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Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhiwale: Read the walls
Are you among one of those who like snooping around a neighbourhood's intimate life? Wanting to sniff out the pursuits and concerns of the locality, its hopes and aspirations, and secrets. Flyers that lie stuck on the grimy peeling concrete of those walls are replenished with fresher flyers in predictable regularity. (HT) {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} All you have to do is to read the neighbourhood's walls. Particularly the flyers that lie stuck on the grimy peeling concrete of those walls. The very flyers that are replenished with fresher flyers in predictable regularity. New flyers stuck on old flyers. {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} This strategy works well for the gateway guarding the entrance to south Delhi's historic Chirag Dilli village. The gateway has no name. The locals refer to it as khandahar, ruin. Whatever, sample the flyers pasted on the rugged walls. Tuition centre looking for spoken English teachers (male/female). Home classes for English-speaking in 'angrezi vatavaran' for 'interview preparation' and 'jobs.' Coaching centre guaranteeing fluency in spoken English, in American accent. Chirag Delhi village is like a hyperlocal 'hood where everybody seems to know everybody. Unhurried passersby stop to chat with each other—and also with the friendly grocers and veggie sellers. These grocers and vendors seem to know everyone by their name. Such a languid ambiance is only one part of a bigger more complicated reality. The place is simultaneously cosmopolitan. It is home to scores of young ambitious professionals who have come from across the country, choosing to live in the village's relatively low-rent accommodations. {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} To be sure, not all the flyers on the gateway walls are about English-speaking lessons. One poster bears the logo of Amazon dot com—it 'urgently requires boys and girls' from 'illiterate to BA Pass,' with the monthly salary ranging from ₹15.500 (in 'packing') , to ₹22,500 as 'supervisor.' {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} To be sure, not all the flyers on the gateway walls are about English-speaking lessons. One poster bears the logo of Amazon dot com—it 'urgently requires boys and girls' from 'illiterate to BA Pass,' with the monthly salary ranging from ₹15.500 (in 'packing') , to ₹22,500 as 'supervisor.' {{/usCountry}} Read More {{^usCountry}} While Amazon was founded in 1994, the gateway is centuries-old. It was among the four gateways of a long wall built around the village by a Mughal emperor in the 18th century. (You discover this too on reading a display board standing beside the same walls!) {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} While Amazon was founded in 1994, the gateway is centuries-old. It was among the four gateways of a long wall built around the village by a Mughal emperor in the 18th century. (You discover this too on reading a display board standing beside the same walls!) {{/usCountry}} {{^usCountry}} Then there's a flyer on the gateway wall seeking 'maids' and 'helpers' for assignments in 'homes' and 'bungalows.' It specifies separate arrangements for those willing to work for 6 hours daily, and 12 hours daily. {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} Then there's a flyer on the gateway wall seeking 'maids' and 'helpers' for assignments in 'homes' and 'bungalows.' It specifies separate arrangements for those willing to work for 6 hours daily, and 12 hours daily. {{/usCountry}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{^usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{#usCountry}} {{/usCountry}} {{/userSubscribed}} And check out this love message scrawled on the gateway wall—first part of the line is in English, the rest is in Hindi, in Devnagri: 'I luv u lekin tumhare ghar walo ko shak ho gaya hain.' Other flyers, other perspectives. A sacred yagna, to be performed in a dharamshala, is 'being hosted for Bhagwan Shyam and being hosted by Bhagwan Shyam.' Everyone is invited, declares the flyer. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
News18
14 hours ago
- News18
Aging Fleet, Maintenance Woes, Low Morale: Pakistan Navy Faces Crisis After Op Sindoor
Last Updated: Sources said following Operation Sindoor, Pakistan's naval fleet has been notably absent from the strategic waters of the Arabian Sea The Pakistan Navy is facing a deep crisis in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, with an aging fleet, low morale, and limited submarines reflective of the growing strain amid India's rising naval edge. Pakistan's naval fleet has been notably absent from the strategic waters of the Arabian Sea, sources told News18. Open-source reports and maritime tracking data have revealed a troubling pattern – the majority of the navy's principal surface combatants remain pier-side at Karachi naval base. #BreakingNews | Post-Operation Sindoor, Pakistan Navy faces deep crisis—aging fleet, low morale, and limited submarines reflect growing strain amid India's rising naval edge. @kaidensharmaa with @JamwalNews18 | #operationsindoor #Pakistan — News18 (@CNNnews18) July 7, 2025 Experts have primarily attributed this to limited repair capabilities and shipyard failures, compounded by a leadership crisis and low morale following Operation Sindoor, under which the Indian armed forces struck terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 . According to sources, Pakistan has only two operational submarines at present, with the rest being inactive and berthed at naval facilities. Not only that, training opportunities in the navy have become increasingly limited as operational vessels remain unavailable for extended periods, the sources said. The sources said young officers complete their naval academy training only to find themselves assigned to ships that spend months in maintenance status. This has created a generation of naval officers with limited sea-going experience, further undermining operational competence, they said. WHY IS THERE A MAINTENANCE LIMBO? Sources said maintenance delays, unavailability of critical spare parts, and inadequate technical training from manufacturers have hampered Pakistan's operational readiness. Here's why: An aging fleet lies at the heart of these maintenance woes. Many of Pakistan's principal surface combatants – Type-21 frigates acquired from the Royal Navy in the 1990s – are operating well beyond their intended service lives. These vessels require frequent and costly maintenance cycles, with spare parts becoming scarce and expensive as original manufacturers have phased out support for legacy systems. The situation is further complicated by Pakistan's diversified procurement strategy. This has resulted in a fleet comprising Chinese, Turkish, American, and British-origin vessels. Due to this, each platform requires specialised