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Time of India
an hour ago
- General
- Time of India
Best of enemies
A former associate editor with the Times of India, Jug Suraiya writes two regular columns for the print edition, Jugular Vein, which appears every Friday, and Second Opinion, which appears on Wednesdays. His blog takes a contrarian view of topical and timeless issues, political, social, economic and speculative. LESS ... MORE It's only within the confines of the subcontinent that Pakistan and India engage in conflict No, no, please! How can I accept money from you? This is my home and you are a guest here. I can't take money from a guest. The speaker was a Washington DC taxi driver, a middle-aged migrant from Lahore who had settled in US years ago. Bunny and I had been to one of the Smithsonian museums, those wonderful repositories of art and culture that are a hallmark of the city. When we emerged, there was a thunderstorm with torrential rain. We were lucky to get a cab that was dropping off a museum visitor. The cab driver asked where we were from, and when we said India, with a beaming smile he switched from English to Urdu. During the 20-minute ride, we talked about each other's families, where we lived, what his grown-up children did. There was no mention of Kashmir, or Partition, or something called a two-nation theory. We were chance-met strangers with common roots encountering each other in a foreign land. It took all my powers of persuasion to get our new-found friend to accept the taxi fare. And from him, we received heartfelt blessings for our well-being. In the picture-postcard Italian town of Polignano, upon hearing that we were Indian, a young Pakistani waiter confided in us his future plans, including finding a bride back home, with the emotional intimacy of a family member. It happens time and again, for many of us who meet Pakistanis abroad. Never have so-called foes been friendlier, going out of their way to be of help, striking some deep chord of fellowship that belies a history of bitter conflict. It is only within the subcontinent that the two countries are entrenched adversaries. The mutual antagonism inflamed by the shrill bellicosity of vicarious warriors who exhort others to do the fighting for them, and for whom the word 'peace' is another word for 'treason'. Taken out of this geographic and political context, mutual animus transforms into a shared amity. That's the enigma that binds together the best of enemies. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
Talk the talk
A former associate editor with the Times of India, Jug Suraiya writes two regular columns for the print edition, Jugular Vein, which appears every Friday, and Second Opinion, which appears on Wednesdays. His blog takes a contrarian view of topical and timeless issues, political, social, economic and speculative. LESS ... MORE The globalisation of English has taken a lot of the foreignness out of foreign travel Bunny and I are in Torino, Italy. And Bunny is eager to try out the conversational Italian she has picked up through assiduous practice on the Duolingo app on her cell phone. We go for a morning coffee to Caffe Mulassano, the 118-year-old establishment that looks like what the inside of an antique jewel box should look like, all burnished gleam and gilded glow. Buongiorno, vorremmo due cappuccini, deka per me, normale per lui, Bunny says in her best Duolingo Italian. Okay, two cappuccinos, one decaf, and one regular coming right up, says the barista, sounding like she's been displaced from Queens, NYC. It's like that wherever we go. Bunny asks for directions to a restaurant or wherever else we want to go, in punctilious Italian. The reply is almost invariably in English. It was very different when we first visited Italy in 1973. We didn't have a word of Italian, and no locals spoke anything else. We got by with an extempore hit-and-miss mixture of sign language, guesswork, and strokes of sudden inspiration. It made simple things, like ordering a meal, or asking the way to the train station, into a dramatic adventure, an exciting exploration of an exotic linguistic landscape. It made foreign feel foreign. Now, everyone, everywhere, in Europe, even in France which once shunned les anglais like a socially transmitted disease, will break into Anglo-Saxon at the drop of a chat. A linguistic pandemic, English spans the globe, hurdling geographic borders and cultural boundaries like a vocal virus. And the more you try to speak to the local citizenry in their language, the more you'll prompt a response in English, the speaker seizing this opportunity to demonstrate a grasp of what has become the most cosmopolitan of all languages, thanks to global commerce, Hollywood, and the lyrics of pop music. While this makes for ease of communication, it takes much of the foreignness out of foreign. So we look forward to our next port of call, where no one speaks English at all. It'll make for a nice change when we get to London. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Doing gupshup
