Mrinal Pande

2 months ago | tribuneindia.com | Mrinal Pande

So now the Lancet guys tell us that body mass index (BMI), a standard formula for measuring obesity, is not quite right. The updated version includes analysing the body composition of a person and deciding how much of weight is good (muscle-related) and how much (fat-related) is excludable. Gauging obesity or malnourishment through calculation of the BMI should, at best, be the first step, to be followed by a deeper analysis of the proportion of muscle mass and fat within the person’s body.

Jan 11, 2025 | tribuneindia.com | Mrinal Pande

He was the star of my favourite film ‘Madhumati’. It was the first-ever film shot in the Kumaon hills near our town of Nainital when I was in school. For weeks, all of us strained our ears above the nasal droning of lessons to hear the song, ‘Aaja Re’. It was shot multiple times at the ‘location’ (a new word for us Paharis then) and reverberated for long among the mountains that cupped Nainital like a thousand temple bells.

Jan 7, 2025 | indianexpress.com | Mrinal Pande

A young and enthusiastic journalist reports on corrupt practices in a small town or village, and soon it transpires that he/she has been attacked or slapped with a legal notice. These are freelancers with little to no financial support from the papers or channels they contribute to. They make easy victims for corrupt contractors, babus and crooked policemen.

Dec 25, 2024 | indianexpress.com | Mrinal Pande

“As someone who has been attending Jashn-e-Rekhta since its first edition…this year it felt noticeably different…the core audience…was glaringly absent….the audience that once came for the language, thoughtful programming and deeper cultural experiences…the intimacy and literary engagement that defined earlier editions risk being lost with this shift…” (Excerpted from a long thread on X posted by Purani Dilli Walo Ki Baatein, a Delhi-based online community) This pained reaction, from someone...

Dec 11, 2024 | indianexpress.com | Mrinal Pande

It’s a crazy but extremely popular idea — to have a brass band lead a crowd of noisy, colourful and, at times, inebriated men and women accompanying the bridegroom to the bride’s house. After all the rituals the priests and the family elders have put everyone through, the inane jokes and the paunchy uncles dancing like teenagers feel rather cathartic.