The soldiers of humanity were drafted by evolution. They love what they do and often find it fulfilling, but they deserve compassion and respect as they battle pain, fatigue and a host of physiological problems.
Xenophobia, fear of those different from us, is too often the root of much evil. This article explores what we learn from Frankenstein, Star Trek and evolutionary biology.
Every time we are scared, we can be talked out of the need for privacy. But privacy is a fundamental right. Do we actually value it? Are we even aware of the ways in which our privacy is being intruded upon?
These have been a strange few weeks. A crisis can bring us together, even when it isolates us.
A review of Hidden Figures, a movie based on the struggles and triumphs of three African American women who worked for NASA when racism and sexism were rampant.
Polyandry in the Mahabharata may sound progressive but wait till you read about the details and you'll see how patriarchy triumphs once again.
It’s we who put them on a pedestal, it is we who cover up, rationalize or dismiss their transgressions, and then much later it is we who are surprised by their sense of entitlement, much like parents of spoilt kids, who simply can’t figure out where they went wrong in child rearing.
Many of us rely on cooks, maids, nannies and drivers who are a part of the informal sector. They do not have formal employment with job contracts and benefits. However they provide valuable services and their earnings are vital to their survival.
Parenting blogs are a great source of comfort to new parents. Advertising is one way to monetize blogs. But are all forms of advertising the same? Are there ethical issues involved? Are bloggers being compensated adequately for sponsored posts? These are a few things I have been thinking about.
Sometimes winning may look like losing, but it takes strength to walk away, instead of impulsively striking back, to your own long-term detriment. Winning is not necessarily about defeating someone else.
Recently our Supreme Court, upheld the right to privacy as a fundamental right of every citizen. Why is this so important today? Here is my take.
Recently, social media has been flooded with angry posts about some TV show called Pehredaar Piya Ki. Seeing so many people agitated about it, piqued my curiosity, and I read a little about it. To me, it seems somewhat silly, but again, I have not actually watched it, so I am going to refrain from judging it any further.
A letter to a friend who is a victim of abuse. Her situation is made worse by the fact that she is on a dependent H4 visa in the USA.
A decade ago, I lived in a foreign country. That was when I started using social media. For a few years, it was about catching up with old friends, sharing pictures and gossiping about what had changed. It seemed like our forgotten friendships could be revived through the magic of the internet. If anyone had then told me, that the internet would eventually be isolating people, I would have called them raving loons.
When we were kids, we were badgered by grown ups to read the news or watch the news in order to educate our selves and shed our ignorance of the world we lived in. In our times, news was quite boring and I wonder how many parents succeeded in getting their kids to actually read or listen to the news.
A blogger friend of mine has blogged several times, about a couple of issues that bother her. One is, the strange emotionally charged attitude we have to the English language and the other is the discrimination, dark skinned people in India face. After some thought, I have come to believe, it is possible, that these two seemingly disconnected issues, could indeed be linked.
Sometimes, in our enthusiasm to to extinguish patriarchy and gender bias, we lose sight of he important stuff and follow formulas and mantras. Do we forget, that is what got us here in the first place?
Bigotry is on the rise in some parts of the world. Be it in the form of racism, sexism, religious intolerance or something else. People are becoming more comfortable with publicly expressing harsh hostile opinions directed against certain groups. So what can we do about it?
Most large societies evolved to be patriarchal. Many of us today are fighting against patriarchy and struggling to rectify the situation, but a question does come to mind. How or why did most large societies evolve to be patriarchal? What is the evolutionary biology explanation for this?
Having lived in the US for 8 years this is one of their traditions that I found most enjoyable. Halloween is a little unusual for a festival. Its not even a holiday. Its just a fun way to spend the evening.
I was reading the very popular facebook post by Tannishtha Chatterjee about her humiliation on some comedy channel about the colour of her skin. “How is it funny to call someone dark? I don’t get it..” she says and she is right of course. But that got me thinking about jokes in general. There is a whole category of jokes that stereotype people and make fun of them as a group. Any of these sound familiar?
Often in the fight for equality and rights for women, the virtues of women are highlighted. Their endurance and emotional strength is emphasized. But what I don't understand is this. Do women need to be strong or successful or productive to deserve basic rights and equality?
I moved to the US at the age of 20 for grad school. I lived alone and was financially independent. Neither earning a living, nor living alone, nor doing research made me feel as much a grown up as something else did.
