, and keeping records to quantify their performance"

As usual, another deeply profound dose of brilliance from little Calvin.

• Why do adults have to be productive?
• Why can't things be done simply for fun?

And why does everything need to be quantified? And converted to a metric?

• We don't walk, we count steps (10K target daily)
• We don't exercise, we count calories burnt
• We don't eat, we count the calories consumed (nowadays the protein intake)
• We don't post on social media, we count the reactions (likes, views, comments)
• We don't read, we count the number of books/pages read

Everything seems gamified and every metric continuously tracked (breathing, sleeping, steps etc.). The entire living sometimes becomes a performance review.

And as for the fun activities, seems FOMO plays more of role in deciding what to do than actual interest.

After all, as the old saying goes "Don't Grow Up. It's a Trap"

P.S. Additional research found that Calvin's parents are never named in the entire series

BookMarks #140: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Author: Roald Dahl

Genre: Fiction, Children's, Fantasy

Published: 1964

BookMarks

An all time children's classic by Roald Dahl, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is one of those books which had been on the "to read" list for a very long time, but somehow had never gotten around to reading it.

Basic premise: Willy Wonka, the famous and mysterious chocolate maker, invites five children, picked via golden tickets, for a never-seen-before tour around his mysterious factory. Charlie Bucket is one of the lucky ones. What follows is a series of misadventures within the premises.

Overall, quite a good moral lesson for children (and older readers) as well. Liked the fact that this is a story from which many more stories (or in Marvel parlance - a multiverse) can easily be built - sequels, backstory of Willy Wonka, origins of the Oompaloomlas etc.

A highly recommended read.

Previously on BookMarks: Tatalog

BookMarks #139: Tatalog

Title: Tatalog

Author: Harish Bhat

Genre: Non-Fiction, Business House, Narrative

Published: 2021

BookMarks

As the title says, Tatalog is a collection of 8 stories from the House of Tatas. Given the storied nature of the business house, the author has picked a few of the more recent examples, hence more relatable.

Most interesting part is the wordplay in the title, with the log meaning a record/journal (in English) or people (in Hindi); with both meanings equally apt.

The stories are from all over the business, building the first car (Indica), CSR initiatives (Tata Chemicals in Okhamandal), issues of integrity (Tata Financials), building a first supercomputer (Eka), major acquisitions (Tetley), big awards (Tata Steel winning the Deming Prize), Second Careers Program, builing a brand (Tanishq). Each story in its own way, deriving different aspects of the Tata Way, which the author has defined as the 4Ps - Pioneering, Purposive, Principled, Perfect.

A few nuggets from the narratives

• Tata Indica’s design basis - internal volume of an Ambassador, size of a Maruti Zen and pricing close to Maruti 800. To build it Nissan's factory in Australia was transported to Pune
• Shankar Sharma, the Tata Financials Whistleblower was never identified (at least publicly)
• “Say TATA not goodbye” – the tagline for the Second Careers Program.

A Key Definition from the book: Risk - an ability to be where no one has been before

One Grouse: The chapter on acquisition of Tetley, refers to all sort of historic events, and yet misses out on Boston Tea Party!

An interesting book but the stories are completely unconnected! Also makes me wonder why there aren’t more such publications about other prominent Indian business houses. Tatas seem to be a clear leader in this genre.

Previously on BookMarks: Ikigai 

BookMarks #138: Ikigai

Title: Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

Author: Hector Garcia, Fransesc Miralles

Genre: Non-Fiction, Health, Well-being

Published: 2017

Language: English (translated from Spanish)

BookMarks

Ikigai is the Japanese concept of an individual’s meaning and purpose of life.

The book describes the four elements which help an individual determine their Ikigai – what you like, what you are good at, what the world needs and what you can be paid for. The cross-section of these is your Ikigai.

The book focusses on the residents of Okinawa, and how their lifestyle has contributed to them becoming the longest living people in the world.

Key Messages

• Bring meaning and joy to every day
• Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.
• Take things slow and leave urgency behind
• Eat to 80% of your stomach’s capacity
• Surround yourself with good friends
• Keep moving
• Smile
• Reconnect with nature
• Show gratitude
• Live in the moment

Overall, a simple and excellent read – is brief, sharp, doesn’t wander around, has small and practical steps on improving well-being and also not too preachy.