A former associate editor with the Times of India, Jug Suraiya writes two regular columns for the print edition, Jugular Vein, which appears every Friday, and Second Opinion, which appears on Wednesdays. His blog takes a contrarian view of topical and timeless issues, political, social, economic and speculative. LESS ... MORE Why foreign pipples cutting jokes about how we are telling like that only? No doubt one foreigner putting up in Amsterdam itself, having a desi missus who has learnt him about how we are doing gupshup, put it on social media like a bullet to cut jokes about us for timepass. Mind it, we can also cut jokes about foreign pipples. Like Britishers, who are not knowing even to call themselves Britishers, which is their good name, but call themselves British, which everyone knows is only a country that we call Bilayat. What to tell? If we were Britishers our heads would be eating circles and circles. This foreign mister with desi missus has made listi of what we are telling. Starting starting, the listi has 'Do one thing'. Too very true. We are always telling, 'Do one thing'. If we were to tell 'Do two things', reply would come, 'Why I do two things? You do one thing, I do one thing.' Scientists telling it is division of labour. Next to next on listi is, 'There is too less salt in food'. It is right to say there is too less salt in food, because all are knowing that food having not too less salt is bad for BP, which will make you admit to hospital. But why on listi there is item, 'He is my real brother'? Should we tell 'He is not my real brother but fake brother, a fraudster, who by order of higher-ups, and big-big officers should be put under digital arrest today itself'. So what goes it of anyone's father if we tell, he is my real brother? Last to last on listi, it is telling that we are too much telling 'In India, I can get it for 100 rupees'. We are not mad, okay? Which is also on listi. Why for we are to tell, I can get this for 100 rupees in India? Just goes to showing that these foreign pipples even having desi missus are having too less sense. They are not knowing about one thing called inflation. Oof, oh! What we are telling is I can get this in India for two hundred rupees only… Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer This article is intended to bring a smile to your face. Any connection to events and characters in real life is coincidental.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Hidden dragon
A former associate editor with the Times of India, Jug Suraiya writes two regular columns for the print edition, Jugular Vein, which appears every Friday, and Second Opinion, which appears on Wednesdays. His blog takes a contrarian view of topical and timeless issues, political, social, economic and speculative. LESS ... MORE Could India and Pakistan be unwitting pieces in a devious game of Chinese chequers? Two Chinese generals, Mi and Yu, congratulating themselves on the success of their Operation Springing Tiger. Mi: Even if I do say it myself, our secret plan worked out very well. In fact, it worked out even better than I had hoped it would. Yu: It certainly did, didn't it? All thanks to the predictable actions and reactions of the two players who played our game without even knowing it. Mi: First, we encouraged one of them to launch a terrorist attack on the other, which didn't need much encouragement. Yu: Then the player who was attacked inevitably struck back, which made the first player escalate hostilities. Mi: Exactly as we planned. With both players engaged in a shooting match, our objective was achieved. Which is to keep all of them on the boil, or in the wok, as it were. Fireworks are always good for business. That stands to reason, right. After all, it was we who invented gunpowder centuries ago. Yu: So now, more will line up to buy our weaponry, some of it anyway, and apart from exporting cheap phones, and TVs, and laptops, and fireworks, and other gewgaws, we'll also become a big arms exporter. Mi: And the best part is that share prices of our arms company went up briefly. And thanks to our insider trading, we made a killing. Yu: And we can make more of a killing by prompting others to do the killing on our behalf by using our weapons to fight each other. Mi: We've already got some ready-made customers. And we can always drum up more with what might literally be called aggressive marketing. Yu: I like our plan more and more. Or should I say war and war…? Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer This article is intended to bring a smile to your face. Any connection to events and characters in real life is coincidental.
