Gen Z 2 1

Stealing the ball

When football star Lionel Messi came to Kolkata, something strange happened. It reminded everyone that in India, VIP culture is still very strong — and ordinary people often come last. In many Western countries, leaders don’t act like they are special. Once, France’s president had to walk for 30 minutes because the road was blocked….

Read More
Gen Z 2 1

Fading red

The results of Kerala’s local body elections sent a strong message: many people want change. The Left government (called LDF), led by Pinarayi Vijayan, has been in power for 10 years and controlled local councils for a very long time. But this time, voters were unhappy. The main opposition, the Congress-led UDF, won many local…

Read More
Manuel Freire Garabal

The year-end calm that isn’t — And what it means for the global economy

The last weeks of December are usually a lull: thinner trading desks, shuttered parliaments, executives on leave. Yet geopolitics rarely respects the calendar. This year, several theatres are converging at precisely the moment the global economy is most sensitive to shocks: inflation has cooled but remains reactive; growth is resilient but moderating; and supply chains—re-engineered…

Read More
jaya wears prada

Jaya wears Prada

If China consumes luxury as evidence of momentum, India consumes luxury as a negotiation with memory. Brands that succeed here will be the ones with the deepest listening & meaningJaya wears Prada, but only after completing the ritual most affluent Indians quietly perform: the object must have travelled. The leather must carry foreign air. The…

Read More
atm photo for zorawar 2c 1 min

What new US world strategy means for India

Unsettling signals: India figures in the NSS but the limited-purpose framing should concern us   The 19th century German statesman Otto von Bismarck once remarked that, “God has a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States of America.” It captured the essence of the hand that fate dealt America. Surrounded by vast oceans…

Read More