Words: Paribha VASHIST India is home to a variety of crops, thanks to its vast diversity in agro-climatic conditions. With myriad opportunities to gain profit from selling agricultural produce, farmers are aiming to increase the annual crop production by growing all kinds of seasonal crops and indulging in food processing activities. This means they have a
Words: Paribha VASHIST First, some food for thought: is there a commodity that unquestionably symbolises the true amalgamation of Indian history, diversity, and popular culture, in all-in-one form? Pat yourself on the back, if your guess is the Indian masala chai [or, simply chai] — a piping hot concoction of aromatic spices and saccharine milk in one cup.
Words: Paribha VASHIST In our foundational biology lessons, in school, we are introduced to plant physiology. On an average, therefore, all of us are aware of the fact that green plants photosynthesise to sustain themselves and carry out specific biological processes to maintain their metabolic balance. But, does this way of looking at plant life
Words: Paribha VASHIST It’s just a couple of years ago that I decided to give up on all single-use plastics in the midst of the on-going buzz against plastic. I did not, however, reckon how difficult it would be to stick to that promise. The next day, I skipped my breakfast because I was late for an
Words: Paribha VASHIST The most pressing issue today is rural-urban dichotomy, more so with regard to nutritional intake. It is a fact too that urbanisation and globalisation have ruffled the dynamics. Now, the problem of malnutrition pervades all settings — what’s more, market-driven forces seem to only exacerbate the whole issue, from the ground up.
Words: Paribha VASHIST Playing hopscotch, a decade ago, was the norm — and, maintaining a ‘stones’ repository and collecting chalks and bricks to draw symmetrical boxes on rugged surfaces were prerequisites. Every day, at a set time, in the evening, we would ecstatically jump from one box to another — cautiously avoiding the drawn boundaries.
Words: Paribha VASHIST The moment adolescents break out of the cocoon of their protected lives, and enter the complex world of young adults, they are exposed to every harsh reality of life. Just as social circles matter more than ever before, there is also, in concert, this natural build-up — of innate pressure to stand
Words: Paribha VASHIST Many infectious, or contagious, diseases have emanated for long, but their scale and spread have been relatively localised. It was possible to effectively handle such epidemics because of the availability of medicines and vaccines. However, the newest tempest, coronavirus [COVID-19], presents a novel challenge altogether. It was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation [WHO];
Words: Paribha VASHIST Whether in school, college, or 9 to 5 job, we’re all bombarded with last-minute tests, assignments, and deadlines. So, it is a ‘common shock’ that we take a few seconds to fathom, and, in the next moment, insurmountable pressure builds up. Scary thoughts, such as “What if I fail?” or “How will
Words: Paribha VASHIST Most of us think that being intelligent guarantees success in life. There is, ironically, a hazy ambiguity in the idea, yes, because it isn’t easy to define ‘intelligence’ and ‘success.’ When we talk of intelligence, it is generally keyed to intelligence quotient [IQ] — the ‘measured’ credo of our reasoning ability. However,
