The ages under 15

This year has highlighted the particularities of that thing called reading. Some found books impossible to pick up; sustained attention to text on a page is hard when the world is in so much pain. Others turned to literature anew, rediscovering the ways it can refresh and inspire. Below are the titles we were most drawn to in 2020: a wide-ranging list that includes new spins on epic poems, stories about the interior lives of women, memoirs that eloquently challenged industries, and, yes, essays that made us laugh. The Meaning of Mariah Carey , by Mariah Carey, with Michaela Angela Davis Marcel Proust had his madeleine, Charles Foster Kane had his sled, and Mariah Carey has her Ritz Cracker. “I’d hold the buttery, salty, crunchy goodness up to my nose, close my eyes, and breathe in one long, luxurious sniff,” she writes early in her memoir, sharing a childhood memory of her father’s strict rationing of snacks. “With precision, I would take one teeny-weeny bite along the … [Read more...] about The 15 Best Books of 2020

Period. Time of the month. Menses. Whatever you call it, it’s a fact of life and, for many of us, unavoidable. Why does it carry such shame and embarrassment? Why are we encouraged to conceal it? Even now, despite being adults and amid so much talk of female empowerment, discussing periods is still embarrassing for a lot of people . Brands have even come up with whole campaigns to make tampons look like sweets, rather than the blood-soaking mechanism they actually are, in order to spare us and the unassuming male across the train aisle the humiliation when it falls out of our bag. Is this shame linked to the time and way in which we learn about periods ? If so, the time has come to change things. I was eight years old when I got my menarche (first period). I’d grown a lot that summer and started wearing glasses so, with two decades worth of retrospect, it now seems obvious this may have been coming – but no one told me what to expect. Instead, I was shocked by … [Read more...] about We should be talking to our girls about periods earlier

The Election Commission of India on Friday announced the dates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The election will be held in three phases — Oct. 28, Nov 3 and 7 — while the counting of votes will be on November 10. The term of the 243-member Bihar legislative assembly ends on November 29. For the first time, the Commission is extending postal ballot facility to people aged over 85 years, as well as to COVID-19 suspects and patients. Here are the live updates: 1.14 pm Phase 3 Issue of Notifications October 13 Last Date of making nominations October 20 Scrutiny of nominations October 21 Last date for withdrawal of candidatures October 23 Date of Poll November 7 Counting of Votes November 10 1.13 pm Phase 2 Issue of Notifications October 9 Last Date of making nominations October 16 Scrutiny of nominations October 17 Last date for withdrawal of candidatures October 19 Date of Poll November 3 … [Read more...] about Bihar elections in three-phases from October 28; counting on Nov.10