The Price of Inequality

Mon 16 January 2017 by Thejaswi Puthraya

One of the reasons for the Arab Spring protests in 2010 and the subsequent Occupy movement in the 2012 was the symptom of globalization, rampant inequality.

Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize awarded economist and the author of this book discusses the causes of inequality and the ways to fix it …

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Alexander the Great

Thu 29 December 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

Alexander built one of the largest empires in the shortest time and at a young age. But how did he manage this? Was he blessed with unmatchable valour or did he rule through an iron fist? There were a lot of such questions in my mind before I started reading …

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Waves

Sun 27 November 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

"Waves" is a collection of short-stories written in Tamil by Sundara Ramaswamy (Su.Ra) and translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom.

These breezy stories are mostly set in a middle-class Tamil Brahmin households some time in the 1960-70s.

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No Logo

Tue 22 November 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

A study asked kids under the age of 12 from an impoverished African country to name their favourite logo. McDonald's ended up very high on that list. This in a country that didn't have a single McDonald store! That's branding for you.

"No Logo" dissects brands for you but not …

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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Fri 28 October 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

George Smiley has retired but the events that brought about his abrupt retirement still plague him. He runs into a former colleague with information that he suspected for long, the existence of a mole amongst the intelligence sleuths. Smiley is requested to investigate this discreetly and expose the spy.

After …

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The End of Food

Mon 03 October 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of food? Maybe well garnished food at a fancy restaurant or maybe something yum cooked by you mom or spouse? But food has a history and a story to tell. Paul Roberts documents it's story in "The End …

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Emperors of the Peacock Throne

Wed 07 September 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

Babur invades India after he is chased out of his homeland. His arrival in India triggers a war with the Lodhis who are routed in the first war of Panipat. With this, Babur plants the seed to the Mughal dynasty in India.

"Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The saga of …

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Not without my daughter

Mon 05 September 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

Betty Mahmoody, an American citizen is tricked by her husband, an Iranian national into accompanying him along with their little daughter for a vacation to Iran. A few days into her stay, she realizes that this is a one-way trip and her husband has no plans of returning. She frantically …

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The Magician

Sat 03 September 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

Have you ever been uncontrollably in love with a person even after learning of their flaws? "The Magician" by Somerset Maugham is the story of Margaret who breaks off her engagement with Arthur, a successful doctor a few days ahead of the engagement. She falls in love with an ugly …

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The city of djinns

Thu 01 September 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

William Dalrymple and his wife are on a long visit to Delhi, the city of djinns. The book is a tribute to the city and is filled with stories of interesting characters he meets here like his Sikh landlady, the loud-mouthed taxi driver, house keeping staff etc.

While the back …

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