Business Wire
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Pearl Announces Global Collaboration with vVARDIS to Transform Early Detection and Proactive Treatment of Early Dental Decay
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pearl, the global leader in dental AI solutions, today announced a collaboration with vVARDIS, a leader in innovative dental care products, to educate dental professionals about detecting and treating early stages of dental decay. The global collaboration brings together vVARDIS, which has biomimetic, drill-free early caries treatment products, Curodont™, and Pearl, which has an AI-powered real-time radiologic detection aid, Second Opinion, to deliver the message of advanced, non-invasive solutions for treating early dental decay. Pearl's AI solutions enable dental providers to accurately detect conditions such as decay or cavities at their earliest stages, ensuring a proactive approach to oral health. Beyond early condition detection, Pearl also builds patient trust by enhancing their understanding of dental imagery, leading to higher patient acceptance and more informed treatment decisions. vVARDIS' Curodont™ offers a drill-free brush-on solution to aid hydroxyapatite formation throughout the early decay, helping patients to preserve the natural tooth structure and helping to avoid invasive and costly fillings. Up to 80% of all patients have tooth decay in early stages 1. Curodont™ gives dental professionals the opportunity to treat these patients with a simple and fast topical application during the same visit it's detected, without the need for a new appointment. 'At Pearl, we are dedicated to enhancing and standardizing dental diagnostics by leveraging AI to simplify radiograph interpretation and improve patient communication,' said Ophir Tanz, CEO and founder of Pearl. 'Our collaboration with vVARDIS enables a comprehensive, internationally scalable approach to early intervention against dental decay, giving patients more options for an effective and proactive path to improved oral health.' 'Partnering with Pearl is a natural progression in our mission to provide innovative solutions for early stage dental decay,' said Jeremy Thomas, President, vVARDIS North America. 'This collaboration equips global dental professionals with modern tools to detect conditions sooner and provides a proven, non-invasive solution to help restore enamel health.' 'As both dentists and entrepreneurs, we are thrilled to finally have and offer a groundbreaking approach to treating early decay,' said Drs. Haley and Goly Abivardi, DMDs, Founders and Co-CEOs of vVARDIS. '34 million school hours are lost each year due to emergency dental care 2 and $45 billion in lost productivity annually from untreated oral disease in the United States 3,4. Dental professionals have been waiting for decades for a drill-free treatment that addresses the sub-clinical signs of caries in the same visit. With its seamless integration into existing workflows, we believe that Curodont™ has the potential to rapidly become the new standard of care for the treatment of early caries, broadening the scope of services offered and empowering dentists and hygienists to lead the way in the management of early caries, ultimately enhancing patient care.' About Pearl Pearl is an AI-driven company committed to enhancing patient care in dentistry. Founded in 2019 by a team with decades of experience developing successful, enterprise-grade computer vision solutions, Pearl introduced the first-ever FDA-cleared AI capable of reading and instantly identifying diseases in dental x-rays. With regulatory clearance in 120 countries, Pearl's AI assists dentists in making precise clinical decisions and effectively communicating with patients, thereby transforming the dental care experience worldwide. As dentistry's global AI leader, Pearl is committed to the ongoing innovation of robust, accessible AI tools that improve patient health outcomes and build greater trust in dental medicine. To request a demo, please visit About vVARDIS vVARDIS is an innovative Swiss healthcare company located in Zug, Switzerland that offers groundbreaking biomimetic, non-invasive solutions for dental professionals under the Curodont™ brand. Founded by Swiss dentists, innovators and awarded entrepreneurs, Dr. Haley Abivardi, DMD and Dr. Goly Abivardi, DMD, vVARDIS is the result of more than 25 years of research, paired with the commitment of its founders to make an impact on people's lives, including the underserved. vVARDIS' mission is to expand access to novel approaches to the standard of care in dentistry with the purpose of improving oral health – the foundation for overall health. vVARDIS science is backed by 25 years of research and more than 200 scientific publications, including meta-analysis, peer-reviewed clinical studies and a long-term peer-reviewed real-world evidence study, with hundreds of thousands of patients being treated successfully. For more information, visit vVARDIS at and
