India Insight

(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily of Reuters)

Should any well meaning law proposed in a democratic parliament be shelved because it risks being misused in some form?

Unless we go into specifics, it is hard to generalize the question, but the eighteenth-century English scholar William Blackstone made a strong argument: “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.”

As lawmakers in India’s parliament were debating the contents of an anti-rape bill on Tuesday, Biju Janata Dal MP Tathagata Satpathy moved an amendment to make stalking a non-bailable offence.

Some parliamentarians objected, suggesting such a law could be misused and could make a criminal of the common man as “everyone has stalked women at some point”.

(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily of Reuters)

History has it that Stalin and Napoleon were born a hundred years apart but in India, you will find the two working together – at least on paper.

Stalin and Napoleon (no relation to the Soviet dictator or the French emperor) are leaders in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a political party in Tamil Nadu that hogged headlines on Tuesday for withdrawing support to the ruling Congress-led coalition.

Beautiful clothes aside, designer Aneeth Arora’s show was remarkable for its models — they seemed to be having fun on the runway. It almost seemed like Arora’s creations let them be their usual selves.

Fashionable comfort is perhaps what makes Arora’s designs stand out. Hers are the kind of clothes that don’t require you to tuck your tummy in, or sit in a certain posture and not slouch or worry about clothes getting dirty — all this while being fashionable. Alas! The kind of clothes you don’t find easily on the runway.

The phrase ‘richness of Indian culture and tradition’ is used so often that it almost loses its meaning. Unless there is a close encounter with it. Mine was a sartorial one.

Indian textiles, fabrics, weaves and embroideries have been used in clothing in India and outside for hundreds of years, and exported to numerous counties but have still not lost their charm. Designers have reinvented them over and over again to suit contemporary clothing.

There are few Indian designers who do not use at least one traditional element in their garments. On the third day of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, designers took up some traditional weaves and embroideries and interpreted it for the ramp. Manish Malhotra did a spectacular job of it.

Rahul Narayan, who describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, is the founder of Team Indus. It is the only Indian team in a race to the moon by privately funded groups competing for the largest international incentive prize of all time – the Google Lunar X Prize.

Google is offering $30 million in prizes to the first privately funded teams to safely land a robot on the Moon, including a grand prize and other bonus prizes.

In a conversation with Reuters, Narayan talks about Team Indus’ prospects, timing, his struggle to be taken seriously by investors and why he would not be too disappointed if someone else wins.

While millions washed away a lifetime of sins in the Ganges, some people brought back interesting things from the largest religious congregation on earth – the Maha Kumbh Mela. Designer Tarun Tahiliani brought back ideas for his latest collection.

More than 2,000 years old, the festival is a meeting point for Hindu sadhus, some of whom live in the forest or in Himalayan caves. The sadhus at the Kumbh can be quite a spectacle – some are ash-smeared, some naked, sporting dreadlocks and beads, while some wrap themselves in saffron clothing.

On the second day of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, Tahiliani showcased his “Coombhack Collection”, an interpretation of sadhu wear. Tahiliani gave the traditional drapes a modern and structured outlook in contemporary clothing.

(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily of Thomson Reuters)

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s drive to shore up government coffers is not just giving businessmen sleepless nights.

Just when reporters were taking a breather after filing stories based on inflation data on Thursday, the finance ministry sent them text messages about a press briefing. The recipients were supposed to rush to Chidambaram’s office in 15 minutes to cover what appeared to be a major policy announcement. After all, the finance minister doesn’t call on such short notice for chitchat.

(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily of Reuters)

Europe’s reluctance to send information technology and other business processing work to India might be changing, based on recent financial results from companies that specialize in handling “IT and business process outsourcing” work. It looks like this is a trend that will last more than a quarter.

Many European companies have shied away from sending work overseas, unlike American firms that jumped in feet first, seeking to cut IT costs by as much as 70 percent despite the barrier between two kinds of English. Add to that countries such as Germany and France, where the divide is between two languages altogether, and outsourcing faces a larger challenge.

Just when you think that there is nothing more that you can do with a sari, someone will prove you wrong. On the first day of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in New Delhi, we saw saris with lipstick prints and telephone booth imprints, a sari wrapped around a bikini top and hot pants, and Peter Pan collars on sari blouses.

“It’s sexy, it’s a sari, it’s comfortable, but it is hot.” said designer Anupama Dayal, who brought her collection “Ishq-e-Dilli” (“Delhi Passion”) to the show.

The sari, said to be 5,000 years old and wearable in more than 80 ways, has found favour with Indian designers for a long time, and now young designers are taking a fancy to it.

(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily of Reuters)

New Delhi’s Connaught Place is home to the fourth-most expensive office space in the world, ahead of such usual suspects as New York and Tokyo. If you’re one of the people who has to walk through it every day, the one question you’d ask yourself is: why?

The occupancy cost in Connaught Place is $162 per square foot, compared to $156 per square foot for Tokyo’s central business district in fifth place, according to an annual survey released by global real estate service firm Cushman & Wakefield. In New York city’s Midtown, the equivalent cost is $128.85. (London is most expensive, $262 per square foot, which includes taxes and charges for cleaning and other services)