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Missing women in search of themselves

In Kiran Rao’s new film, Laapataa Ladies, the brides are making their own journeys, gradually spreading their wings and discovering parts of themselves they have never known The brides, veiled and dressed nearly identically in red, have been swapped. And what seems to be the starting premise of a wholesome comedy is actually a portrait

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We, the elite of India, are to blame for the state of our cities

Just as surely as the seasons change, our angst at the state of our cities will pass. The capital’s toxic air will cede to other crises. Again.

In Chennai and Mumbai, the annual rite of monsoon flooding will hold sway, then the rains will cease and we’ll move on. Again.

Every season, we reignite the same debates, ask the same questions and read the same analyses.

Take the zeitgeist, air pollution and its unwavering script: Children and seniors advised to remain indoors; schools shut, construction stopped, traffic rationed. Relax, says our environment minister, this isn’t the Bhopal gas tragedy. How reassuring. When the weather changes, the haze will lift and all will be forgotten.

An article in The Washington Post notes that pollution levels are usually lower in (a) democracies, (b) rich and affluent areas and (c) countries in line with international agreements — as India is with the Paris Agreement.

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An increasing number of women don’t want kids. They shouldn’t have to face a backlash for what’s a personal decision

Picture credits: @yolandayoungesq/ The Guardian Early in February, Sidra Aziz tweeted: “I am 31 years old and over the last few years I have very consciously chosen not to have children ever. Marriage, maybe. Children, no.” It was an innocuous enough tweet but the 31-year-old data product manager was taken aback by the response. Within

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India must stop living in denial

In today’s connected world where figures, images and voices are a click of the mouse away, do we really expect the world to believe that India is all malls, highways and high-rises. Namita Bhandare writes. HT Image Of all the madcap ideas to come out of the Commonwealth Games, possibly the worst is the one

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Freewheeling women

Can we reimagine ways in which the humble bicycle can improve mobility for older women? India’s heaving metropolises are simply not designed for women. The focus on multi-lane highways and flyovers ignores women—and the differently abled and elderly. The metro rail does provide a speedy commute; what’s lacking is last-mile connectivity and affordability (HT PHOTO)

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