Entertainment

What began as an ordinary lunch break turned into an extraordinary fight for dignity for two Indian PhD students in the United States. Aditya Prakash and Urmi Bhattacharyya, two students of the University of Colorado Boulder, recently became the leading story after a $200, 000 (around 1.8 crore) civil rights settlement over what they claim was discrimination at the institutional level, all started by the smell of Indian food.

And you are not mistaken. Palak paneer.

Prakash who was then a Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology of the university, happened to go to his microwave to warm up his lunch when in September 2023, it was alleged a staff member complained about the strong smell and ordered him not to use the appliance. Prakash argued that it was a common space and that different cultural groups will consider various smells good or bad, it is all subjective.

“My food is my pride,” he later told the media. “How many people do you know who face racism because they eat broccoli?”

The disagreement, however, didn’t end in the kitchen. According to the couple, things soon spiralled into something much more serious. Prakash was allegedly called into repeated meetings with senior faculty, accused of making the staff member feel “unsafe.” Bhattacharyya, who stood by him, said she was abruptly removed from her teaching assistant role—without explanation.

Then came the real shocker. The university allegedly withheld the master’s degrees that PhD students usually receive en route to completing their doctorate. Students around the world have particularly resonated with this caseas well as international students trying to figure out alien systems. It does not only touch on food but also belonging, identity, and the daily struggles that students far from home have to endure.

Occasionally, the start of a revolution is marked by a single microwave... and a bowl of palak paneer. I will not be silent,” she wrote.

Students around the world have particularly resonated with this case as well as international students trying to figure out alien systems. It does not only touch on food but also belonging, identity, and the daily struggles that students far from home have to endure.

Occasionally, the start of a revolution is marked by a single microwave... and a bowl of palak paneer.

Kerala’s Education Department has decided to do away with the row-based layout of classrooms to abolish the concept of backbenchers from the next academic year. It has also decided to take measures to reduce the weight of schoolbags.

Education Minister V Sivankutty on Thursday said the state Curriculum Steering Committee has ratified the draft report of the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), which looked into introducing the two changes.

“We want to make the schools more child-friendly and democratic. Accordingly, there is a recommendation to reduce the weight of the schoolbags. There will be steps to scientifically reduce the weight after factoring in the physical fitness of the students. Besides, back benches in classrooms will be abolished to ensure that all students get equal attention and there is a democratic academic atmosphere in the classes. Accordingly, seating arrangements in classrooms will undergo changes,” Sivankutty said.

The minister said both recommendations will be implemented from the next academic year, starting June 2026. The draft recommendations of SCERT will be made public to enable all stakeholders to air their opinions, which will be taken into consideration, he said.

Inspired by film

Early this academic year, certain schools in Kerala had decided to go for a “horseshoe” seating arrangement in classrooms. A few schools in Kannur, Thrissur and Kollam districts have introduced the horseshoe, or semi-circle, seating arrangement in which students are seated in the perimeter of the classroom, facing each other. The teacher is also able to have a face-to-face interaction with all students who happen to sit in such a layout, with the teacher moving in the middle of the room.

The new seating arrangement in some of the schools was inspired by a 2024 Malayalam film, Sthanarthi Sreekuttan. The film, directed by Vinesh Viswanathan, tells the story of a backbencher, Sreekuttan, who revolts against the traditional classroom arrangement. In the climax of the movie, the row seating in the classroom is replaced with a U-shaped arrangement.

The RCC Lower Primary School at East Mangad in Thrissur district was one of the first schools in Kerala to introduce the new seating arrangement in classrooms.

Headmistress Liji C R had said a few months ago, “From the outset of the academic year, there have been informal discussions about improving the learning standards of students. Some of the teachers then mentioned the film and recalled their own experience as backbenchers. We thought about abolishing the backbench system, starting with class 1. Accordingly, seats were arranged in the U-shape.”

In 2025, India didn’t just watch screens — it lived inside them. From families gathering around connected TVs for weekend binge sessions to millions of thumbs endlessly scrolling through reels during metro rides, screen time became both entertainment and education, escape and excess.

