Population is a touchy issue in India. Anybody will notice the crowded rat race we live in, notes Shyam G Menon.

While sport climbing made its debut in the Olympics only this year, it has had a popular home in India for many years now.

I wondered how being scientist-mathematician helps one cycle better. Perhaps the self-discipline helps; perhaps it is the scientist-technologist perspective of breaking down the whole into separate pieces, identifying specifics and working on them for improved results, mulls Shyam G Menon.

Like ants declining to question the rules of the anthill, they feel innately justified in their approach, notes Shyam G Menon.

It was amusing to hear Minister Jaishankar's argument of tech companies being influential non-State actors. If only he looked at his own party before saying what he did, notes Shyam G Menon.

'The urge to name the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport after well-known personalities and the equally strong urge to rally in large numbers supporting this name and that; all of this amidst COVID-19, felt deplorable,' asserts Shyam G Menon.

In this pandemic, why can't we have multiple locations for various disciplines, all of it then merged into a virtual convergence called the Olympics instead of one massive event in one city, asks Shyam G Menon.

'Three decades after liberalisation kicked off, my friend's son and niece -- both born well after that historic shift in economic policy -- find themselves newly off the beaten path for no fault than listening to their heart,' notes Shyam G Menon.

Personal competence, where it should have been acknowledged and appreciated, was sacrificed for that oft heard line: Party-is-supreme. It angered that at a time when lives are at stake amidst the pandemic, the government didn't deem continuity in leadership important for the health portfolio, observes Shyam G Menon.