Shruti Sonal
@shrutisonal26
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Poet and features writer for Sunday TOI. Usually seen petting cats, writing fiction, crying over SRK films, and rooting for Nadal & LFC.
India
Joined March 2015
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It's a strange feeling to hold the first physical copy of your book in your hands. To marvel at the calligraphy on its cover, and to re-read the most vulnerable parts of you that can now find a place in someone else's life.
Hope it finds a place on your shelves 🥺🌻
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I still can't believe Karan Johar made us believe that this was a house in Delhi AND walking distance from Chandni Chowk 😭
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I haven't gotten any sleep and been up all night, yet I cannot get over these pictures. They're the most heartbreaking yet beautiful images of male friendship, intimacy, vulnerability, and bonding that I've seen in sports. What has made
#Fedal
so special? 🧵
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Imagine a film with SRK and Tabu deeply flawed characters who have had their heart broken and meet by chance in a coastal town and fall in love, only to depart on their journeys again, but forever changed by the encounter...
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It's amazing how
#ShahRukhKhan
's very existence, and every small (meaningful) gesture continues to rattle so many bigots in this country.
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The number of Indian celebs at Cannes red carpet grows every year, yet no one has come close to the aura SRK and Aish created together over two decades ago
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Last night's screening of Joyland in Delhi was magical. People waiting in lines for a Pakistani film that so lyrically talks about patriarchy and the loneliness it breeds. People sitting on floors in awe, clapping and crying in unison. Through grief and borders, art finds a way.
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In May, it will be 2 years since I lost my mother. It feels like it happened yday, but also years ago. For months, I asked the same question as Fleabag: what do I do? What do I do with all the love I have for her? That's when I found SRK's interviews on the loss of his parents.
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Few things seemingly excite Niti Aayog as much as EVs and clean energy. It publishes a slew of reports, peppered with bullish numbers. But things get interesting when you realize over 70% of these reports have been co-authored by one particular US think tank: RMI. A thread 🧵
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Saw it on the big screen for the first time when it re-released earlier this year. I'll never forget the image of an old Sikh uncle, who had come alone, sitting and weeping till the very end of the credits. They truly don't make movies like this anymore.
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I don't think we as a society have still comprehended the amount of grief and heartbreak the months of April and May bring to millions of families in this world. These months will never be the same again after what we went through in the summer of 2020 and 2021.
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Happiest birthday
@iamsrk
❤
No matter which phase of life I am in, I will always sit down on November 2 and write you a letter.
#HappyBirthdaySRK
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19 years of Swades. A movie whose posters were as much a work of art as the film itself.
#Swades
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Japanese posters of Indian films are really something else. I'm obsessed. 😍
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The absence of certain artists leave gaping holes that feel personal, and can never be fulfilled. Irrfan Khan will forever be one.
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I can't help but laugh when someone criticises a protest for being 'politicised'. Every protest is political. Streets are political. Homes are political. Existence is political. The 'political' does not end with one's act of voting.
#WrestlersProtest
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"With Roger, a part of my life is leaving", he later went on to say. I hope men seeing these images tell themselves that it's okay to be this way. And I hope we never forget that we were born in the era which was fortunate enough to witness this beautiful story.
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In an era where the depiction of Pakistan has been reduced to kohl-eyed, angry-looking mumbling idiots, the vision of Yash Chopra- himself born in Lahore - is deeply missed. To see a theatre full of people crying and clapping in Veer Zaara even today offers some hope, though.
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The craze around
#Pathaan
has made a lot of people go back and watch some of SRK's more obscure movies. I unfortunately don't see Paheli featuring in them. It's a brilliant film made with sensitivity, and deals with issues like a woman's desires, seeking consent, and more. Dekho.
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"I think it's nice that we share the same sky"
- Aftersun
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So many years, so many movies... But seeing SRK on screen will always give me goosebumps <3
#Brahmashtra
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Binge watched The Romantics and loved every bit of it. But can we all collectively send air hugs to Adi Chopra for convincing SRK to be a romantic hero? This bit just had my heart ❤
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Was rewatching Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna today. And just noticed
@iamsrk
is legit credited for "thrills" 🤣🤣🤣
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I hope
@_PVRCinemas
also screens a few SRK movies after seeing the incredible response for Bacchan films. I'd happily pay to watch Kal Ho Na Ho, Veer Zaara, K3G on the big screen 🥺
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📣In 2018, Ola set up an in-house think-tank, fully funded by the company. One it claimed would be fully independent. The Ola Mobility Institute was the brainchild of Anand Shah, Ola Electric's co-founder, a seasoned lobbyist and the chief organizer of Modi's events in US. (1/n)
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"Ab bhi maachis rakhti ho? Pehley toh merey liye rakhti thi. Ab?