Long-form OTT content continued to be India’s comfort zone. The future of TV is neither in pixels nor in fullscreen format, but rather through "On-Demand" (OTT) services. The TOI Habit Index indicates that last year, 39% of screen time was spent on OTT platforms, signifying an increase in people's interest towards on-demand cinematic storytelling in India. According to the TOI Index, for the same period, over 60% of OTT viewership was attributed to Netflix and YouTube respectively, while many people used these platforms as social experiences. People shared their experiences of watching the tiger show with colleagues and friends, discussed the latest twists of their favourite shows at work, went to the cinema together to see regional films, and shared stories about how the stories on these platforms reflected their everyday lives.

While OTT services acted as the main source of entertainment in their living rooms, short-form video services, such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, became the go-to source for entertainment by viewers on the go. Both services accounted for approximately 14% of total digital consumption in India, primarily due to the high level of interest among the younger demographic. An estimated 650 million people in India will consume short-form video content on a daily basis by 2025. The average duration of this daily consumption is expected to be approximately one hour. Typical content viewed will include comedy skits, exam preparation, health tips/recommendations, recipe videos & other forms of instructional video content.

Instagram and YouTube have blurred the lines between education and entertainment for both content creators and consumers. As a result, they have changed how creators use video to engage audiences and help people grow professionally.

Why do Indians keep returning to screens? For 43% of users, it was about unwinding — comedy and light entertainment offered relief from long workdays and academic pressure. Another 29% logged in to stay informed, with social platforms like Instagram emerging as unexpected news classrooms for the digital generation. Explainers on geopolitics, finance, and science now sit comfortably between dance reels and memes.

But the year also exposed a growing discomfort with digital excess. More than half of users admitted they wanted to reduce screen time, especially the habit of mindless scrolling. Parents worried about children glued to phones, while young adults spoke of “reel fatigue” — the feeling of being entertained yet exhausted.

Traditional television, once the undisputed king, continued to fade, now accounting for just 11% of viewing time. In its place, connected TVs, mobile screens and personalised algorithms reshaped how content is consumed — anytime, anywhere.

India’s digital media economy crossed $10 billion in 2025, but the real story lies beyond numbers. Screens became classrooms, companions and coping mechanisms. As India moves forward, the challenge isn’t choosing between OTT or reels — it’s learning how to watch consciously, scroll mindfully, and let screens enrich life without quietly taking it over.

Doraemooooooooon” Yes, that’s how GenZ is sounding right now because their most loved friend has become a history now. Doraemon ending RCTI broadcast after 37 years has shattered the hearts of GenZ around the world, especially Indian fans in particular who grew up watching Hungama TV reruns. 

Doraemon Broadcasting Ended on 29th December, 2025

The robotic cat from the 22nd century had its last episode aired on Indonesia's RCTI channel closing a chapter that had its start in 1989 for the audience in Southeast Asia. Thousands of episodes of the Doraemon anime have taught millions of life lessons through Nobita's failures making doraemon last episode RCTI trend around the globe as college students reliving their childhood.

Every 4 PM, Indian kids rushed home for Doraemon Hindi episodes where lazy Nobita flunked exams but bounced back with Anywhere Door, Bamboo Copter, Translation Konjac, memory bread or a new intriguing gadget. 

Things Doraemon Show Taught

Doraemon life lessons were different: 

• Shizuka showed kindness beats beauty
• Gian proved bullies need friends
• Suneo taught money can't buy loyalty. 

Parents still quote "Nobita ki tarah mat bano" when kids don't do their homework, while secretly rejoicing when Doraemon clears Nobita's messes… pure friendship therapy before social media existed, right?

GenZ grew up learning resilience from the gadgets of Doraemon that are symbolic of hope: Big Light for dreaming of possibilities to make it out of a small town, Time Cloth to remind us to fix what went wrong yesterday. Doraemon moral stories formed values at a time when TikTok did not exist - patience, not shortcuts, teamwork, not solo wins. That Nobita-Shizuka wedding in Stand by Me Doraemon (2014) proved that flunkies do get happy endings, making every GenZ feeling "behind" in jobs or relationships a reality.

