Makarand (मकरंद) (مکراند)

Caring for aged parents Recent conversations with friends makes me ruminate over the challenges that care-givers of parents face.

I am now of an age where conversations with friends are often dominated by 'parental care'. I am also of an age where 'old-age' knocks at my own door. I reflect on challenges that care-givers face.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/10/27/c...

Can never think of Dorothy Parker w/o remembering what she apparently said to her publisher - “Tell him I was too fucking busy-- or vice versa.” 😈

^^ This is from a historian talking about post Trujillo era in the Dominican Republic. It applies to many countries, my own - India, as well.

I am reading @alexvont.bsky.social's book Fallen Idols.

(Another good to read to know more about Trujillo is Mario Vargas Llosa's Feast of the Goat.)

"Knowledge of history has been reduced to meagre levels, so that most of the population lacks information about what happened."

"The educational system does not provide tools for critical thinking, which affects the difficulty of conceptualising the historical past."

How Warmongering Necessitates Humanitarian Aid The one way to not feed war machines is TO NOT PROMOTE AND/OR START WARS. The WSJ article “How Humanitarian Aid Feeds War Machines” by Netta Barak-Corren who is a law professor and the …

How Warmongering Necessitates Humanitarian Aid

The one way to not feed war machines is TO NOT PROMOTE AND/OR START WARS. The WSJ article "How Humanitarian Aid Feeds War Machines" sidesteps the root cause of conflict. I offer a rebuttal.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/08/11/h...

The Image – An Introduction The Image by Daniel Boorstin was written 64 years ago. It remains extremely pertinent even today. While the book focused on the USA, the message it delivers is relevant to the whole world. The mess…

I introduce Daniel Boorstin's 1961 book The Image. The book remains even more relevant today; we need to understand how we are living in a bubble away from reality.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/t...

The Image – An Introduction The Image by Daniel Boorstin was written 64 years ago. It remains extremely pertinent even today. While the book focused on the USA, the message it delivers is relevant to the whole world. The mess…

I introduce Daniel Boorstin's 1961 book The Image. The book remains even more relevant today; we need to understand how we are living in a bubble away from reality.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/t...

Aghaat – A Review The 1985 Govind Nihalani movie Aghaat triggers a lot of reflections on how things have changed in India since then and how things haven’t really changed. The challenges remain similar; they p…

My review of Aghaat, a movie released 40 years ago. Why now? Cos it has learning for us today.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/10/a...

Add idleness to your life. A tweet extolling efficiency sends me down the memory lane and leads to a mini-rant on how we over-glorify the wrong things (in my opinion, of course) and miss out on what it means to be human.

A tweet extolling efficiency sends me down the memory lane and leads to a mini-rant on how we over-glorify the wrong things (in my opinion, of course) and miss out on what it means to be human.

Add idleness to your life.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/04/a...

Slums in India To counter the frequent and vile rants about slums in Indian cities, I post an answer that I wrote on Quora many years ago. Point is that, slums are a manifestation of a failed rural livelihood and…

To counter the frequent, vile rants about slums in Indian cities, I post something I wrote on Quora few years ago. Privileged folk in India need a real education. Slums are a manifestation of a failed rural livelihood and urban housing mechanisms.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/07/01/s...

Stolen (A review) I saw Stolen on Amazon Prime and loved it. I write here to say why, without giving too much of the plot away. The film has been made brilliantly. It’s taut with no wasted moments, no diversio…

Stolen (A review)

I saw #Stolen on @PrimeVideoIN and loved it. I write here to say why, without giving too much of the plot away.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/06/09/s...

Capitalism didn't give us the internet.

Large-scale cooperation, open protocols, and free software gave us the internet. Capitalism gave us mobile sites that don't work because fifteen ads cover the screen.

Goal Analysis – A synopsis Robert F. Mager’s “Goal Analysis” provides a practical method for converting abstract goals into concrete actions. By following Mager’s five-step process, individuals and or…

My synopsis of Robert F. Mager's "Goal Analysis", a book that remains relevant 50+ years after it was published.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/05/01/g...

