Remembering the Old Man: Ernest Miller Hemingway

On Ernest Miller Hemingway's 121st anniversary, this book review celebrates his nobel-winning masterpiece, Old Man and the Sea

The Present and The Future of Darjeeling Tea

Darjeeling tea is known worldwide for its delicate taste and for being one of the most expensive teas. Despite this, when we look at the tea laborers we find how little their condition has changed over time. They still have to protest for days to increase a few rupees in their wages. Although there is still rising demand for Darjeeling tea in the foreign market, its tea industry still fails to provide the desired lifestyle to its laborers. Sandip C Jain who himself is a journalist and the editor of Himalayan Times has closely witnessed the Darjeeling tea industry over many years. This interview with him throws light on the present scenario as well as the expected fate of Darjeeling and its tea industry in the future

Cave of Spleen - a feminist perspective: Status of women in early 18th century England

"The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope published in 1712 is a mock-heroic narrative which satirically glorifies trivial incident of cutting of locks of protagonist Belinda. This poem was written in the Augustan Era (1660-1784) which is marked by the period of scientific reason and rationality, whose effect can be seen on the writers of those times. This timeline is particularly important to analyse the episode of the Cave of Spleen

Lysistrata: through a feminist’s lens

‘There is no truth, only perception of truth’, and that perception too changes with time. Lysistrata is one such text where this difference of perception prevails. Written by Aristophanes in 411 BCE, Lysistrata is one of the eleven Old Greek Comedy plays surviving out of forty-two. The play revolves around the Peleponnesian war, when women have to stay at home while their husbands are at war. Lysistrata, the character after which the play is named, emerges as the leader of the women folk at this tumultuous time. She calls for a sex-strike, where she asks citizen wives to avoid indulging in sexual intercourse with their husbands willingly, as a way to end the war. The question whether this play is feminist or not, remains a major apple of discord

Study of the frequency and distribution of IL 28B polymorphisms in hepatitis C virus infected patients and their association with virological markers and treatment response

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and distribution of IL 28B polymorphisms in hepatitis C virus infected patients and their impact on treatment response in genotype 1, 3 and 4 infections. We also evaluated the association of other host and viral factors with sustained virological response. METHODS: Fifty seven hepatitis C virus infected patients (genotype 1=12, 3=43 and 4=2) on treatment with interferon (standard/pegylated) and ribavirin were recruited. DNA was analyzed for the IL 28B polymorphisms using PCR- RFLP (CC, CT and TT for rs12979860 and TT, GT and GG for rs8099917). Bidirectional sequencing was performed on a subset of samples for verification of PCR-RFLP results. Information on age, weight, height, diabetic status, pretreatment viral load and alanine aminotransferase levels was obtained from clinical records. RESULTS: The frequency distribution of rs12979860 CC/CT/TT genotypes was found to be 60%, 33% and 7% respectively. For rs8099917 genotype, the TT/GT/GG distribution was 72%, 23% and 5% respectively. Of the 57 patients recruited, 34 completed follow up during the course of the study. Sustained viral response was seen in 56% of these cases (57% in genotype 1 and 54% in genotype 3). The CC genotype at rs12979860 loci was found to be associated with sustained viral response (P value=0.012) and rapid viral response (P value=0.017). No association was found between rs8099917 polymorphism and treatment response. Age, gender, body mass index, diabetic state, baseline viral loads, pre-treatment alanine aminotransferase levels and treatment modality were not found to be associated with sustained viral response. Rapid viral response was found to be predictive of sustained viral response (P value=0.005). CONCLUSION: The CC genotype at rs12979860 loci was found to be associated with sustained viral response and rapid viral response

Darjeeling- a journey through time –Colonialism and Establishment of Darjeeling

We all know about Darjeeling tea but little do we know about its history. The story of the establishment of Darjeeling has many twists and turns. There are only few works which are done on this topic and hence we have very limited sources to refer to. Set against the backdrop of the looming Himalayas and drenching monsoons, this interview will aim to delve into how Darjeeling was established as a hill station after the British acquired it from Sikkim’s Rajah and how it developed its tea industry under Imperial British rule. Dr. Sonam B Wangyal who has a passion for local History grew up in Darjeeling and witnessed many events first hand and has provided his valuable expertise on the region

Animal Farm of Indian Right Wing

This article was written on the 75th anniversary of the classic work of George Orwell, Animal Farm. It was written amidst the first wave of Covid-19. There are many differences between a communist regime and a democratic system and both can’t be compared directly. But what I saw in India had certain elements in common with Animal Farm i.e. totalitarianism and authoritarianism, which is possible in any system or country. When viewed from a rigid political view, the comparison of bygone Communist Russia and India’s current right-wing regime can appear strange. But it is revealing to see how both ideologies, based on absolute authority, behave quite similarl

The red hearing: swollen ear in a patient with ulcerative colitis

Relapsing polychondritis is a rare connective tissue disease of unknown etiology characterized by recurrent inflammation, degeneration and deformity of auricular cartilage. The autoimmune inflammation may also affect cartilage at other sites including nose, larynx, trachea and bronchi. Here, we present a case of relapsing polychondritis in a patient with ulcerative colitis. We also review the presentation, diagnosis and management of this condition

Green Synthesis and Characterization of Biocompatible Gold Nanoparticles Using Solanum indicum Fruits

This paper reports on the eco‐friendly synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using Solanum indicum fruit extract (SFE). We have evaluated various parameters for synthesis of AuNPs such as SFE (0.03%), HAuCl4 (0.5 mM) and reaction time (20 seconds). The synthesized AuNPs were characterized with different physical techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX). TEM experiments showed that AuNPs presented an anisotropic shape and size ranging from 5‐50nm. FT‐IR spectroscopy revealed that biomolecules containing an amine group (–NH2), a carbonyl group, –OH groups and other stabilizing functional groups were adsorbed on the surface of the synthesized AuNPs. EDX showed the presence of the elements on the surface of the AuNPs. The cytotoxicity of the synthesized AuNPs were tested on two different human cancer cell lines, HeLa and MCF‐7 and were found to be nontoxic, thus providing an opportunity to be used in biomedical applications

India’s Lockdown: A Key to Modi tyranny

In April 2020, Dr. David Nabarro, a WHO special envoy on COVID, singled out India’s coronavirus response for praise, saying ‘Indians know how to do it’, after the country decisively locked down the entire country to prevent the disease from spreading. What we see in India today tells a very different story. As cases have continued to rise, the most vulnerable in India have been hit hardest by the lockdown, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is using the lockdown as a way to suppress his critics and make dramatic changes to the Indian state