Cabbies or Auto rickshaw drivers from Mumbai to Singapore are the most politically aware and erudite socio-political commentators that one can find as they truly have their ears to the heartbeat of the communities they drive in and unfortunately they are the most undervalued group in the urban ecosystem. The point of contact/interface between infrastructure … More Conversations with Cabbies: Social Policy Insights
Pic : Neo-Buddhist Imagery in Satpur Village, Nashik District, Maharashtra Urban spaces are melting pots. These places are objects of survival; an aspiration for the future is nuanced in everyday existence. The sights, sounds and the stark reality is surreal is every way, that one might confront the naked brutality of these … More Subaltern India: un-ideal urbanism
Tapri can be identified as a humble rambled neighborhood corner tea stall which sells you a smoke, biscuits and snacks. Its significance as a locus of community engagement goes beyond the unimpressive physical confines which it depicts. This urban street corner joint is a great social leveler in which the office boy interacts with the … More ‘Tapri’ Tales: Conversations over Cutting Chai
Today Modi rocked Mumbai. Being a Mumbaikar I felt the energy of Bandra Kurla Complex through the airwaves in far away cold Gurgaon. I felt the gap in Left of Centre Politics in India as well. The syntax can be termed as Leadership which is not aloof. The High Command Culture of Lutyens Delhi was … More The Post ‘Sickularism’ Age is finally here
Pretty much one year back, I dropped out of my second grad program in Sociology at NTU to rejoin the real world. I was not enjoying the program and knew intrinsically in my third semester in the last leg of my doctoral coursework that a course correction was needed. I love Singapore and everything about … More One Year@Maximum City, Maximum Experiences
Mumbai is a melting pot of cultures and i happen to meet a great diversity of folks every single day among the invisible spine of the transportation network of this megapolis; the three tire Autorickshaw driver and of course cabbies. I have written a couple of posts on my interesting conversations with cabbies earlier; one … More A conversation on urban politics with an ‘Autowalla’