Previously on BookMarks: A Brief History of Time 

BookMarks #137: A Brief History of Time

Title: A Brief History of Time

Author: Stephen Hawking

Genre: Non-Fiction, Science, Physics, Universe

Published: 1988

BookMarks

"We see the universe the way it is because we exist" : Anthropic principle

“A Brief History of Time” by Stephen Hawking, tries to answer the fundamental questions regarding the universe, like, how vast is it? what is it made of? Did it have a beginning? What was there at beginning? Can time move backwards? And will a single unified theory be able to describe everything about the universe?

Two questions, lying on the opposite sides of the spectrum, that have always intrigued humans – from earth to sun to galaxy to the universe - how vast is it and what lies beyond the limits? And what is the basic building block of all matter – from grains to molecules to atoms to electros/protons/neutrons to quarks, how much smaller does it get? 

Now this is one subject, where science needs imagination to formulate theories which have to match up to the observations. It has been almost four decades since the publication of the book, but some of the theories are still at conjecture stage.

Some of the interesting takes from the book.

On Earth - Earth is a medium-sized planet orbiting around an average star in the outer suburbs of an ordinary spiral galaxy which is itself only one of a million million galaxies in the observable universe.

On the Model of the Universe - Since the beginning of civilization, the model of the universe has constantly evolved from Ptolemy & Aristotle to Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton and Edwin Hubble. In this evolution of the understanding of universe, critical roles have been played by eclipse on moon, the North Star, the moons of Jupiter and as the story goes "an apple".

On the Beginning

• Need of a "First Cause" - Within the universe every event can be explained as being caused by previous events. This the existence of universe itself could only be explained if it had a beginning.
• Another theory states - Time is a property of the universe and did not exist before the beginning of universe.  General theory of relativity breaks down at the point of big bang. Also, events before the big bang have no consequences to the scientific model of the universe. Hence time had a beginning at the big bang.
• Many people do not like the idea of time having a beginning as it implies divine intervention. Meanwhile the Catholic Church accepted the Big Bang model and has officially pronounced it to be in accordance with the Bible.
• "What did God do before he created the universe? He was preparing hell for people who asked such questions" - St. Augustine

On Theory

• A theory has to satisfy two requirements - describe a large class of observations on the basis of a model and must make definite predictions about results of future observations
• Eventual goal of science is to provide a single theory that describes the whole universe. At present there are two partial theories - general Theory of relativity (for large objects) and quantum mechanics (for the nano ones). And these two are inconsistent with each other.

On Space and Time

• Fundamental postulate of the theory of relativity - the laws of science should be the same for all freely moving observers no matter what their speed.
• Speed of light was calculated by observing the Eclipses of Jupiter's moons
• Theory of relativity ended the concept of absolute time
• A metre defined as distance travelled by light in 0.0000000003335640952 second as measured by a caesium clock - also corresponding to the distance between two marks on a platinum bar in Paris.
• An event is something which happens at a particular point in space and at a particular time.
• In general relativity, bodies always follow straight lines in four dimensions but appear to move along curved paths in three dimensions. Objects move along geodesics (the shortest distance between two points on any surface)
• Space and time are dynamic quantities. When a body moves out a force acts, it affects the curvature of space and time and in turn the structure of space-time affects the way in which bodies move and forces act. Space and time affect and are affected by everything that happens.

On the Expanding Universe

• The farther a galaxy is, the faster it is moving away
• The boundary condition of the universe is that it has no boundary.

On The Uncertainty Principle - Particles have a quantum state - a combination of position and velocity

As per Aristotle, Gravity - brings things down and Levity - lifts things up

On Black Holes - Black holes are one of the few cases where a theory was developed in great detail as a mathematical model before there was any evidence from observations that it was correct.

Overall, an interesting book which tries to summarize some of the toughest concepts for the ordinary reader. Also, one of those books which definitely need multiple re-reads for better understanding.

And the funniest take personally – We often hear, mathematics is the language of science, and here is a book in English on the universe with only a single equation, “E=mc2” mentioned in the introduction. Hawking says as per the publishers, every equation reduces the potential readers by half!

