From Guru Dutt To Gaza: Viral Voices That Matter Now
From the Editor’s Desk | August 2025 | The WFY Magazine
Dear Readers,
Namaste!
Warm greetings to all of you, wherever in the world you are joining us from. Whether the monsoon is gently knocking at your windows in Mumbai, the summer sun is blazing above you in Durban, or you are wrapped in a chilly breeze in London, I invite you to pause a moment, take a deep breath, and step into this August edition of The WFY. It is full to the brim with voices, stories, and reflections stitched together from across our vibrant global Indian community.
On the occasion of the birth centenary of Guru Dutt, we bring you not just a tribute, but a journey. A journey through shadows and silences, through poetry and pain, through the legacy of a man who remains, even today, Indian cinema’s most delicate enigma. Guru Dutt’s films were not made for the moment, they were made for memory. They are verses that continue to breathe in the minds of those who value art that aches, beauty that burns, and stories that stay unfinished.
In this special cover story, we look at the man, the myth, the artist, and what he left behind, both onscreen and off it. This is not a biography. It is a remembering. A reflection. A reckoning.
This month’s issue opens with our heartfelt homage to the world of Guru Dutt. One hundred years since his birth, his art still lingers like the last note of a haunting song. In our Cover Story, we explore not just the genius of a filmmaker, but the soul of a man who captured heartbreak and hope in monochrome. It is less a retrospective and more a pilgrimage, one that unites generations of cinephiles and artists alike. Let us open the doors to a world that still waits, the world of Guru Dutt.
But this August, the world around us is shifting rapidly. Some of these tremors are quiet. Others are deafening.
In the realm of World Politics, we carry a timely reflection on India’s principled stance at the United Nations regarding the crisis in Gaza. Our feature, Better Act on the Gaza Crisis, Not Just Words, reminds us that while political alignments shift, the call for humanity must remain constant. With over 37,000 casualties reported in Gaza this year, and millions displaced, India’s call for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access is not just diplomatic language, it is a necessary assertion of empathy in an increasingly polarised world.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, another kind of political tempest brews. In our piece Surprising Tariffs Now Trigger Fear in Markets This Week, we unpack former US President Donald Trump’s latest economic move ,a 40% tariff on transhipped goods, announced yet again in his late-night signature style. This is not just another news flash. It has real implications for global supply chains, South Asian exports, and the already fragile dream of a comprehensive India–US trade pact. With India’s smartphone exports to the US surpassing China’s in Q2 2025, reaching a remarkable 44% share, the ripple effects of such policy unpredictability may be profound, particularly for Indian entrepreneurs and overseas professionals banking on long-term stability.
Our Health & Wellness section this time has a sharp and factual bent. The feature on Big Vaccine Loopholes comes with a warning bell: in the 2024–25 school year, over 286,000 US kindergarten children missed their MMR shots. For context, the US had eradicated measles in 2000. Now, with exemption rates rising to a record 3.6%, we are watching history undo itself. Alarmingly, the vast majority of recent measles cases are among unvaccinated children. As Indian-origin medical professionals make up nearly 17% of US healthcare workers, this is not a distant issue. It is one that affects your hospitals, your schools, your families.
Elsewhere in the same section, we take a more hopeful tone. Brisk Walking: A Proven Way to Unlock Vibrant Life sheds light on how short bursts of daily brisk walking can reduce mortality risk significantly ,a rare good-news story grounded in accessible science. And Cryonics explores the fascinating (and ethically complex) idea of preserving life beyond death. With new cryopreservation startups launching in India, and a growing NRI investor base in biotech, this is not just science fiction anymore. It is a subject that deserves deeper engagement.
This edition is also peppered with stories from our ever-expanding cultural universe. Our Art & Culture section invites you to contemplate innocence through Freedom of Innocence, and stardom through Shah Rukh: The Most Loved Star and Best Actor Now. As he wins his first National Award for Jawan, the actor’s global appeal continues to be unmatched, especially among diaspora audiences from Jakarta to Johannesburg.
In Lifestyle, we look closer at how social structures shape behaviour. One article explores sleep patterns that go beyond popular advice. Another, more telling, examines why Indian youth are among the least likely in the world to leave their parental homes in their twenties. According to a recent UN survey, nearly 80% of young Indians aged 20–29 still live with parents, compared to 45% in China and 35% in the US. Some call it culture, others economics. The truth, as always, is more layered.
In Economy & Business, our piece Bollywood Actresses Turned Entrepreneurs highlights a positive shift, women in film breaking into boardrooms. But juxtaposed with it is our sobering read, Trade Surprise Leaves India–US Hopes Vulnerable, where we see how high-level economic diplomacy can be rendered fragile by a single overnight tweet. With global uncertainty brewing, Indian-origin investors and start-ups must stay alert. Global growth may be slowing, but India’s exports still grew by 9.1% year-on-year this quarter, a silver lining that may soon be threatened.
Our Science & Technology section features a thrilling line-up. The article on A Powerful Eclipse Sparks Wondrous Curiosity explores the solar phenomenon that captivated billions this past month. Meanwhile, we reflect on the growing popularity of Perplexity’s Comet, a new AI browser that is being hailed as the “Chrome killer”. Already, Comet has crossed 3 million monthly users and is particularly favoured by younger, tech-savvy researchers. India, with its 1.2 million AI professionals, is poised to play a critical role in shaping this digital frontier.
We slow things down again in our Travel & Leisure section. The article The Best Train Rides That Create Beautiful Travel Memories is a tribute to journeys of another kind. From Kalka–Shimla to Matheran’s toy train, these are more than routes. They are a return to simpler rhythms of travel. For our global readers longing for a break from airports and algorithms, this one’s for you.
In Academics, we are not shy in calling out the crisis that is brewing for Indian students abroad. Big Mistake That Will Now Hurt Indian Students’ Dreams unpacks the alarming delays and backlogs in US student visa approvals, which have impacted more than 35,000 Indian students this summer alone. As India remains the largest source of international students in countries like the US, UK, and Australia, this issue is not marginal, it is central to diaspora futures. Yet, in contrast, our other feature Five Powerful Students Redefine Hope shines a spotlight on young Indians nominated for the Global Student Prize 2025, including innovators from Bihar and Kashmir. They are our hope, our headline, and our human investment.
We close this edition with the Spirituality section, where This Is Why Krishna’s Love Left Radha Behind asks deeper questions about longing, detachment, and divine mystery. In a world full of noise, it offers quiet contemplation, and perhaps the answer lies not in resolution, but in yearning itself.
Friends, in these fast-moving times, what does it mean to belong to a global Indian identity?
It means reading stories that stretch from Gaza to Gurugram, watching elections in the UK while cooking pongal in New Jersey, or backing a Kannada start-up while mentoring a student from Nairobi. It means finding meaning in mess, and building bridges between worlds.
This August, as we celebrate Guru Dutt’s centenary, I am reminded that some silences are more eloquent than speeches. Our diaspora has grown from 5 million in 1980 to over 32 million in 2025. But what holds us together is not merely ethnicity. It is shared imagination.
Let this magazine continue to be your mirror and your map.
Warm regards,
Melwyn Williams
Editor-in-Chief
The WFY Magazine
