THE MERCURIAN TIMES

"Connecting and pursuing our passions are two fundamental human needs and Hello fosters connections around passions." With this moto the newer version of orkut, “HELLO” app is on its way to make its presence in Indian social media market. Orkut Buyukkokten, the creator of Orkut.com, one of the early and most famous social media platforms, is planning to unveil his new social media network ‘Hello’ in India in the next one month. Mr.Buyukkokten has already launched the beta version of “HELLO” in the country, said his new venture connects people who share same interests and passions and provides a place for authentic communication. He along with few ex-Google engineers had created Hello in 2016. It is currently operating in 12 countries including Canada, New Zealand and Brazil, and is available for Android and iOS supported devices. Within two weeks of the platform's beta launch in India, Hello has nearly 10,000 app users in India. I t has a feature called ‘...

Today's morning brought the most tragic news shaking the entire nation. The untimely death of the legendary Sridevi is a harsh reality. We still cannot believe the beautiful versatile star Sridevi ma'am has already departed on a new journey. Her sudden demise has not only left the entire film fraternity in shock but all the bollywood followers across the world has drowned in a sea of grief. The veteran actress known for her impeccable performance in films such as "Chandni", "Nagina", "Sadma" was in Dubai to attend a family wedding when she passed away after a massive cardiac arrest at the age of 54. The news of the legendary actress who worked in about 300 movies passing away came late night on 24th February and was met with disbelief and shock. Fans and members of the film industry took to Twitter to mourn the loss of an actress who had captured the hearts of millions over a career spanning almost four decades. Man mortality is a...

22nd of February was indeed a splendid day, having the perfect blend of fun, knowledge and wit as the it witnessed Zion’18, the annual fest of Mercatus, the marketing society of Jesus and Mary College. The theme “ The world is our canvas “ captured all eyes with the insightful and colourful view to express the thoughts . The fest, focusing largely on marketing events witnessed the presence of a large number of students, learning about their fields in depth.                                                                                        ...

The Reign of E-commerce and superfluous consumerism I was recently watching a TED talk by a retail expert from China, Angela Wang, where she spoke about the ever growing influence of technology in the retail sector of China and how it has made China into a huge laboratory for innovation. But what struck a chord somewhere in me was something she mentioned in her talk : the spontaneity of shopping trends. Five years ago, an average Chinese consumer was buying five to eight pairs of shoes a year; the advent of E Commerce has tripled this number to an average of 25 pairs a year! This fact stated by her gave rise to a very ordinary question in my mind - “ Who needs that many pairs ?!” But the culprit here is not entirely the consumer. The E-commerce boom throughout the world may have opened up entirely new avenues for trade and increased the possibilities of a better life everywhere. But this boom has majorly brought about a very unnecessary trend of shopping too, considering t...

TEST THE WATERS In life, we tend to get too comfortable, too easily. We meet the same people every day, go through the same routine and somehow seem to be content with just this. However one must keep evolving. We should constantly explore ourselves, think of what we can improve and work upon it. The day that one stops trying to better themselves, and feels that no change is required, is the day one is truly wasting all the potential of mankind within them. In my opinion, one should constantly test the waters. We should set ourselves up for new tasks, try to explore new things, and most importantly step out of our comfort zones. I myself recently came to this realization and I took a leap outside of my cozy bubble to take on a new adventure. I am essentially someone who takes time to adjust to people. I’m unable to be myself around the people whom I’ve recently met, maybe it’s the fear of social acceptance, don’t know, quite haven’t pinned that one yet. However, the t...

It looms over me Bit by bit Unexpected flashes Dreams Day dreams About the Moirai With a mysterious shroud Smiling at me from far Was it beckoning me? No rather was Advising stop Reflect Soak in Gaze at the stars Head in the clouds Feet planted on the ground Sunsets Colours change History is created Lofty mountains are scaled But the present that exists Stars dotting the universe Birds in formation This pen Immortal Never annulled Sealed for centuries By the mere memory Of the everlasting soul Trot Walk along Tread your path But do not miss The city of stars Staring at you Amidst seeking La la land. - By Nivvedhitha Shankar

Supreme Court Ruling: A reiteration of Women's Rights   The recent verdict of the Supreme Court to give daughters equal rights in Ancestral property was another step towards bridging the still prominent gap that exists between men and women in our society. The court made it clear that the Hindu Succession Act of 2005 which states that daughters and sons have equal shares in family properly will be applicable on all women irrespective of whether they were born before 2005 or not. The Hindu Succession Act (Amendment), 2005 The Act removed gender discriminatory provisions in the previous gender discriminatory provisions and gave the following rights to women: ● The daughter of a coparcener becomes a coparcener in the same manner as a son dpes. (Coparcener is a person who has equal right in the inheritance of an undivided property.) ●  The daughter is allotted the same share as is allotted to a son  ● The daughter has the same rights in the coparcenary propert...