Previously on BookMarks: So You Want to Know About Economics 

BookMarks #136: So You Want To Know About Economics

Title: So You Want to Know About Economics

Author: Roopa Pai

Genre: Non-Fiction, Economics

Published: 2017

BookMarks

“So You Want to Know About Economics” is a good primer for anyone wanting to learn about the subject of economics. The author answers quite a few questions on economics, markets, and its impact on the world and its people.

What is Economics? - The answer maybe varied or as the author imagines an economist would say ‘It’s about, you know, markets and things. Supply, demand, price elasticity, externalities, cost-benefit, scarcity, resources, exchange rates, maximising utility, protectionism, globalisation, and all of them, of course, ceteris paribus…’

Why is Economics important? “Economics is important because it is really the study of how the world thinks and works!”

What do Economists do? “Economists are really superheroes fighting for a fairer world! Just like environmentalists, they are constantly trying to understand how we, the 7 billion people that inhabit this planet, can get the most out of what the universe gives us for free. Economists are wizards who make magical things happen with numbers.”

What is the root of economy? “Trade”. And the root of trade? “Money”. And the role of money – “Money’s a matter of functions four, A Medium, a Measure, a Standard, a Store”

And thus it goes on about the concepts of macro and micro economics, banking, government interventions, markets etc.

Overall, an interesting primer for anyone who wants to learn a little bit more about economics before delving into the likes of Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes. 

Previously on BookMarks: Mad Money Journey 

BookMarks #135: Mad Money Journey

Title: Mad Money Journey: A Financial Adventure

Author: Mehrab Irani

Genre: Fiction, Finance, Self-help

Published: 2014

BookMarks

Mad Money Journey can be described as a 3-in-1 kind of book, primarily a lesson in personal financial management alongwith with being a travelogue and food guide as well. The book narrates the story of John Pinto, a successful but bankrupt doctor, who receives advice on financial matters from a childhood friend. The book is a narration of his travels as he gathers financial wisdom.

Lines which stood out

“I was once a slave to my orthodox way of life and money-wage slave of the employer, tax slave of the government and loan slave of the bank. I was a prisoner of money.”

On financial mistakes - “I was guilty of innumerable common financial mistakes, such as mental accounting, loss avoidance, decision paralysis and selective thinking among others”

On education - “something that would expand one’s knowledge and understanding, not just something that would help one score well in exams… education was making mistakes and learning from them, not avoiding failure for fear of being called stupid by teachers, parents or other students…education was a journey beginning from the cradle and ending with the grave, not with the earning of a degree… education was the freedom to do whatever you wanted in life, rather than becoming a slave to your profession. It was financial independence, where your money works for you, instead of you working for money.”

“Your problem is not having less money, but the belief that you have less money and that it will never be enough.”

“there are two kinds of investors, be they large or small – those who don’t know where the market is headed, and those who don’t know that they don’t know where the market is headed. Then again, there is a third type of investor – the investment professional, who indeed knows that he or she doesn’t know, but whose livelihood depends upon appearing to know where the market is headed.”

“The most precious resource of people isn’t their time, it’s their energy. Manage it well.”

“In the stock market, analysis does not work, but the jobs of the analyst is always secure.”

Overall, a different attempt on a self-help book. Merging financial lessons into a story. Although the dialogues and narration seem forced most of the times. But an interesting try nevertheless.

Previously on BookMarks: O Jerusalem! 

On similar lines: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

BookMarks #134: O Jerusalem!

Title: O Jerusalem!

Author: Dominique Lapierre, Larry Collins

Genre: Non-fiction, History

Published: 1971

BookMarks

O Jerusalem! Narrates the events of 1947-1948 covering the creation of a separate Jewish state in Palestine. How the voting for the partition happened at the UN, and the intense violent aftermath of the Arab-Jewish conflict. The events which are yet to be fully resolved and repercussions are still going on. The book provides a good context for understanding the current issues as well.

