Dirty and Holy: Indian WrestlingEarly morning, dirt, skin, sweat and muscle. So much muscle. This is what comprises dawn for the gentlemen of the Ram Singh Akhara, an organization devoted to teaching north India’s age-old, Persian-influenced grappling-style wrestling to the next… Mar 25 17March 25, 2017Article at OZY
Narendra Modi's Worst NightmareIt was Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and Muslims and non-Muslims alike thronged the streets of Mumbai. Billboards announced sales on shoes. Boys wore their finest taqiyahs. But at the southern tip of the city, in the Fort… Mar 11 17March 11, 2017Article at OZY
India: Model for a New Psychiatry?The following article contains information about depression and suicide that may be triggering for some readers. It was the kind of television event that dominates dinner conversations for days, like the time Bruce Jenner became Caitlyn during a… Dec 30 16December 30, 2016Article at OZY
One Last Pilgrimage Before DyingWalking through the sun-saturated courtyards of Mumukshu Bhawan, one encounters an array of pilgrims as varied as if Chaucer himself had written them. There’s an orange-clad sannyasi — an old man who has given up family and possessions to wander… Dec 11 16December 11, 2016Article at OZY
How to Live in Asia Without Stepping Out of Your ApartmentIt takes me more than two hours to reach the office of Mumbai-based startup Fynd, which sits about 10 miles from my house. As the car moves, inchworm-like, along roads turned into parking lots, I wonder about the millions who make these sorts of… Dec 04 16December 04, 2016Article at OZY
Portraits of a Rape Crisis SWAT Team in IndiaIn this occasional series, OZY takes to streets and neighborhoods across the globe to ask a simple question: “How was your day?” Khushboo Singh, 24 Rajni Dubey, 26 Vardhika Pandey, 28 Varanasi, India We answer the new 181 helpline, which connects… Oct 17 16October 17, 2016Article at OZY
They Give Useless Money a Brand-New LifeIn this occasional series, OZY takes to streets and neighborhoods across the globe to ask a simple question: “How was your day?” Rajendar Kumar, 26 Varanasi, India I sit here every day, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., on the corner, doing this job with my younger… Oct 10 16October 10, 2016Article at OZY
It Doesn't Take a Big Robot to Kill This IndustryAcross newspapers and televisions in the world’s largest democracy, there’s one business message being blasted by the ruling party: 70 years after the end of British colonial rule, it is time for India to start making things. The call to create is… Oct 09 16October 09, 2016Article at OZY
Old Alliances Torn Asunder in the World's Largest DemocracyAsk your typical politicians in the north Indian city of Varanasi to talk policy, the impending 2017 elections or all the graffiti advertising various parties — including lotuses, elephants and the face of the prime minister — and they inevitably… Sep 22 16September 22, 2016Article at OZY
Goodbye, Arranged Marriages. Hello, Modern Love.Because whether you’re brown or not, you might learn something from this changing world of love and sex. Should he be a vegetarian? This is the first question that makes me pause. Before it, Jasbina Ahluwalia has asked me for a boatload of… Sep 17 16September 17, 2016Article at OZY
How Delhi Went HipsterMany tourists zip past Delhi, making for the Taj Mahal or Jaipur’s camels and rugs. The capital hasn’t had a great reputation of late, from its mask-inducing pollution (which, yes, can be as stifling as the summer heat) to the headlines that warn… Sep 07 16September 07, 2016Article at OZY
Growing Old in America's Little IndiasIt’s been four years since Ashok Sinha decided to head to a retirement home. It wasn’t the obvious choice to an outsider: Sure, he’s now 72, with a full career behind him as a satellite engineer and a wife struggling with memory problems. But he is… Aug 28 16August 28, 2016Article at OZY
India's Radical Classical StarHis hand gestures are grand and performative. His words are as rapid as his train of thought. He races ahead, and as he speaks, the weight of Indian society itself bumps along in his wake like tin cans tied to a speeding car. Catch up! The restless… Aug 21 16August 21, 2016Article at OZY
The Harvard Whisperer of MumbaiAt the end of a college admissions season, Viral Doshi can count his successes in the mugs, pennants and cheery “welcome” posters his clients receive. His office is dotted with mementos from Cornell, Penn, Harvard, Princeton — plenty to whet the… Aug 18 16August 18, 2016Article at OZY
With 1.4 Billion People, Shouldn't India Suck Less at Sports?While most nations around the world are preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games by pumping up their star athletes poised to win medals, India is celebrating something else: Its mere presence at the games. For anyone who’s ever received a participation… Aug 07 16August 07, 2016Article at OZY
A Secret Smuggling Ring You’ve Never Heard OfCows obstruct the way as you drive along the road that leads to the place where India ends. They are regal, as Indian cows are: arrogant, casting supercilious glances at the Jeeps, motorbikes and pedestrians trying to make their way through the… Jul 10 16July 10, 2016Article at OZY
70 Years Later, They're Still HomelessPhoto essay by Smita Sharma As 86-year-old Maharani Pudahar steps out of her terra-cotta brick home to say hello, her neighbor Robi Das laughingly remarks that she looks like Mahatma Gandhi. Wearing cotton cloths wraped loosely across her torso, with… May 31 16May 31, 2016Article at OZY
The Man Who Is Capturing a City’s Ghosts on FilmAnik Dutta’s house consists of two flats in an apartment building in chic South Kolkata. Inside are bright white marble floors and ethnic décor that could suit a Pottery Barn: Eastern Flair Edition. It’s across from a Chinese restaurant; next door… May 26 16May 26, 2016Article at OZY
Where Education Is the New Bridal OrnamentMidmorning on a weekday, Reshma Begum is walking her daughter back from school. Begum spends her days selling cheap jewelry at local markets, and her husband works construction, but she has different plans for her 7-year-old daughter, Salia. “We are… May 12 16May 12, 2016Article at OZY
Why These Chinatowns Are VanishingRichard Lee’s family history sounds like a Columbus story. In the 1930s, his father boarded a ship from China to Indonesia, because “at that time, China was very difficult,” he says. His family wanted out; they wanted opportunity. So out they went —… May 08 16May 08, 2016Article at OZY
