G20: A Summit in Need of Statesmanship

If, after watching news of the recently concluded G20 Summit, you got the impression that the global economy is chugging along fine and that countries were getting along fine, you can attribute it to one person: the world leader with the world-leading tweet! After firing off a set of confrontational tweets in customary style, Trump… Continue reading G20: A Summit in Need of Statesmanship

For Birds of All Feathers!

I had shared this video in March 2019, when Peripatetic Perch was approaching six months since inception. It was an opportunity to share this Quik (quite literally!) video that I put together using stock footage and music on my tablet, for all my feathered friends out there. Four months later, I have created a shorter,… Continue reading For Birds of All Feathers!

After the Financial Crisis, the World at Cultural Crossroads

I don’t know about you, but the year 2015 was defined for me by images of hordes of people clambering on to boats to take them across the Mediterranean. Many making it to their destination and many others meeting a watery grave. Since then the sea has become a sort of metaphor for the European… Continue reading After the Financial Crisis, the World at Cultural Crossroads

Is India Adequately Schooled for the Technological Age?

As we digest news of the slowest rate of economic growth in India in many quarters (5.8% in Q4 of FY 2019) and the highest rate of unemployment in 45 years at 6.1%, all the talk of our demographic dividend of the past 15 years is fast evaporating into thin air. More relevant now, would… Continue reading Is India Adequately Schooled for the Technological Age?

Jacinta Island: Ladies’ Day Out!

Taking a break from the recently concluded Indian elections, US-China trade wars, Brexit, the EU elections and sundry other preoccupations, I decided it was time to relax a little. My sister was visiting us in Goa and I thought it might be a good idea to take a drive to an island I have long… Continue reading Jacinta Island: Ladies’ Day Out!

Brexit v ICC World Cup: Which Britain Will Prevail?

An Indian newspaper headline recently read “World Cup 2019: Cricket Sunshine breaks through Brexit Clouds”. The article says that “the World Cup is happening at an extraordinary time. The Empire is trying to define what it means to be English. At the same time, it’s the outsiders who are shouldering the nation, cleaning it –… Continue reading Brexit v ICC World Cup: Which Britain Will Prevail?

Charles Dickens on Reading

Charles Dickens died on this day, June 9, in 1870. We all know him as a writer. Today, I would like to share his thoughts on reading and books. Below is a quote from a speech that Charles Dickens gave at a soiree at the Manchester Athenaeum in 1843, where others who spoke on the… Continue reading Charles Dickens on Reading

Time for Europe to Seize the Day

For an election that concerns 28 nations, the EU elections usually attract little attention. Until this year, when it was heartening to see a larger voter turnout. And, as is usually the case in the event of a large voter turnout, this time too it is a mandate for change. The most recent Eurobarometer polls… Continue reading Time for Europe to Seize the Day