Overall, quite an informative read about the events. At times, feels a bit overdetailed at times, especially if your are unfamiliar with the protagonists & the geography, but is necessary to get a clearer picture. Creation of a new state is not an easy task and takes super-human efforts from the leadership to the ordinary citizens to build and sustain it. Little decisions at seemingly insignificant junctures have played a critical role is shaping the present – an overheard conversation, supplies landing in the wrong hands, over-estimating the others power, some delays, some hurried decisions (like the ceasefire) all played a crucial role in shaping the Middle East of today. And most of all it is a human tragedy - a tale of the struggle to survive from starvation and war, as lines drawn on maps become borders on the ground.

A few notes from the book

On the Jewish State

• Theodor Herzl developed a one-hundred-page pamphlet titled Der Judenstaat "The Jewish State." It stated that “The Jews who will it, shall have a state of their own."
• David Ben-Gurion: ”in the city of Tel Aviv on the fifth day of Iyar, 5708, the fourteenth day of May, 1948Let us all stand to adopt the Scroll of the Establishment of the Jewish State."
• Israel did not initially have a name. "Elath thought as he started to draft his request. It presented only one problem: Elath did not know the name of the state for which he was requesting recognition. Solving the problem by calling it simply "the Jewish state," he had dispatched his letter to the White House."

On Jerusalem

• "Jerusalem a city where men came to die as well as to live, and generations of Christians, Jews and Moslems slept scattered under a sea of whitened stone around the valley, achieving in death in Jerusalem what they had so often failed to achieve in life: a peaceful reconciliation of their claims to its ramparts."
• "One place in the city stood apart from the rancor and chaos of Jerusalem, however—a little island all its own in which a handful of Jews and Arabs lived together in peace and harmony. It was the government insane asylum."

The Arab view 

• For the Arabs, and above all for the 1.2 million Arabs of Palestine, the partitioning of the land in which they had been a majority for seven centuries seemed a monstrous injustice thrust upon them by white Western imperialism in expiation of a crime they had not committed.
• "The problem is Palestine, not petroleum."
• Transjordan’s King Abdullah to Jewish Agency - "you must convince the Americans to force us to make peace with you. We want to do it. But it's only possible for us politically if we are forced to do it."
• The armies of the 5 nations fought the same war separately!

A Few lines which stood out

• subtlety, indirection and surprise. - life's tactics
• a mania for secrecy so deeply rooted that before opening his safe he looked in the mirror to make sure who he was.

Some Trivia from the book

• Assiya Halaby was the first Arab woman in Palestine to own and operate her own car.
• The republic of Venice enriched the vocabulary of the world with the word ghetto from the quarter, Ghetto Nuovo -New Foundry - to which the republic restricted its Jews.
• oldest continually observed religious ceremony, the Jewish Passover.

Previously on BookMarks: The Answer Is No 

Also by the same authors: Freedom at Midnight 

2025: The Year Gone By

As the Year 2025 moves into history, time to take a look back at some events to remember (or maybe not) the year by

1. Word of the Year

Six-Seven, as chosen by dictionary.com. What does it even mean? No one is quite sure, but kids everywhere seem to be latching on to it with the accompanying moving arms action!

2. The Year of Wars and Skirmishes threatening to break out into wars. 

It almost seemed as if the world was hell-bent on proving Thomas Friedman wrong, with missiles/drones flying all over – Russia-Ukraine, the Middle East, India-Pakistan, Thailand-Cambodia, with the neutral Qatar taking hits from both sides. News channels were busy recycling pictures/videos more reminiscent of mythological series & video games than theatres of war. And somehow gave a feeling that all these were just the beginning of something bigger. The geopolitical chessboard seems to be on the cusp of something violent

3. Economic Term of the Year: Tariffs. 

All market theories went for a toss, Research reports needed constant updation, Markets fluctuated, Numbers kept changing, Policy uncertainty prevailed and the global economy gave the impression of a cat sitting on hot tin roof.

4. The Louvre Heist

Has there been a real-life event somehow more outrageous than most satirical spoof that the movie industry could serve up. Artworks stolen in broad daylight, password, security systems, with the password “LOUVRE”, the forklift company getting free advertisement, a nattily dressed gentleman on the crime scene initially thought to be a police detective but wasn’t, comments on the French working hours. If not for the fact that actual artwork went missing, this was a pretty good plot for an Austin Powers/Pink Panther movie.

