One of the most important voices of our generation, professor and bestselling author YUVAL NOAH HARARI tells SHAHNAZ SIGANPORIA his most difficult truths and how Vipassana shaped his success story
His book Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind has sold over 10 million copies, been translated into 50 languages, and has been recommended by Barack Obama, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. Recently, he delivered the Penguin Annual Lecture in Mumbai, which was prefixed by serpentine queues, a nasty traffic jam and an audience spilling over by the hoards into the lawn adjoining the venue. This kind of overwhelming popularity, where an academic is elevated to cult fanfare usually reserved for reality stars and red-carpet royalty, comes with its share of question marks—Hipster intellectual? Silicon Valley’s latest fad? Or is it cringe-worthy platitudinal prose contextualising the human race in some self-helpy way? But Professor Yuval Noah Harari—the Israeli meditation-loving vegan historian and bestselling author—is none of the above. Through his books and talks, he boldly takes on the big questions and seamlessly brings together history, philosophy, science and a clarity of thought that is profound in our over-cluttered post-truth, fake news, big-data age. Plus, for an academic, his work rarely gets caught up in semantics. Instead, he’s an engrossing storyteller weaving tales packed with fact and anecdote, making complex philosophical thought accessible, sincere and exciting. Currently touring with his most recent publication, 21 Lessons For The 21st Century, Harari takes time out from his schedule and continues his philosophical mavericking over email. Excerpts from the interview:
SHAHNAZ SIGANPORIA: You’ve managed to straddle that very difficult space of being a ‘popular intellectual’—two words that don’t often go together. How do you understand this space?
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2019-Ausgabe von VOGUE India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 2019-Ausgabe von VOGUE India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.
