My City Links: May 2024 Issue

Book excerpt: The past few weeks have seen the political temperatures shoot up as parties launch a no-holds-barred campaign for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are campaigning vigorously; the Congress hopes it will improve on its 2019 performance. The entry of several political heavyweights into the electoral fray has only added to the sense of anticipation and excitement. In our Cover Story, we provide you a bird’s eye view of all that is happening on the political front. From high-profile battles to contrasting political ideologies and diverse electoral planks, these elections promise variety and excitement all the way. When she started off as an architect in a profession traditionally dominated by men, few around her would have thought that Neha Jain would one day bring laurels to Odisha. Selected for the prestigious ‘Golden Door Award’, Neha joins us for a Q&A session that provides an insight into her initial years and her expectations for the future now that she has made a mark for herself. As the mercury soars, there’s nothing like a tall glass of something cool to help you pull through a gruelling day! And if that something is natural, it will likely cool you down more efficiently than the soft drinks available in your neighbourhood market. So, head to our Food & Wines section for recipes of some traditional, natural coolants to beat the heat. Should you choose to explore the city properly, Cuttack has this innate ability to surprise; the city and its people can hold you in a spell through the sheer range of experiences and emotions that they embody. In City Culture, we go on a quaint journey of the senses as we get talking to Ayejaz Patel, a perfume maker whose life sounds as mystical as the fragrances he helps bring to life. Technological evolution is a continuous process, as is the pursuit of perfection in a specific field. Decades after we read about them in books and saw them in movies, the creation of the perfect personal robot is something that can best be described as ‘work in progress’. In this edition, we take a deep dive into the world of robotic technology, speaking to experts and tech enthusiasts about where the world stands when it comes to personal robots who can assist and enable human beings across a variety of functions.