5. The AI era

AI usage expanded rapidly blurring the boundaries of real and artificial. From texts to pictures to videos to TV series, there is AI content everywhere. And it is becoming more and more indistinguishable from real. Wonder how much damage an increased reliance on AI without human judgement will cause?

6. What does that company really do? 

The world learnt about Astronomer after its CXOs were caught behaving awkwardly on being seen on the concert camera at a Coldplay concert

7. The meme generator

The Indonesian boat race kid who danced at the head of the boat seemingly contributing to the team through his hand gestures (dubbed aura farming by the internet)

8. The biggest gathering: Mahakumbh. 

If the numbers thrown by travel agencies & administrators are to be believed, nearly a third of India was there at some point or the other. Even otherwise, it was the largest ever gathering of humankind.

Overall, 2025 was a year dominated by geopolitical uncertainty and AI. Lets see what 2026 throws at us (it has begun even more crazily).

To all readers a Belated Happy New Year. 

P.S. This entire post was typed out and not AI generated or modified.

2025: In Reads

Presenting the reading list from 2025. It’s a round dozen from the BookMarks listed in chronological order of reading.

1. The Fine Art of Small Talk - Debra Fine (1997): A book targeting the introverts to help them make conversation! Basically an extended book version of a Ted Talk content!

2. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe (1719): An old classic revisited but in it original form. The story of a man who gets shipwrecked and stranded alone on a remote island and then begins to build his own little world there till his return home after a two decade incarceration and then subsequent adventures.

A heavy duty read in its original 18th century language form. Also, many of the beliefs will not stand the test of modern times.

3. The Beekeeper of Aleppo - Christy Lefteri (2019): A Syrian family’s harrowing journey of escape from the war and reaching asylum in the UK. And it is not just the physical struggles but also the mental battles being fought by the protagonists as they build their own illusions to escape the harsh reality around themselves.

A sad but engaging tale!

4. Corporate Chanakya on Leadership - Radhakrishna Pillai (2012): An attempt to incorporate the learnings from Chanakya’s Arthshashtra into contemporary corporate leadership.

5. Bhagavad Gita for Millennials - Bibek Debroy (2020): An introduction to the Bhagavad Gita. It is is not a direct interpretation but more of a commentary conveying its key messages.

The messaging at times goes all over the place but more of how to read the Bhagavad Gita.

6. 1962 - The War That Wasn't - Shiv Kunal Verma (2020): The story of how the India-China war/conflict of 1962 was lost, not on the battlefield itself, but much before through a combination of blind belief, lack of planning, poor co-ordination, and sheer incompetence of some of those in the command.

7. How the World Really Works - Vaclav Smil (2022): “We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works.” This is the premise with which the book the fundamentals of how our world really works and offers a glimpse of what the future holds.

8. The Indian Spy - Mihir Bose (2017): The story of a man called Silver, who managed to spy for multiple countries while operating out of Kabul during the 2nd World War and also aided in Netaji’s escape from India.

Quite a fascinating story but is mostly based on a book by Ram Talwar a.k.a Silver himself. A line which stood out - ‘It is impossible, or at any rate, highly dangerous, to tell a lie until you know what the truth is going to be.’

9. Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely (2008): A book on the study of human decision making. How most of our decision-making is predictable and can be influenced. And even decisions which may seem irrational and random have common guiding forces.

Quite an engaging read into Human behaviour

10. Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis (1989): The story of Michael Lewis and his employer the Wall Street Firm, Salomon Brothers. Set in the 1980s, the book presents an insider account of some of the most turbulent and storied times in the financial markets.

The story also sets the foundations for the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. No wonder it is a recommended B-School read.

11. The Past As Present - Romila Thapar (2014): A collection of essays on the study of history, how it has evolved, and how it is being interpreted in present times and by different groups. The key message – History is a dialogue between the past and the present.

12. The Answer Is No - Fredrick Backman (2024): A short funny tale, originally published in Swedish, about a man whose quiet and happy life is suddenly disrupted by seemingly innocuous events nearby. Fun to read, yet provides a lot of insights into that basic human quest – the pursuit of happiness.

