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Manu Joseph: Why examining mental health can be pointless beyond a point

New Delhi, Oct. 26 -- A few days ago, Baek Sehee died. She was 35. Her memoir about her suspicion that she was mentally ill, I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, sold more than a million copies... Read More


Nobel prize-winning writers are often very hard to read-but that may be the point

New Delhi, Oct. 19 -- I was reading Laszló Krasznahorkai and I thought early humans must have invented entertainment to escape from that feeling. It felt like living in a moment where a voice mak... Read More


What Israel's war in Gaza reveals about the nature of cruelty and the myths around it

New Delhi, Oct. 12 -- Once again, the Levant is on the verge of peace. I know what to say about how long this peace would last, but I wish to be more hopeful than prescient, even though I am a columni... Read More


Manu Joseph: Jane Goodall may have helped us see ourselves in animals but have we taken it too far?

New Delhi, Oct. 5 -- Not very long ago, humans saw themselves as special animals because they could use tools. But in 1960, British scientist Jane Goodall observed that chimpanzees could use blades of... Read More


A rash of red flags over legal risks can stifle the creativity of entertainers in India

New Delhi, Sept. 28 -- In my screenplay for a TV series, I want my character to hold a conspiracy theory that Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi are the same person. This is a riff on the findings of my lif... Read More


Manu Joseph: The psychology of revenge and why most of us don't act on it

New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- In June last year, a man named Renukaswamy, who worked in a medical shop, was found dead miles away from home in a drain in Bangalore. It later emerged that he was a fan of Kann... Read More


Manu Joseph: The big myth about revolutions is that they're all organic

New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- We are told that an 'organic' uprising against corruption broke out in Kathmandu a few weeks ago. The youth, angry with the government, supposedly rushed out of their homes in u... Read More


Manu Joseph: Why the Ironman is a new symbol of health that's unhealthy

New Delhi, Sept. 7 -- Where has the bicep curl gone? There was a time when every gym had the image of a man lifting a dumbbell and curling the bicep-a muscle that signified strength and health. You do... Read More


Manu Joseph: Evaluate people by their worst qualities, not their best

New Delhi, Aug. 31 -- People evaluate actors, singers, writers, directors and sports stars through their best works, even when such works are very few. Some artists are celebrated for a single work; t... Read More


Manu Joseph: Why all marriages are actually arranged marriages

New Delhi, Aug. 24 -- Materialists, a delightful film, especially for people who are not wounded, wants to say that beautiful women want to marry wealthy and tall men, and wealthy men want to marry be... Read More