Just a Facebook like by Chef Sumit Kumar got him defrauded of Rs 38 lakh in an investment impersonation scam. Such scams have resulted in 30,000 people across major cities in India losing over Rs 1,500 crore in the last 6 months. Here's why people willingly hand over their hard-earned money to scammers, and how the cash becomes untraceable.
Ever had cab drivers in Bengaluru answer your call in fluent corporate lingo? Chances are, they might have been techies. It's not just for the money. Software engineers are driving cabs to beat loneliness at home and drudgery at the office, revealing a problem in our corporate culture.
Coconut prices have exploded across India, leaving households and hawkers equally stunned. The coconut crisis is reflected in crispy banana chips to everyday curries and chutneys. What's causing this steep surge, and how long will the naryial crunch last?
Gujaratis own over 60% of motels in the US. But the killing of seven Gujaratis linked to the motel business this year reveals the occupational hazards. Motel owners from the US share how they have managed to run the dhandho successfully despite increasing gun violence and racism.
Medical prescriptions that are nothing but scribbles and scrawls are very common. Bad handwriting of doctors is a problem faced regularly by patients and pharmacists, and recently saw a stern observation by a high court in a medico-legal case. Here's why doctors have bad handwriting and the way to fix illegible prescriptions.
Immersion of idols on Vijayadashami caps Durga Puja celebrations every year. However, in Varanasi's Madanpura, it's the same clay idol that has been being worshipped for almost 260 years now. Legend has it that in 1767, the Durga idol at Bengali Tola refused to move when people tried to take it out for immersion.
Indians find it difficult to kiss, and in India even Superman can't kiss in public. A simple Google search shows Indians trying to learn the art of the lip-lock. While India is referred to as the land of Kama Sutra on anything intimate or erotic, kissing was never part of the culture. But why has India, which has adopted and adapted both cultures and behaviours, failed to embrace the kiss?
That Gen Z protesters toppled the Oli government in Nepal shouldn't be surprising. From Bhagat Singh to Che Guevara, the face of rebellions has almost always been the young. But why do the young rebel, and what is it that drives them to the streets?
Once the ultimate ticket to the American Dream, the H-1B visa stands vilified now. As the Trump administration cracks down, Indians with H-1B and jobs are scared to go to the US.
Social media shorts and Instagram Reels are creating dangerous friction in Indian society. The technology of the 21st century is clashing with the mores of a society still in the 19th century. While men opt for risky, women are getting into risque and vulgar content in an economy where eyeballs convert to hard cash. The Nikki Bhati case is just the tip of the iceberg. Here's how Indian society is reeling from the reel-making tornado.
The ban on real-money online gaming is upending real lives. Thousands of professionals are desperately looking for jobs as their companies hit the dead end. The sector also sustained people earning from games of skills, like millions in India do from the stock market. This is the untold story of how the government's blanket ban on real money gaming platforms has hit lakhs of people.
The debate over Delhi's stray dogs has split the nation. While pet dogs are trained and groomed, street dogs have an entirely different image. Unlike what is popularly believed, strays can be trained, and their aggression largely reduced. Behaviourists and trainers who have trained stray dogs tell us how.
Armed to work remotely during the Covid lockdown, and unfettered after it, India's professionals got hooked on the nomadic way of life, travelling while earning their daily dal-roti. India now has a huge band of Digital Nomads who aren't moored in any city, and are constantly travelling from place to place while working.
The British-origin Cavendish banana is invading markets across the world and has become the dominant variety sold everywhere. Even in India, Cavendish and its sub-varieties have gained territory, making native varieties like Bihar's Chinia and Assam's Bhimkol harder to spot. From Tamil Nadu to the Northeast, the native kadali phalams are putting up a tough fight. Will desi bananas be able to beat back the colonial Cavendish?
Being declared HIV-positive was akin to a death sentence in India of the 1990s. With new medicines, lifespan is not an issue any more. And now, more and more HIV-positive individuals are getting married, and having healthy kids. Matrimonial sites have launched sections focused on HIV+ individuals. This is how science and activism have turned stigma into happily-ever-after stories.
Legendary marathoner Fauja Singh, 114, was recently killed in a hit-and-run accident. Over 30,400 people were killed in such accidents in India in 2022. But why do people flee accident spots, leaving behind the victim? Fear of being lynched, a sense of impunity and little value for lives play a role. Police also categorise accidents as hit-and-run to avoid probing them. Can India, where corruption rules, bring down hit-and-run cases?
Dehatism is killing the experience of tourists in India and abroad. From dancing shirtless in Switzerland for a reel and dragging Vietnamese women for selfies to stripping locals of privacy in Goa's Fontainhas and drinking in public at the Rohtang Pass, dehatism is on full display. The dehatis aren't the Indians from the mofussil, but those from urban centres with big money but little sense.
The long-grain Basmati rice has received government support and surged ahead of other aromatic varieties like UP's Kalanamak, Assam's Joha and West Bengal's Gobindobhog. While Basmati acreage and exports have surged, with its long grain suiting the hotel and biryani industry, other aromatic rice varieties await government hand-holding to become bestsellers. Can they beat the Basmati-biryani nexus?
In Mumbai, dance bars, which have been banned since 2005, now operate as orchestra bars. Nothing much has changed, other than the bar girls, mostly young women, being deprived of their income. Experts, associations and bar girls say legalising the dance bars will transform their lives.
Tinder's new height filter has formalised what was once an unspoken bias, height, as a key marker of desirability, especially for men. From arranged marriage proposals to queer dating spaces, taller men are still preferred, often tied to outdated ideas of masculinity, safety, and status.