In addition, I read my first ever Tintin comic books (3 of them). However, the very first one was “Tintin in the Congo”, in which personally found the depiction of the African natives to be heavily racist! Also learnt that this particular comic has been moved from the Children’s section to the Graphic novels section in bookstores due to this very reason. There was the first Roald Dahl as well.

And an audiobook as well, but won't call it reading.

In summary, books across genres – self-help, classics, fiction, management, history, science, behavioral economics, financial markets, humor, children books, comics.

Overall, could have and should have read more, but not a complete dearth! The reading pace wasn't a gallop but more of a canter.

Wishing a Happy New Year 2026 to all fellow Readers!

2025 - TYIL

The more I learn, the more I realise that I know nothing

As the year 2025 AD winds down its time to draw up a list of some totally irrelevant things which I learnt during its course (or rather remembered to list).

1. 1st January 2025 – marks the arrival of Gen Beta [Wikipedia]
2. Haj Notes: Special notes issued by RBI but valid as legal tender only in the Gulf Nations of UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman [DNA] 
3. Jolly Grant Airport (Dehradun) gets it name from the “Grant” of the village Jauli (anglicized to Jolly) to the British by Nepal.
4. Sygyzy: Literally a case of heavenly bodies aligning [Wikipedia] 
5. Octothorpe the official name for the hashtag symbol (#) [Merriam-Webster] 
6. Ramanujam Summation: The sum of natural numbers – 1+2+3+4….+ till infinity is -1/12. Unbelievable as it may sound, it is derivable! [Link] 
7. Jevons Paradox: when technological advancements make a resource more efficient to use (thereby reducing the amount needed for a single application); the cost of using the resource drops, and hence the overall demand increases causing total resource consumption to rise. [Wikipedia] 
8. Faulty (English) & Faltu (Hindi) have the same etymological root – Falto (Portuguese) [Wiktionary] 
9. Ulaanbaatar (capital of Mongolia) means “Red Hero”, in honour of the Russian help in getting Mongolia’s independence. [Britannica] 
10. Belphegor’s Prime Number: a palindromic prime number 1000000000000066600000000000001, named after Belphegor, one of the seven princes of Hell, due to the superstitious significance of the number 666 and the surrounding 13 zeros [Wikipedia] 
11. Caissan Constant: the number of legal chess positions. And Caissan is the Goddess of Chess [Link] 
12. The province of Luxembourg in Belgium is larger in area than the neighboring country of Luxembourg with which it shares its name! [Wikipedia] 
13. Pentagon Pizza Index: A surge in pizza orders near Pentagon signals that an attack is imminent in some part of the world [Economic Times] and there is a dedicated Twitter account for tracking the pizza orders [Twitter] 
14. Alan Smithee: the pseudonym adopted for director’s credit in a movie whose actual director does not want their name associated with it. Turns out Alan Smithee is the most prolific director in movie history! [IMDB] 
15. Sneakers are named so because they can quietly move around unlike the leather shoes of those times
16. Philip Noel-Baker: only person till date to win the Nobel Prize (Peace, 1959) and an Olympics medal (1,500 m Silver in 1920) [Wikipedia]
17. The ubiquitous CAPTCHA is an acronym for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart [Link]
18. Euler’s Identity – also referred to as the most beautiful mathematics equation [YouTube]

Another short list this year, but it is 1 Trivia longer than last year's [so definitely an improvement.#LittleWins]

P.S. Lists from 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024

BookMarks #133: The Answer Is No

Title: The Answer Is No

Author: Fredrick Backman

Genre: Fiction, Short

Published: 2024

BookMarks

"The Answer Is No", is a short book, originally published in Swedish. It is the story of Lucas, a loner living in an apartment, whose quiet and happy life is suddenly disrupted by seemingly innocuous events nearby.

