Nikita Rawat
A problematic homecoming: Malayalee exodus from the Gulf
January 21, 2021
Around 870,000 expats from Kerala came back to their homeland in 2020, according to data published by the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) department, with 567,000 citing job loss as the reason for their unwitting homecoming. A large majority of the jobs lost were blamed on...
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Pandemic chokes bookstores, but books survive
January 18, 2021
The little nooks and crannies in bookshops had long been the abode of bookworms until the stores were shut suddenly due to the onset of Covid-19 pandemic. While booklovers tried to do with digital alternatives for their reading, bookstore owners had little choice but to sit out t...
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Delhi’s iconic single-screen cinemas bite dust in the dark
January 16, 2021
Delhi’s iconic Regal Cinema at Connaught Place basked in the glory days of single-screen cinema halls in the capital city. Built in 1932, Regal premiered the classic Gone with the Wind in India. For the first show of his new releases that he attended in person, film mogul Raj K...
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Inside Majnu ka Tilla: Delhi’s own Mini Tibet
January 12, 2021
Inside the crowded lanes of Majnu ka Tilla, the walls are painted in red, protesting against the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The walls read, “India-Tibet border, not India-China border.” The ‘Mini Tibet’ in the National Capital echoes the demands of a free Tibet....
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Changing tunes of Uttarakhand’s folk music
January 9, 2021
On January 14 each year as the sun traverses Tropic of Capricorn, large parts of India celebrate the harvest festival of Makar Sankranti, which coincides with the onset of an annual fair known as Magh Mela, celebrated in many parts of the northern India. On the occasion, resident...
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Indian expats who made a fortune in the Gulf
January 3, 2021
Apart from the Philippines, India sends the largest number of expatriates to the Gulf Cooperation Countries which significantly contributes to their economies through the billions of dollars remitted back to their homes by the migrants. A report by UNDESA notes how Indian workers...
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Web series that rose to unscaled heights in 2020
December 31, 2020
While everyone was locked inside homes and the theatres shut, OTT dominated the screens this year. The entertainment industry churned out brilliant web-series with intricately woven and multi-layered plots that hooked the audience for the entire lockdown. The dramatic hooks and e...
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Cautious cheers for New Year
December 31, 2020
New Year’s Eve is an eagerly awaited moment for most, especially the youth the world over, as people look forward to the year to end and festivities to begin. This year, too, people have been longing for the year end to arrive, though for a different reason. Practically everyon...
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Gift retailers Archies, Fern N Petals hit hard by pandemic
December 30, 2020
Greeting cards were an expression of love and passion, primarily among the teenagers and the youth. Archies was the torchbearer of exchanging hushed greetings between lovers in India. In 1987, Archies inaugurated its first concept store in Kamla Nagar, Delhi and pumped by popular...
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‘He who has seen Goa need not see Lisbon’
December 27, 2020
Goa celebrated its 59th liberation day last week, but the impact of nearly 450 years of Portuguese rule in the state can still be seen in practically every aspect of the Goan life. Even to an outsider, the state may seem less Indian than the rest of the subcontinent and more Port...
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Curtailed Christmas in times of Covid
December 25, 2020
Oliver Cromwell remains a controversial figure for curtailing the Christmas celebrations. The Lord Protector and his Puritan supporters declared Christmas illegal until 1660. COVID-19 has brought Christmas to a similar fate this year.
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Dehradun is drowning in its own waste
December 24, 2020
Moreover, over 50 tonnes of waste remains uncollected every day and keeps on piling up on the streets and open lands across the entire district. Years of this neglect has led to a situation where it is apparent that the entire Doon valley is crumbling under the pressure of an inc...
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