| Sunday, 25 May 2025 |
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Good morning [%first_name |Dear Reader%],
What a non-summer we’ve had this year. I’ve always remembered 1 June as the approximate day that the monsoon hits the Kerala coast. This year, it arrived on 24 May.
The truncated summer and early rains (both pre-monsoon and monsoon) have played havoc with mango trees. Farmers are suffering. And the few dozens of fruits we had in our own backyard tree have started yellowing and shriveling without attaining full size.
On the other hand, Bengaluru’s lakes are brimming.
I must say I’m conflicted. I love the rain, but not at the cost of a proper and normal summer.
Let’s see what the next year brings.
Speaking of bringing, I remember my dad bringing week-old issues of international news magazines like Time, Newsweek, and The Economist from his office when I was young. I used to devour the first two (I was a kid in the pre-globalisation era of the ‘80s, The Economist was too dense and boring for me). They were my windows to the world.
I say this because things have come full circle, and I am now the one bringing him back issues of The Economist each week. (Newsweek stopped being a print magazine in 2012. Time, a shell of itself, is alive because of a billionaire benefactor-owner.)
I admire The Economist for standing the test of time. It’s one thing to hear when a newspaper or magazine was originally founded. It’s another when you’ve experienced its continuing relevance across a span of 40 years. It’s something to aspire to.
Earlier this week, we conducted our second live event, on stock markets and investing. Learning (and perhaps overcompensating) from our first event, where many attendees told us they wished there were more questions than narrative-driven conversations, we swung the other way a bit too much. Many attendees told us that our questions-first style felt a little discombobulated.
I enjoy reading The Ken because it is informative, the articles are well researched, well written, without the spin and bias. I admire The Ken team for their dedication to getting closer to the true picture.
Hari Buggana
Chairman and MD, InvAscent
Transparent, Honest, Detailed. To me, The Ken has been this since the day I subscribed to them. The research that they put into each story and the way it is presented is thoroughly interesting. Personally, I’ve always had a great time interacting with the publication and reading the stories.
Harshil Mathur
CEO and Co-Founder, Razorpay
The Ken has proven naysayers wrong by successfully running a digital news publication on a pure-subscription business model in India. They have shown that discerning readers are willing to pay for well-researched, well-written, in-dept news articles.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Executive Chairperson, Biocon Limited
As a designer, it’s easy to get lost in the craft of building products. As a business owner however, keeping up with a rapidly changing landscape is key to saying relevant. The Ken doesn’t just help me stay on top of what’s happening in India(and beyond), but makes it fun to do so.
Rahul Gonsalves
Co-founder and CEO, Obvious Ventures