The entire first chapter comprises of “It’s a frying pan that ruins Lucas’s life. We’ll get to that.” And this is when you realize what a hilarious roller-coaster ride this story is going to be. And yet it provides some great gems with quite deep meaning as we go along. Such as

• People aren’t supposed to be happy, they’re only supposed to want to be happy.
• All he did was to remove the one thing that makes almost all people unhappy: other people.
• Being smart is the worst thing one can be in modern society. All it ever means is more work.
• A funny thing about rule-loving people is that to them it seems more important to impose punishment than it is to actually solve problems, and a funny thing about rule-breaking people is that they seem to find breaking rules a lot easier to do if someone else has broken them first.
• “Responsibility” and “Commitment” are actually two of the easiest ways of ruining any perfectly good day.
• With the defeated manner of a sausage that dressed itself up as a carrot to avoid being eaten by a bear, only to be found by a rabbit.
• The truth about problems is that the problem itself is never actually the problem. It’s always the people involved who are the problem.
• Most people who want to be happy try to add things to their lives. But really what maybe they should be doing is taking something away.
• The easiest way to be happy is to think about time in about eight-hour increments, and to always have something to look forward to at the end of those hours
• Don’t look on the internet for someone who is exactly like you. Look for someone who isn’t.
• If you ask people what they think, they start thinking, and that’s how wars start.
• One day you’re a happy, whole person, and the next day you’re forced into the most horrible thing on earth: making decisions.

That’s quite a lot of deep insights into that basic human quest – the pursuit of happiness.

Previously on BookMarks: The Past As Present 

BookMarks #132: The Past As Present

Title: The Past As Present: Forging Contemporary Identities Through History

Author: Romila Thapar

Genre: Non-Fiction, History, Anthology

Published: 2014

BookMarks

History is a dialogue between the past and the present.

“The Past As Present” is a collection of essays by Romila Thapar on the study of history, how it has evolved, and how it is being interpreted in the present times and by different groups of people. The essays also cover the interpretation of history in creating a national identity and how that it has evolved from kings and dates to the study of wider society at different points in time. From purely political, history has also become

Some of the key takes/notes from the book:

On the subject of history

• The past is constructed by putting together a variety of evidence. All societies over the centuries have constructed their past, often in accordance with contemporary theories about the meaning of the past.
• The past does not remain static. The facts may not change, although sometimes they do as a result of fresh information or new ways of analyzing old information, but the interpretation of these facts can change. History is not just a directory of information; it also involves analyzing and interpreting this information.
• Knowledge does not consist of a body of information to be memorized and passed on. A modern education demands questioning, skepticism and an ability to think independently and to link information.
• Tribe refers to a community of people claiming descent from a common ancestor.

On History of India

• James Mill divided Indian history into the Hindu, Muslim and British periods, a periodization which is still the basis of Indian studies. Mill’s argument and that of many other colonial historians was that the Hindus and Muslims formed two distinct communities and that they were perpetually in conflict.
• Nations need identities. These are created from perceptions of how societies have evolved. In this, history plays a central role.
• Key function of nationalist history was to establish an Indian identity. This had to draw on the unity and uniformity of India throughout history.

On Civilization & Religion

• The hallmark of a civilization is not its rigid boundaries but its porosity, and that civilizations can only thrive when there is an inter-connectedness between them that enhances the communication of ideas and practices.
• Dharma became central to an understanding of the religion. It referred to the duties regarded as sacred which had to be performed in accordance with one’s varna/jati and sect and which were not identical for all. The constituents of dharma were conformity to ritual duties, to social obligations and to the social norms of family and caste as stipulated in the Dharmashastras.

On Interpretation of history

• Life is not governed by an either/or choice in everything. There is always something else - the variant.
• Collective memories have to be deliberately constructed by a group of people consciously referring back to a particular event and remembering it in a particular way.
• Context is of central importance: who is narrating the story of the event and why; who constitutes the audience or the readership that the narrative is addressed to, and what is the purpose and meaning of the narrative.

On Mythology 

• What leads to problems is when the mythology associated with the history is claimed as history.
• Epic literature cannot be precisely dated for events merge into events and narrative slowly gets welded with commentary.
• In classical Sanskrit dramas, the women characters irrespective of whether their status was high or low, uniformly spoke the commonly used Prakrit, whilst the men spoke Sanskrit—the language of the educated.

Interestingly, the book was published in 2014. A decade down the line, the book’s interpretations seem more prescient. 

