Stray Thoughts

The s ocial media dominates our world as many of us stay indoors trying to keep safe and healthy. Staying at ho me has not been something that many of us are used to. It was not surprising that a discussion started in one of the groups I am in, on what work is appropriate for men and women, and whether it was good time to teach sons how to cook. There were many arguments both from the women and the men. Some argued that domestic chores were no longer chores with machines and automation, and how cooking was irrelevant in the times of home delivery and to know how to cook an omelette or make khichri was sufficient survival skill. Others argued that both boys and girls need to be involved in cooking and cleaning and that the lockdown was the best opportunity for developing these skills. As in many social media arguments it could not be settled. So here is a short quiz you may choose to take and check out where you stand in this matter.  GenderBender Quiz . How much did you score? I

There is considerable concern that India’s population will soon become the highest in the world. And that is a victory we do not want over the Chinese ! But let's leave the border skirmish aside for some time. On the 'population' front China is considered to have done much better than India. India appears to have made a hash of its population problem and our population seems to be perpetually growing.  Let us pause for a moment and check out our P's and Q's ie. Population Quotient. Here is a Population Quiz. Q. Why is India’s population still growing while China’s population growth has come to a grinding halt? A. China’s population growth has NOT halted .  Both India and China have growing populations, the rate of growth is different. India has a growth of population growth rate of 1% per year while China has a population growth rate of 0.6% per year. According to current projections China’s population will stop growing and start declining by around 2030, for