Besan Ka Halwa

'JOKER: A Life in Global Politics this Decade' -Vikram Grewal “Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?” When Arthur Fleck asks this rhetorical question to his therapist in the film Joker (2019) starring Joaquin Phoenix, the audience answers it in their heads. Tunisian street vendor Tarek al-Tayeb Mohammad Bouazizi must have asked the same question to himself on 17 th December 2010 before self-immolating and posthumously starting- what came to be known as- the ‘Arab Spring.’ The movement that would arguably give 21 st Century its own set of revolutions. ‘The Protestor’ was named the Person of the Year by TIME Magazine that year. The Spring swept across North Africa then and continued to inspire multiple revolutions- throughout this decade and right until very recently in 2019 in Lebanon, Iraq, Algeria and Sudan. In 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement began in USA against social and economic inequality. New York City woke up to the calls of “We

Days Underground #31 27th June 2018 It's my 5th world cup supporting the German Football team since I first got hooked to the genius of Miroslav Klose.  I declared a few weeks back, even though thinking of Philip Lahm's and Klose's absence, that I will get rid of my beard after the Germans defend the cup.  It's been a horrible outing for these guys this time. The nail biting finish against Sweden gave me hope.  But today, the country of K-Pop managed to pull off a 2-0 and the fates of the team and my beard have been sealed.  Dear sis clicks the moment and relishes my uncomfortable smile.  But the positives remain:  1. More time for mains preparation. 2. After Klose, I have found a new inspiration in the world cup: Luka Modric.  I switch sides to Croatia after attaining the same amount of facial hair as Modric. Days Underground #32 July 2018 This is what my newspaper notes looked like. One liners. Just like puns I guess. I am

Ma MAP ma Rulez! Ma perspective, ma tools... https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Bge7WNAbdjN1NybXEzeFpMcW11b1R0ME5pa1dQYkZneU13/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-xTHNU24vBnnaPvd72BI75w

Once Upon a Time in Delhi, I typed these Inglourious Notes to break the monotony of preparation.

"May the (truth) force be with you!"

  "Jab CRITICALLY ANALYZE kiya toh darna kya?"

^Yes, that's where Haider did 'Bismil, Bismil.' Ab padh lo.

['Jammu Bandh' is a serialized novel written by Vikram Grewal. It is published periodically on the blog 'Besan Ka Halwa'.] Synopsis August 2013: The question of religion had never bothered Ishwar, for since the beginning he had been a man of science. He felt safe behind the towering shelves of his college library, interminable streams of chemistry equations and endless piles of incomprehensible notes. Away from his habitat in Delhi, he finds himself thrown into unfamiliar territory- the disturbed city of Jammu, currently simmering on the flames of communal clashes in Kishtwar. His scientific theories seem redundant and inapplicable as he encounters tranquility and violence spiraling into and from each other in the city of temples. Temples and mosques; questions and answers. Monsoon is when it rains a little more; pains a little less. Entropy pervades and chaos takes control.                                                    Prologue It’s someone

Dear Friend, newspapers are beautiful things. They can be used to cover slabs, cupboards, book shelves and what not. They are instrumental in packaging and cleaning. They can act as book covers. They can be used in 'best out of waste' and origami competitions. They can also be read to gain knowledge or simply to act busy and pass the time. Some people also use them to clear UPSC exams. * *If you are interested in this, keep in mind the following basic things. 1. Read 'The Hindu' newspaper daily, for sure. 2. Don't cut out articles for future reference. We know you'll never read them. 3. Don't waste paper. Maintain a small notepad for note-making, not a huge register or diary. 4. Only write the keywords- not useless stories. 5. Don't write down ultra-dynamic things (that are bound to change before the exam). 6. Write only static facts that make sense. For eg. policy decisions, schemes, events, agencies, govt. bodies, India's ranking in i

These notes were made by me for Value addition to Mains answer-writing. They are arranged in the order of 'factual nuggets' or 'keywords' that can be sprinkled in your answer to either fight the mental block that we usually face while writing GS answers or just basically enhance the quality and uniqueness of the answers. Some parts like Cases, Laws, Vocab are such that they can fit anywhere in answers related to various themes. I hope you find these useful. Best wishes, V.G. List: 1. Important Political Thinkers (Page 2) 2. Some Sociologists (Page 12) 3. Greek Thinkers (Page 15) 4. ETHICS (Page 18)     ...Issues     ...Dilemmas     ...Keywords     ...Examples 5. QUOTES (Page 26) 6. Ethics Case Study Format (Page 36) 7. Law Comm. Reports (Page 38) 8. COMMITTEE REPORTS (Page 39) 9. Facts and Stats (Page 42) 10. Rights of the Vulnerable sections (Page 53) 11. 2nd ARC REPORT (Page 56) 12. Economic Survey 2017-18 (Page 61) 13. India's Rankings

Here I present to you the result of my efforts at making notes for Mains 2018. They are quite crisp and laden with Keywords. I have treated all GS papers as one comprehensive paper. Also, I have adopted a strictly 'One issue, One page' policy to enhance the effectiveness of answer writing. Apologies in advance if you find them unorganized or don't like my handwriting (or both). But well, that's how dynamic things are nowadays. What to do, dear friend? What to do!  Best wishes, V.G. There is an INDEX attached below- to scroll to specific topics. INDEX (Page no. ---- Topic) 3...Office of Governor 4...National Food Security Act (2013) 5...Solid Waste Management 6...List of National Policies      ...Double Burden of Nutrition 7...IBC amendments 8...Payment of Gratuity Amendments      ...Caste 9...Violence Against Women 10...Social Media Menace     ...Plastic Pollution 11...Lateral Entry in Bureaucracy 12...Problem of Plenty in Agriculture 13

Days Underground  #11 August 2017 I've chalked out a concrete plan to cover my upsc syllabus. A daily routine has been made after consultation with my parents. According to them, my day was supposed to start at 5 with yoga and fresh juice. But I vetoed the proposal and hence, for the next one year it starts at 6 with a cup of Black Coffee, the Hindu Newspaper and Lucky Ali songs.  Creating the right incentives to wake up helps.  Days Underground  #12 August 2017 I have started from scratch. It's like I am back at school. And the best thing is I don't have to attend classes. I have given myself 7 weeks to finish NCERTs 6th to 12th. I have always loved them. Their genius lies in the small nuggets that are embedded in them through cartoons, boxes, fact files etc. Such insights went unappreciated by us students who just read these books for marks in school. That being said, Boojho and Paheli are sometimes damn irritating.  Sigh. It's ok. I f