Capturing the Politics and Poetics of Everyday Life....

“Boys don’t cry.” A sentence we casually repeat in childhood. But when emotional vulnerability is suppressed and aggression is celebrated as courage, the consequences do not stop in classrooms or playgrounds - they travel into politics, power, and even wars. Boys Don’t Cry? Rethinking Gender, Emotions, and the World We Are Making Across India - and even in a socially progressive state like Kerala - childhood remains deeply gendered. Regardless of the class or caste into which they are born, most children grow up learning subtle lessons about what it means to be a “boy” or a “girl.” These lessons do not come from a single source. They are stitched together through family expectations, school environments, playground conversations, television shows, and social media narratives. From the moment children begin to interact with the world, they are gently - but persistently - trained to perform certain versions of gender. These performances become so normalized that they often pass unnotice...

Politics as Prime-time Entertainment When elections arrive, politics begins to look like cinema—full of intrigue, revenge, and scandal. But behind the memes and viral clips lies a troubling reality: the transformation of private lives into political spectacle and the erasure of the real issues that matter. The New Spectacle in Keralam’s Political Theatre Keralam’s political campaigns seem to have acquired a new and troubling ingredient: the public circulation of sleek, scandalous stories about male politicians and their alleged toxic relationships with women. These narratives, surfacing across party lines, are presented with voyeuristic enthusiasm by sections of the media and consumed with equal fascination by audiences. While political scandals and investigative exposés are hardly new, what appears striking today is the normalization of this spectacle—and the political economy of digital platforms that enables its instant, relentless circulation. The Algorithm of Outrage In an age mar...

The real danger to institutions is not mistakes. It is the stubborn refusal to correct them. A short reflection on why self-reflexivity is the most important ethical responsibility of institutions. The Courage to Correct Ourselves: Why Institutions Need Self-Reflexivity One of the most compelling ideas discussed in critical theory and philosophy is self-reflexivity. At its simplest, self-reflexivity refers to the ability to pause, examine our own beliefs, and ask uncomfortable questions about them. It is a form of critical consciousness—the willingness to challenge our own assumptions, revise our perspectives, and acknowledge when we might be wrong. In a deeply political sense, self-reflexivity is not merely an intellectual exercise. It is an ethical responsibility. It asks individuals to rethink their positions not for convenience or personal gain, but as an act of self-correction. After all, human beings rarely cause the greatest harm by making mistakes. Mistakes are inevitable. Th...

  What happens when spaces of learning become war zones of ego, camps, and character assassination? A reflection on the silent crisis within academic institutions—and why professionalism and ethical responsibility matter now more than ever. When Academia Turns Personal: The Quiet Crisis in Our Educational Institutions When Dislike Becomes Policy What happens when personal likes and dislikes begin to dictate professional relationships? What happens when academic spaces meant to nurture debate, curiosity, and intellectual disagreement slowly turn into arenas of quiet hostility? In educational institutions, the damage runs deeper than we often acknowledge. Spaces that could have been vibrant sites of deliberation gradually morph into invisible war zones. Colleagues stop meeting each other’s eyes. Conversations become guarded. Decisions are shaped not by ideas or merit, but by alliances and aversions. In the most unfortunate cases, people go to extraordinary lengths to sideline those t...