.
-Ab apney liye rakhti hoon.
.
"Matlab cigarette peena shuru kar diya kya?".
.
-Nahi. Aapki bhoolney ki aadat nahi gayi. meri rakhney ki aadat nahi gayi."
- Ijaazat 🌻
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I don't think any other figure in the public space has spoken so vulnerably on what it really means. The inability to save them, the regrets about having things left unsaid, the craving to hear their voice one last time.
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SRK's Pathaan takes painkillers. Sings songs. Does not keep a woman waiting. Even in a hardcore action movie, he keeps the soul intact. And reminds us: mard ko dard hota hai. Bohot hota hai.
#PathaanReview
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Roger told Rafa ten days before he told the rest of the world about the retirement. And he said it'd be special if they play alongside. Rafa, on the other hand, having just exited a Grand Slam, and dealing with injuries, made it to the tournament just to be with him.
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At a time when testosterone-filled actioners are dominating the Indian box office, it's heartening to see a fiercely independent film documenting the gentleness of female solidarity bag the Grand Prix. Monumental victory ♥️
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Or the fact that, even years later, it creates a fear of close attachments. A part of us, which remains cracked, anxious, and lonely. On many nights, I've woken up sweating, afraid that if I love someone too much, they'll be snatched away from me. I've cherished solitude.
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Finally managed to get tickets for DDLJ screening on the legend's birthday itself... And I cannot keep calm. Another year, another year of believing in magic courtesy SRK ❤
#ShahRukhKhan
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Watching movies in theatres was a huge taboo in my family as I grew up. In fact, I watched my first film in a dark hall when I was 17 years old. My mother saw her first film there at 48.
Once we did, we couldn't stop.
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But I've kept going back to his interviews. As a reminder that love and loss (and art) can co-exist. They must co-exist. And the lives we lead must be the flowers we put on the graves of people we love. Especially those who gave birth to us.
#ShahRukhKhan
𓀠
#WritingCommunity
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Wow. The top advertiser on Meta India in the last year was... Sadhguru.
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This looks like a scene straight out of a cutesy rom-com and you can't convince me otherwise 💕
#Fedal
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This poem does something strange to my heart every time I read it.
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Petition to
@yrf
to re-release Veer Zaara in the theatres because I really need to sit down with complete strangers and cry for three hours and marvel at the cinematic genius of Yash Chopra.
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Every time a current gen tennis player fails in a match against Nadal/Djokovic, my respect for what Nadal did against peak Federer just increases. No one has displayed even an iota of the mental toughness that he had... As a 16-year old.
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A lot of great sportswriters have written about miracles. This is a post about heartbreaks. And the one and only, Rafael Nadal.
#RafaelNadal
𓃵
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It wasn't a fairytale ending. They had a match point, but lost the match. And then the tears flowed. Roger was inconsolable. But so was Rafa, sobbing uncontrollably. At one point, they held hands. At another, Roger's wife had to go console Rafa because he wouldn't stop bawling.
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We are often told about how cinema 'fools' us. Distorts us. Alienates us.
But it also gives so much. For each face in that sea of a crowd, this moment is one that they'll never forget. This is their celebration, their festival. This is joy, and love, and hope. All in one. ♥️
Eid Mubarak everyone… and thank you for making my day so special. May Allah bless us all with love, happiness and prosperity.
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It's sad how for so many women, the festival time just means longer hours of labour in the kitchen.
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If the story of India's new entrance exam- the CUET- could be summed up in one word, it would be...chaos. Exams have been postponed, centres shifted. Students are frustrated, while schools face an existential crisis.
But there's one group of people very happy: the edtechs. 🧵
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A letter to
@iamsrk
on his birthday, who reminds me that when things get hard, we must hold on to love and hope even harder 🌼
#HappyBirthdayShahRukhKhan
#HappyBirthdaySRK
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The swift rise of RMI might be due to a deliberate push by Niti. But what does the dominance of one think tank imply? And what will it imply for India's clean energy & electric mobility policy going forward? I write in today's story:
It's free to read.
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- Sania Mirza is an Indian in victory and a Pakistani in loss
- Vandana Katariya is an Indian in victory and a Dalit in loss
- Manipuri boxers are an Indian in victory and receive racist backlashes in loss
#Olympics
#womenshockey
#VandanaKatariya
#womenathletes
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The podium feels like the comment section of Coke Studio today. A moment for the ages!
