Click the image to zoom-in It was a lazy Saturday-afternoon discussion over coffee with friends, discussing life, its struggles et al, when one of us mentioned about how government documents, especially forms to be filled for various compliances were written in a complicated language, difficult to interpret even for the well educated. Someone remarked that this tendency was probably a remnant of Mughal times when the royal court used Urdu, while the people spoke Hindi in the streets. That one sentence was wrong at so many levels that I felt compelled to intervene to tell him that Urdu and Hindi hadn't even been birthed when the Mughals ruled; nevertheless, the Mughal court operated in Persian, which too was not the language of the masses. He quickly Googled my claim for accuracy, and quietly agreed with me; and then popped up a curious question: Why is it that the Mughal court transacted its business in Persian when the Mughals belonged to Mongolia, and came to India via Turkmenis...

Women were as much into hunting as men in prehistoric society  John Konrad’s tweet  (see below) about men communicating weekend plans like a military operation made me laugh because it was hillariously familiar. John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) on X Once upon a time, I set out to solve one of marriage’s great mysteries. Armed with a notebook, a recorder, and the confidence of a man who had absolutely no idea what he was getting into, I began my investigation into… The tweet's summary is:  When a man says: “I am leaving at 7 a.m. Saturday. I will return by noon.” That, according to him, is the complete operational intelligence required by the family.  A woman, on the other hand, apparently responds with a detailed intelligence briefing involving a flower festival, a yoga class, a friend’s child, a possible change of venue, a teacher’s meeting, a grocery list, and the unresolved question of whether there is any cream cheese left in the refrigerator. Somewhere in ...

"The Maratha Military Landscapes of India have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as India's 44th World Heritage property." 🔴 BREAKING! New inscription on the @UNESCO #WorldHeritage List: Maratha Military Landscapes of India, #India 🇮🇳. ➡️ https://t.co/seTyyVu3sT #47WHC pic.twitter.com/mEpa6RWLRx — UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) July 11, 2025 That simple announcement from UNESCO filled me with immense pride. It is not every day that the world pauses to recognize a part of our collective history, and this recognition is long overdue. As someone who now lives in Mumbai, and proudly traces his roots to Maharashtra, these forts are not just monuments on a map. They are familiar silhouettes on the Sahyadri skyline, stories narrated by grandparents, and enduring symbols of courage and resilience. They have shaped the identity of this region for centuries. Yet, alongside that pride, I feel a sense of disappointment. Within hours o...