GenZ is Feeling Emotional 

RCTI Doraemon ending doesn't erase memories - Doraemon full episodes Hindi are available on Disney+ Hotstar (4k - Rs299/month - HD), MX Player (Free) Netflix (4K movies). Doraemon last episode Hindi searches spike as 20-somethings binge Hungama TV classics on YouTube. Doraemon streaming 2026 keeps the blue cat alive with 1,788 episodes (main series 1979-2005) plus 178 more (2005 revival) total 2,044 lifetime.

Doraemon taught GenZ that failure isn't the end, Nobita's F's became life's exam passes through friendship. 4D Pocket Solutions is much like Real Friends who Pull Us Through, right?  Doraemon quotes like "Losers have pride too" comforting every adult still finding his or her Shizuka. RCTI broadcast closed but Doraemon Childhood lessons guide GenZ forever.

At the end, we all just stand here at  the sill with a heavy yet joyous heart  as we move forward in life bidding our final goodbye to Doraemon who is our core memory. Thanks blue cat for 3+ decades of gadgets, doracakes, and hope. e

Remember, if Nobita can win, we can too; YOU can too. A beautiful future starts from 2026. 

Without any doubt, a New Year party in a government school has become the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district after the video went viral on social media. Allegedly, the video is of a government middle school in Parasari village, where a group of female dancers can be seen grooving to the music inside the school while a few men are throwing money at them and dancing as well.

Principal Balwan Singh spoke to the media about the programme being permitted by the local panchayat after getting the permission. He mentioned that panchayat secretary Rinku Yadav and sarpanch Neelam Parihar were the individuals who, in their opinion, had given the go, ahead for the event.

The principal, narrating the incident, said the gathering was a cultural programme that was organised after school hours and was a part of the New Year celebrations.

The visuals of the event have stirred up an angry mob and have made people ask a very serious question of whether the decision was right to hold such an event in an educational institution.

"The reports from the media suggest that the event occurred during the New Year's holiday, on campus, after school was over. Once uploaded to the internet, the video exploded into the public consciousness creating an uproar from both the education department and from the local administrative agency."

Questions flooded in as to how a government school could be turned into a venue for such events when it was primarily meant for imparting education and discipline. The district authorities have not taken this lightly and have responded promptly. DPC Rajesh Shukla expressed that the video came to his notice and thus, a written explanation from the school principal has been solicited. He also emphasised that any programme held within the school should be carried out strictly in accordance with the rules and regulations laid down.

An investigation is in progress to ascertain who had authorised the holding of the programme and whether the circumstances of the consent, if any, have been breached.

The management is continuing with its probe. They will make a move if they find any illegal activities.

It has become the subject of a local debate concerning the use of school premises for non educational purposes and the responsibility of officials.

A workshop on the development of their intuition was conducted by the Art of Living at the Calcutta Blind School in Behala. The four-day course on the development of intuition was followed by a practice course of six days, where students between 8 and 20 years old could read, color, move about, and play games by the power of their gut.

During the interactive classes, students got 2.5 hours of activity every day and additional 40 minutes of practice at home. They acquired methods to tap into, nurture, utilize, and then sustain their innate intuitions. Exercises behind the blindfold for readings, colouring, walking, and playing are some examples of developing these skills.

This was stated by the faculty member of The Art of Living, Sangeeta Palliwal: “The regular practice helps them to develop much stronger capabilities within themselves and in every way they function in life. The blind students are able to detect the colors of things and also read without the help of braille.”

Participants were taught brain activation exercises according to their age, as well as meditation and relaxation techniques, which are considered important tools to help individuals enhance their intuition. In addition, they were given instructions on how to practice at home.

Blind and partially sighted students were able to recognize colors successfully. Participants and parents reported an awareness of surroundings, enabling them to get around with ease. A dynamic yet relaxed mind set helped them get the right idea at the right moment, assisting them with dealing with different situations of life.