Fixing the fault in our stars
Live MintThe moment he realised he’d called it wrong and Donald Trump was going to be the next US President, the “Nostradamus of US elections" Allan Lichtman held his head in his hands and declared that “democracy is gone". He’d got nine elections right in the past based on a model of reading historical patterns, but it’s certainly telling that so many people placed so much stock in his placid belief that Kamala Harris would win. Looking into the future, or claiming that one can, is a big business, especially in India and especially when catering to 30-somethings who have lived through a global recession, unimaginable terror attacks, a pandemic, massive climate change events, and a few wars since their teenage years. None of these are new—after all, most Indians have an astrological chart or an aunt twice removed who can “read signs and colours"—but today’s practitioners are blending wellness with mysticism for an audience that wants to believe they understand why they’re wearing a particular amulet.