Brain Dump #2
I think these are worth occupying precious real-estate in your brain
Helloooo,
I'm back! Just a heads-up before we begin: this series will arrive in your inbox without any prior notice. But unlike other things that catch you off guard, you can choose to skip it—but I highly recommend you don’t. It’s a fun and quick read!
So here is everything I read recently, Happy Reading!
The more I learn about B.V. Doshi, the more I feel a mix of emotions. I’m happy to discover someone new, but I’m also shocked that I didn't know about him before. How did I not know about B.V. Doshi? I know a lot about his teacher, Le Corbusier, but knowledge about the architect behind IIM Banglore, NIFT Delhi and FLAME University is only now coming to my attention.
B.V. Doshi was an architect from Pune who studied at Fergusson College and the JJ School of Arts in Mumbai. His work combined beauty and function, influenced by modernism, Mahatma Gandhi, and Indian spiritual texts. He believed that architecture was part of life—a way to celebrate and enhance our experiences. He focused on nature’s elements, like wind and water, light and shadow, and the connection between earth and sky. In a time of rapid urban growth and change, he turned to traditional architecture for solutions that consider community, climate, materials, and human scale.
A short summary can't capture all his achievements and influences, but I highly recommend exploring his work!
It sounds strange, right? Like reading tea leaves, but instead of deciphering patterns in your cup, it’s the fate of your shopping cart that’s being judged. TikTok and social media have introduced me to all sorts of quirky theories, like the burnt toast theory or the orange peel theory. But the shopping cart theory is something entirely new to me.
This theory takes the ordinary shopping cart and turns it into a tool for a deep, philosophical question: Am I a good person, or a bad person? Or perhaps is the person standing ahead of me in the supermarket a good person or not?
If you return your shopping cart, you’re considered a responsible and considerate member of society. But if you leave it stranded in the parking lot, you might as well be seen as uncaring or even a bit wild.
Returning a shopping cart is one of those small, voluntary tasks—no one forces you, and you won’t get fined if you skip it. Yet, doing so helps the community by keeping parking spaces clear, ensuring carts are available for others, and maybe even lightening the load for a grocery store worker.
According to the shopping cart theory, this simple act is the “ultimate litmus test” of whether someone is capable of self-governing. It’s an irresistibly straightforward idea, but it’s not without its critics. Is it really that simple to judge someone’s character based on where they leave their cart? Aren’t there other factors that might be overlooked in this tidy little theory?
Here’s more on understanding social norms and why we behave the way we do.
The 1936 Olympics are infamous for many reasons, chief among them being that they were hosted by Nazi Germany. But another remarkable moment was the Indian hockey team’s silent but powerful political statement: they were one of only two contingents that refused to salute Adolf Hitler. Recently, a post on Instagram sent shivers down my spine. It featured a picture of the 1936 Indian Olympic hockey team, but with an unexpected addition—the face of Madame Menaka, also known by her stage name Leila Roy or Lady Sokhey.
Madame Menaka was a trailblazing Kathak dancer and choreographer, though she originally trained in violin. In 1930, she captivated Paris, and her Menaka Ballet Company toured Europe from 1935 to 1938. She revolutionized Kathak by infusing it with elements of ballet—adding mime, intricate costumes, and mesmerizing music—while staying true to its classical roots. She was also one of the first Brahmin women to perform Kathak publicly, a bold move at a time when the dance was stigmatized due to its association with the nautch movement. Her courage paved the way for future generations of dancers.
But what was she doing at the 1936 Olympics? The Berlin Olympics were more than just a sports event; they were Hitler’s grand propaganda spectacle, designed to present a façade of a peaceful, welcoming Nazi Germany. As part of the event, an International Dance Competition was organized alongside the Olympics, featuring dancers from 14 countries. Among the stars were Germany’s Harald Kreutzberg and Mary Wigman, Yugoslavia’s Mia Corak-Slawenska, and Madame Menaka’s troupe from India—thanks to the efforts of German impresario Ernst Krauss, who tirelessly promoted their performances. On the grand stage of the 1936 Olympics, Menaka and her group dazzled the audience at the Dance Olympiad, winning three prizes for their stunning performance of Deva Vijay Nritya on the second day!
This is all for today, I hope you enjoyed this piece.
Until, next time!