#Olympics
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The hugs after losses. The tears together. The tweets. And the one last dance, hand in hand.
#ThankYouRoger
and thank you, Rafa, for being by his side on the toughest night of his life.
You made history together.
#RogerFederer
#RafaelNadal
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Remember the last hot take you read on LinkedIn by a founder or a CXO?
Chances are that it was written not by them, but by a growing army of ghostwriters in India.
A 🧵
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"In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you."
Loved this scene from
#EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce
so much that I wrote a poem on it. So happy for its
#Oscars
run :")
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Every question that has been thrown at
@iamsrk
has been answered by him in this film. And how. No subtlety, no hiding. From father avenging his son, to farmer suicides and a crumbling healthcare system. It has it all. Proud as a fan.
#JawanReview
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An English professor told me today that she loved an essay I wrote so much that she included it as reading in an exam. This is honestly beyond the imagination of the Shy Shruti, who hesitated to raise her hands, even in English classes. The world works in mysterious ways.
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Vinesh Phogat will finish last in the women's 50kg category at the Olympics after failing to make weight by less than a 100 grams.
Cuba’s Yuznelys Guzman will wrestle in the Olympic final. Oksana Livach and Yui Susaki will wrestle for the Olympic bronze. Every one of them was
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RMI India set up shop in the country in 2019. And in a dizzyingly short span of time, the non-profit has managed to get its foot through the doors of India’s policy circles, much to the surprise of even veterans working in the field, such as TERI.
Contd.
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Spotted a community library at Ranchi airport. More airports need this!
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#MsMarvel
definitely has some of the most organic depictions of South Asians that mainstream shows have ever seen. Right from partition to struggles of immigrants, and of course, the cultural importance of Shah Rukh Khan... Spot on. :')
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RMI is the rebranded name of the Rocky Mountain Institute. The organisation, which provides pro-bono work to governments, has an enviable list of donors, ranging from Jeff Bezos’ Earth Fund to the Rockefeller Foundation.
(
@prajektor
's graphic has the deets:)
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Fedal's story. A story which has taught me more about life, love, loss, and joy than any other. Being a Rafa fan, I've wept in a lot of matches. I've also marvelled at him dominating against a man many considered indomitable. But mostly, I've loved the love they have for other.
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I don't know how many more matches Rafa will play. But I know one thing: there will never be a greater joy than watching this man play on clay ♥️
#Nadal
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Five years later, however, things have begun to get interesting, with the lines between policy recommendations and prescriptions slowly blurring. It often provides the oft-quoted numbers used by Niti, and prepares research on govt schemes like the PLI.
A glimpse at its research:
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"I dare to dream. I am a writer. So, I will write. Despite the politics. In spite of the trolling. Personal is political. Always."
@chinkis
on Love, Longing and growing up with
#ShahRukhKhan
in the decade of Rath Yatra, Jungle Raj and more.
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#LaalSinghChaddha
made me cry, ponder, love, and empathise in a way no other Bollywood movie has done in a while. Some of the frames are breathtaking, as are the last 20 minutes.
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Woh kehtay hain mera des uska nahi
Phir kyon mere ghar woh rehti hai?
Woh kehtay hain main uss jaisa nahi
Phir kyon mujh jaisi woh lagti hai?
It was an absolute dream to finally see my most fav film on the big screen, and a reminder of art's capability to inspire hope & love.
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There could be NO better comeback film written for
@iamsrk
. He simply owns every scene- scenes only he could pull off.
Before the interval, the dialogue says: the king is dead.
And then, he comes back. The king is back!
#PathaanReview
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Also, Rafa's wife is about to give birth, was hospitalized a few days back, and he went to London for a day just to play Roger's farewell match with him...
Yeah, the tears won't stop for a few days.
#Fedal
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"Let July be July,
And let August be August" 🌻
- Morgan Harper Nichols
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You spend your entire early adulthood avoiding listening to Jagjit Singh. Then one day, you come back home, at odds with the world, and stumble upon one of his ghazals. You feel like nothing else could understand you better than that.
And then, there's no turning back.
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Shailendra really wrote a whole story in three lines...
"Tu mujse... main dil se pareshaan
Dono hai majboor
Aise main kisko kon manaaye?"
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Honestly, I don't think we talk enough about how mentally taxing "source building" can be for female journalists. Every once in a while, a person I talk to for a story, ends up sending texts like these. This, after he asked me my age and whether I am single. 😑
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There's quite simply going to be no other athlete I'll wake up till 4 am to watch playing ♥️
Thanks for all the memories in Madrid, and everywhere else :') (more tears later)
#Nadal
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Some personal news: I have joined
@TheKenWeb
as a cleantech reporter. Super excited to be reporting from the national capital on a beat which cuts across business, science, environment, and politics.