maintenance protocols, unique spare parts inventories, and distinct technical expertise. This logistical complexity has overwhelmed the navy's maintenance infrastructure, creating bottlenecks that keep vessels tied to ports for extended periods. Chinese-origin vessels present particular challenges. The much-vaunted Type-054A frigates, delivered between 2021 and 2023, have experienced recurring technical issues with their radar systems and propulsion plants, requiring frequent returns to shipyard facilities. Financial constraints have exacerbated the maintenance crisis. The shipyard's limitations became apparent during recent attempts to service the Type-054A frigates. These Chinese-origin vessels require specialised diagnostic equipment and proprietary software that the Karachi shipyard lacks. Attempts to establish repair partnerships with Chinese firms have been hampered by technology transfer restrictions and exorbitant costs, leaving many vessels in an extended maintenance limbo. WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS? Sources further said the Pakistan Navy's current operational limitations have strategic implications for regional security dynamics. Here's why: The neighbouring country's inability to maintain a credible naval presence in the Arabian Sea creates a vacuum. The Indian Navy has, therefore, expanded its patrol patterns and exercise schedules, effectively treating Pakistani waters as uncontested space. Chinese investments in Gwadar Port and associated infrastructure lose much of their strategic value if Pakistan cannot provide adequate naval security. The situation also affects Pakistan's relationship with its allies and partners. Scheduled multilateral exercises have been postponed or cancelled due to vessel unavailability, damaging its reputation as a reliable naval partner. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : indian navy Operation Sindoor Pahalgam attack Location : Islamabad, Pakistan First Published: July 07, 2025, 18:05 IST
NDTV
15 hours ago
- NDTV
Of Prada, Dior, And Manufactured Meanings Of Luxury
"What the garment signifies is not what it is, but what it permits us to imagine it is." Nope, it's not a lazy Instagram quote, but a well-etched theory from one of the most important philosophers of all time, Roland Barthes, who is often remembered only for his work in linguistics. Barthes interpreted the garment, and fashion by extension, as a language, and put forth all its essential arbitrariness. Barthes's idea that "Fashion is above all a system of signs" is probably the most useful framework for understanding the current goings-on in the global luxury fashion scene. Let's not waste breath or bites any further on Prada and Dior 'stealing' from the Indian artisanal traditions: the Kolhapuri footwear and the Muqaish embroidery. Given the asymmetries between the Global North and South, certain exploitative practices are par for the course. Power shirks accountability. Using Barthes, however, one can understand how fashion can become a tool to counteract hegemonic systems built on exploitation. Just like the coloniser's language, English, became a tool for Indian writers to counter intellectual colonialism, the ongoing White Man's Burden. Cultural appropriation is nothing new in a world divided between the oppressor and the oppressed. From Aztec prints to Amazonian jewellery, Javanese batik to Odisha's warp and weft Ikat and Persian gara embroidery to Han women's mamianqun, economically and hegemonically powerful designers have appropriated them all without even blinking. The paradoxical benefit of such appropriation is that the lack of acknowledgement immediately catches the discerning eye and initiates a conversation. The very brazenness of such an endeavour becomes its undoing. What is worse, however, is something that recently flew under the radar, thanks to the brouhaha over Dior and Prada. When indigenous traditions are cherry-picked and made into the mainstay of a luxury collection, it engenders another problem: the aesthetic strawman. Faced with the sheer incongruity and ugliness, the indigenous aesthete may wonder, Is this ALL you could find from our traditions, dear designer? Let's discuss Louis Vuitton's latest India-inspired show, exhibiting the spring-summer 2026 men's collection. The luxury house's website announces proudly, "Louis Vuitton Men's Creative Director Pharrell Williams drew inspiration from India and its global influence on clothing for this season's collection". Grateful for the acknowledgement, but what is all that bejewelled fetishism? Those trunks and handbags, those jackets and hoodies? Rather than being an inspiration, doesn't the collection work more as a pastiche? India's mammoth artisan diversity routinely gets represented by its most garish products. Less than a year ago, Christian Louboutin launched a similar India-inspired collection where all things gold and glittery seemed to have been slapped together. The ubiquitous Louboutins, those coveted red-soled shoes, are among the most uncomfortable footwear a modern woman can jostle her feet into. The brand prioritises aesthetics over comfort and has been responsible for many style revolutions. Many of their designs are a sight for sore eyes, even though they kill the wearer's toes. So, what happened with that India collection? This is where Barthes comes in handy. Think of a tourist coming to a town trying to absorb new sights and sounds. An enterprising local becomes their aide and teaches them all the cusswords and slangs. While the tourist may become street-smart under such tutelage, they usually do not mistake this rudimentary linguistic proficiency for language. A namaste here and a gaali there doesn't make a language. The world of fashion, however, has no compunctions in believing that it does. Because what is hurriedly processed and produced is, often, also promptly consumed. In a world swept by "logomania", the brand becomes its own aesthetic. If one doesn't pay attention, this aesthetic surreptitiously corrupts our sensibilities. Barthes explained this phenomenon through his formulation of real clothing, image clothing, and written clothing. The fashion industry cannot sell real clothing (the tangible product) on its own; it has to be accompanied by image clothing (highly stylized, idealized, and often impossible to achieve in real life visual images of the said product), and written clothing (an evocatively crafted story to turn the product into an object of desire and identity). Fashion, often, becomes a con job where the ordinariness of the real is packaged in manufactured meanings. These manufactured meanings become more important than the real product, and that's what sets the ball of appropriation-stealthy or acknowledged-rolling. As sociologist Dick Hebdige says in his study of style, "Objects are appropriated, 'bricolaged', and made to carry meanings which they did not originally possess." Until the objects per se are paid due attention, this cycle will continue.
