LIFESTYLE & LEISURE


Aman Saxena 22 November 2024
Vietnam, in recent years, has become one of the most favourite destinations for Indian travellers, and rightly so because of how cheap it is. But when I ask travellers how much they spent in Vietnam for a week-long trip, they always tell me they spent close to Rs80,000- Rs90,000, with some even...

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There was a lot of media coverage on 30 November 2023, on the death of Charles Munger, the alter ego and foil of Warren Buffett for over 60 years, as they together built Berkshire Hathaway into an empire. Though many of us always heard about Mr Buffett, the name of Mr Munger hardly featured...

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In standard books on the theory of selling, there would be three seemingly innocuous directions, lost in the vast verbiage of a standard text, under the chapter on closing the sale. These are a) never be insulted by a refusal; b) never write off a customer; and c) never give up. It seems so...

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TruthInAdvertising.org 09 January 2024
A cruise that offered passengers “the adventure of a lifetime” – a three-year voyage around the world with stops at the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal, among other bucket list destinations – was abruptly cancelled weeks before it was scheduled to set sail. Now, consumers...

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IANS 08 December 2023
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who has been getting a lot of positive response to her Eras Tour, has been named ‘Time’ Person of the Year by the magazine.   With this, Taylor Swift has become first solo artiste and the first woman to appear twice on its annual honourary cover since...

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It is a turbulent world. A world of change and chaos. I see that old solutions, which I had successfully applied to problems 40 years ago, are no longer suitable for the same problems. This is compounded by the fact that even the basic nature of many problems has changed. Hark back to the old...

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Since I have been involved with the Consumer Education and Research Society for many years, I was recently doing a check on the packaging of consumer products that are displayed in many of our stores and malls in India. The aim was to check whether false claims are being made on the pack...

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IANS 25 September 2023
Meta is reportedly working on generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot called ‘Gen AI Personas’ for younger users and is expected to unveil it this week.   The social networking company is geared up to host its annual ‘Meta Connect’ event that will start on...

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Friedrich Schiller, author of The Maid of Orleans, had once said—‘Against stupidity, the very gods fight in vain’.   Nowhere is this seen more than in the area of crude intrusions. Some things change and some things don’t. Crude intrusions are one of them, where there is little...

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For me, Singapore has always been a place in the world, where integrity and honesty are held high in the list of requirements for individuals, corporates and governments. Lee Kuan Yew left his philosophy and thinking as a gift to future generations on how to manage a community and a country -...

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A phone conversation.   “Hello, Mummy.”   “Hello, beta. Sab theek to hai, na?”   “Ji, Mummy, sab bilkul theek. Aap kaisi hai?”   “Main theek hoon, beta.”   A pause...   “Beta, ab tum shaadi kar lo.”   “Bye, Mummy.”   Such...

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The Mumbai Mirror of 16 July 2023, carried a feature on the new metro trains in Mumbai. There is wide appreciation for this development, especially from people who live in the distant suburbs. But nearly all of them have the complaint that after they arrive at their final destination, they do...

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More about the Indian standard time (IST) schedules that we kept… The psychology department at the university wanted people for conducting experiments on sleep. Great job – go in at 8am, sleep for six-seven hours, and leave—US$50 per day (an enormous sum those days when the minimum wage was...

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Raja Muzaffar Bhat (The Leaflet) 08 June 2023
Tourism is a small but important part of Kashmir’s economy. However, in the name of tourism, the government should not put the fragile and already-strained natural resources and public infrastructure in the region under even more pressure, lest it lead to a complete destruction of the...

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Moneylife Digital Team 04 May 2023
With the summer vacation season fast approaching, Airbnb has adopted a number of changes under the banner of "Airbnb Rooms," including steps to improve rate transparency, says a report from ConsumerAffairs.com.   As per the report, anyone who has ever shopped for a rental has seen...

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I stepped off the jumbo jet at the JFK airport, clutching my precious bag of passports, papers and my (proverbial) eight dollars, and….   One glass in my spectacles cracked, vertically from top to bottom.   Was it thermal shock? Not really. Probably culture shock!   My...

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Jan Banerjee  and   Amitabha Banerjee 22 April 2023
Housework   There is hardly any to be done, actually.   We move into a super clean apartment, and we don’t have to sweep/ mop/ vacuum the place—the landlord does that after we leave. The few cups and plates we use are easy to clean. Most places have a dish-washer,...

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Jan Banerjee  and   Amitabha Banerjee 08 April 2023
(Greetings from the authors: We are almost at the end of our three-week driving tour of the south island of New Zealand, probably the most beautiful country that we have visited. We decided to share with you some of the awesome sights we have been seeing on this trip, though the pictures do...

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Jan Banerjee  and   Amitabha Banerjee 25 March 2023
Greetings from the authors - Put together winding roads on high cliffs, blue sea below, bright sunshine, and cool hill station weather, and what do you get? Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand.   Why We Drive (continued)

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India's short documentary 'The Elephant Whisperers' has brought home an Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category at the 95th Oscar Awards.   The award was presented by Pedro Pascal. 'The Elephant Whisperers' was...

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