The Hindu Gods of Ancient Syria A Brief History of the Mitanni

The Hindu Gods of Ancient Syria by Sam Dalrymple. Loved the last line "What a crazy world the bronze age was…"

It seems that the apple doesn't fall far away from the tree, eh @willdalrymple.bsky.social?

open.substack.com/pub/travelso...

The Cynefin Framework is a way of thinking. In an uncertain world, Cynefin reminds us that not all problems are alike and hence not all solutions are alike.

Part of my series on demystifying development jargon

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/c...

Indian media personalities are also becoming international icons. See how Bill Maher had adopted their style and approach.

#BookRecommendation

IRU : The Remarkable Life of Irawati Karve by Urmilla Deshpande and Thiago Pinto Barbosa.

Santosh – a Review My take on Santosh, a movie that may never see release in India because of an over-reaction by government of India. I cannot figure this out. It is not as if these things have been not been shown e…

My take on #Santosh, a movie that may never see release in India because of an over-reaction by government of India. I cannot figure this out. It is not as if these things have been not been shown earlier.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/s...

Adolescence – some reflections My reflections on the Netflix mini-series Adolescence. The questions it raised. The thoughts it provoked. And why you should watch it.

My reflections on the Netflix mini-series #Adolescence. The questions it raised. The thoughts it provoked. And why you should watch it.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/03/21/a...

#BookRecommendations2025

Conclave, by Robert Harris. I watched the movie first and then read the book. I am not surprised that the movie won the Academy award for Best Adapted Screenplay. They haven't deviated much from the well written book.

#BookRecommendations2025
Annie Zaidi's "Prelude to a Riot".

"Please read out of the syllabus. A syllabus is 'set' for you. You understand? It is 'set' by people whose job it is to limit your knowledge." Garuda Sir, a fascinating character now in short supply in India.

In John Grisham's The Pelican Brief, POTUS is shown to be a weak, indecisive man uninterested in governance, leaving it all to his chief of staff. He spends his time inviting people in his administration to play golf. Only those he can beat and humiliate, ofc.

Art or life?

This is NOT prose, it's poetry. What writing by @willdalrymple.bsky.social in The Golden Road. ❤️

This passage describes the sculpture of Vishnu in the Varaha avataar at Udaygiri.

Image from Wikipedia.

Overstepping.

Stephen Colbert once asked Keanu Reeves “What do you think happens to us when we die?”

Keanu responded with, “I know the people who love us miss us.”

Sometimes, it's as simple and profound as this. No philosophical or religious discourses are needed to answer this question. ❤️

H/t Mike Mann

A 100 years ago, a rich man spent a fortune to publish a newspaper that spread hate and divide society. He was too powerful to stop.

Today, another is doing the same. He must be stopped.

The first rich man once said "The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing"

Wonder why Indian Express has chosen to put the word 'accountable' in quotes.
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Ofc, we know that they are no longer the 'journalism of courage', so this must be because they are locking the idea of accountability.

Jim Hacker's on answering Qs:
1. Attack The Question
2. Attack The Questioner
3. Compliment The Question
4. Unload The Question
5. Make It All Appear An Act
6. Use The Time Factor
7. Invoke Secrecy
8. Take Refuge In A Long Pointless Narrative.

Which one did he use? The 8th?

Gods, Guns, and Missionaries – Review I write to introduce Manu Pillai’s book “Gods, Guns and Missionaries The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity” and to recommend that you read it.

My review and introduction of Manu Pillai's "Gods, Guns, and Missionaries". This is a must read.

makarandimpressions.wordpress.com/2025/02/14/g...

ChatGPT - Western Media Coverage of Trump Shared via ChatGPT

I asked #ChatGPT "How would western media cover the first few weeks of the second Trump term if it were happening in a developing country?"

👇 Is what it came up with

chatgpt.com/share/67a89a...