Pls write to me at shruti
@the
-ken.com for tips, ideas & more :)
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Just got to know Mahindra & Mahindra was originally founded in Oct 1945 as Mahindra & Muhammad.
Brothers Kailash Chandra Mahindra & Jagdish Chandra Mahindra built it along with Malik Ghulam Muhammad.
After partition, Muhammad emigrated to Pakistan, and became its 1st finmin.
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Jio Cinema has ruined this World Cup viewing experience and how. A random add update buffer in the middle of a knockout match?!
@JioCinema
ugh
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As Ola gets a show-cause notice from the government, sales dip, and vehicles are recalled, it knows narratives is going to be key. The story reveals the playbook, and asks the important question: can others keep up?
#olaelectric
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Rainy Delhi mornings always make me feel like I'm back in school. Struggling to get out of my bed. Begging my mother to let me miss the van. Then, having butter maggi in a steel katori, while watching the raindrops fall.
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A tech bro hit me up on LinkedIn and asked for my contact to discuss something. Only to then proceed to texting me "if I saw you on a dating app, I'd definitely swipe right."
Ugh. When will women journalists be given the same level of professionalism as their male counterparts?
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The story is a follow up to the RMI-Niti Aayog story I did last month ()
As EV race gathers pace, it's important to understand behind-the-scenes action around the playing field. I have a few gift credits, if you wish to read the story, please DM.
Few things seemingly excite Niti Aayog as much as EVs and clean energy. It publishes a slew of reports, peppered with bullish numbers. But things get interesting when you realize over 70% of these reports have been co-authored by one particular US think tank: RMI. A thread 🧵
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Just got out of the theatre having watched DDLJ. Packed hall. People of all ages laughing, hooting, crying, and rooting for SRK. For love. For hope. Even two decades later. I'll always remember this day. There's only one man who can do this ❤
#HappyBirthdaySRK
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A recent rewatch of Jab We Met made me realize Anshuman was villainized for no reason at all. He really was stumped by Geet coming over with no prior communication, and was clear from the start that he didn't want to marry. Poor guy 😭
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The fact that some theatres have re-released DDLJ, Jab We Met, and Tamasha this weekend on the occasion of Valentine's Day just shows how few good rom coms have come up in the last decade... Even though everyone wants them 😭
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The absence of people you lose really heightens during festivals. October used to be my most favourite time of the year. Now, it's the loneliest.
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I still struggle to write about my mother in the past tense.
This one is a poem about her silences, good morning texts, earrings, and more.
#poetry
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Alongside Shah (who left Ola Electric and moved back to the US), Ola has hired key figures to ramp up its lobbying. Take Prashant Kumar, for instance. The son of Niti Aayog's former vice chairman is the director of public policy and executive director of OMI today. (3/n)
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Random things made her so happy. Like a pair of conjoined chillies that grew in her pot. An accidental white rose in a bouquet of red ones. The sun showing its face in winters after days of gloom. A bangle seller walking past our galli.
Happy mother's day ❤ Miss you everyday.
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Today, as Ola fights critics both inside and outside, OMI has released a report on why data sharing is crucial to mobility. (No surprises, Ola was criticised for breaching data privacy a few days back.) The linkages don't seem to go away, casting doubts on independence. (5/n)
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Shah, who stayed low-key as opposed to Bhavish Agarwal, had headed South Asia division of US lobbying firm Albright Stonebrigde, worked at BMW and Audi, and donned many hats in India- receiving the Gujarat Garima Award in return. (2/n)
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Adulthood is about doing taxes, piled up laundry, and never ending bills. But it's also about getting excited about the silliest of things- buying floral bedsheets, finding a ripe guava, or finding a long lost friend online.
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And OMI itself has over the years been a chameleon, changing its stance on policy issues in alignment to Ola's commercial interests. A founding team member says it often shapes it output from the lens of Ola, and not the ecosystem. (4/n)
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Some personal news: after over a year at the Ken, in which I got to write stories about promises of climate tech, trials of edtech, and the fascinating world of policy lobbying in India, I'm moving on. It was a dream team to work with, and I'll always carry the learnings with me.
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Very rarely do I feel proud of the stories that I write. This is one of them. It took me three years to finish it, but it has now made it Kitaab's Best Asian Short Stories of 2023, and can be read online here:
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