Previously on BookMarks: Liar’s Poker 

BookMarks #131: Liar’s Poker

Title: Liar’s Poker

Author: Michael Lewis

Genre: Non-fiction, Autobiography, Economics, Financial Markets

Published: 1989

BookMarks

Liar’s Poker is the story of Michael Lewis and his employer, the Wall Street firm Salomon Brothers. The story switches from how Lewis joins the firm, followed by a history of the firm and finally Lewis’s own work till he quits. The book is set in the 1980’s which are some of the most turbulent times in the financial markets.

The book is one of the more recommended reads in management colleges mostly for its insider account of the goings on at investment banks. The title itself refers to a game played by the traders at the firms. (Investopedia) 

Overall, quite an interesting and fun read with its insider account of the goings on in the global big money market and investment banks. The picture it presents isn't the rosiest and it also foreshadows the Global Financial Crisis.

Some lines and messages which stood out from the book

• Wall Street is a street with a river at one end and a graveyard at the other.
• In every market there is a fool. And any player unaware of the fool in the market is probably the fool.
• Good traders tend to do the unexpected. Their best work tends to go against conventional wisdom.
• Market rule of thumb - Those who say, don't know and those who know, don't say. [Or as the saying goes – empty vessels make most noise].
• Communications system sufficiently advanced and human relations sufficiently primitive. [This book was set in the 1980s, we have moved much further ahead/behind in the two in the past four decades].
• In the stock market, the higher the math, take it as warning signal that the operator was trying to substitute theory for experience.
• The 3-6-3 club - borrow at 3% lend at 6% and be at the golf course by 3 PM [for people who want to keep life simple]
• I'm now convinced that the worst thing a man can do with a telephone, without breaking the law, is to call someone he doesn't know and try to sell that person something he doesn't want. [How precisely the author has predicted the spammers of today – who are mostly trying to sell financial products]
• The reason why people believe in Charts - because everyone else does
• God gave you eyes…Plagiarise.
• On bonuses/raises - people react with relief, joy, anger or a mixture of three.
• You don't get rich. You attain new levels of relative poverty.
• Two ways of running a firm - as a business or as an empire?
• The money game rewards disloyalty. People who hopped from firm to firm secured large pays and performed better financially than the people who stayed on one place.

Previously on BookMarks: Predictably Irrational 

Road To Los Angeles: Episode 6

Back with the Episode 6 on the Road To Los Angeles 2028. The past few weeks have been quite happening on the sporting front with multiple World and Continental Championships going on across sports. Here is quick look at some of the goings on from an Indian perspective.

Badminton: The Men’s doubles duo of Satwik-Chirag won a Bronze medal, thus continuing India’s streak of one medal at the World Championships since 2011. A slight uptick from the Paris Olympics.

Hockey

• Men’s Asia Cup: India finished 1st and qualified for the 2026 Hockey World Cup
  
  
• Women’s Asia Cup: Indian finished runners-up and will play in the World Cup Qualifiers next year.

Archery World Cup: The Compound Mixed Team won the Silver medal

Boxing World Championships: Jasmine Lamboria & Meenakshi Hooda are now World Champions while Nupur Sheoran won Silver and Pooja Rani got Bronze medal. However, there were no medals for the men’s contingent.

Wrestling World Championships: Antim Panghal won her second World Championships medal. However the rest of the contingent disappointed with Olympics medalist Aman Sehrawat failing to meet the weight which resulted in a one year suspension by the Wrestling Federation

Athletics World Championships: Sachin Yadav finished 4th in Javelin Throw and Sarvesh Kushare 6th in High Jump. However, the bigger story was Neeraj Chopra finishing 8th – thus missing a podium for the first time since 2018 and first time outperformed by an Indian thrower since 2016. What a phenomenal run this had been!

Cricket: An unbeaten run by Men’s Team to win the T20 Asia Cup.

Weightlifting World Championships: Mirabai Chanu wins Silver in 48 KG category, proving she is still very much the best lifter in the country.

Judo: Himanshi Tokas is now World Junior No. 1, the first Indian to achieve this ranking

At the Para-athletics World Championships hosted in Delhi, India recorded their best ever medal haul. But the event was also marred a little by stray dogs biting coaches!

Meanwhile India has successfully bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games to be held in Ahmedabad.

That certainly has been quite a happening period for Indian Olympics sports Till next time!

Links

• Episode 5 
• Himashi Tokas: ESPN 
• Paralympics Report: ESPN