DMs filling up with "hey can you explain this Zohran phenomenon to me" from friends & Desi columnists lol.

So this will be my NYC Mayor election mega 🧵. FAQ of sorts.

I first truly noticed Zohran in 2023 when he put out an anti Modi statement. As Ro was sucking up to Modi /1 I had known of Zohran vaguely for a couple of years before that, but it was as a huge fan of Mira Nair. I had heard her son was running for state assembly. Not exactly a glamorous & enriching career. But even then I thought, that's sweet. He's choosing public service!

The historic reasons for why England (and most of it's ex colonies) and Japan drive on the left but Europe, USA, rest of the world drive on the right are fascinating. And predate the invention of cars.

It's about chariots/wagons vs single horses as primary transportation. 🧵

https://twitter.com/gauravsabnis/status/1948860900452233321

In Europe, the Romans built highways 2000 years ago for military and supply chains. Lots of chariots & wagons involved.

90% people are right handed, so held the reigns in their right hand. So it made sense to sit on the left. And drive in the right. As a norm, then rule.

Mumbai & Chennai are port cities. Hard to avoid flooding. And Mumbai gets rainfall like no other major city in the world.

Bangalore Pune flooding is the batshit insanity. Both are on an elevation. No history of such floods until IT-fueled "development".

Felt it in Pune! 🧵

https://twitter.com/IamKishorBhat/status/1925048203118051609

Last week in Pune, I went to many cousins' & friends' new or recent homes. In and around Pashan. And I could picture exactly which areas were sure to flood. I've walked those hills for years.

Why is it called Pashan?

Some of the oldest & hardest rock on the planet!

Personal story 🧵

Recently I was in Pune for a short trip visiting parents. Had sprained ankle, wanted to ice it. But their fridge didn't have enough ice.

Went on dad's Activa to nearby medical store to get a gel pack. Next door is a barber shop. A dude was outside. /1 Guy in his 30s. Looked at me & gave a big smile, waved.

I was confused. This was Pune not the Midwest. People don't just randomly smile at strangers. Did I know him from childhood or youth? Didn't seem familiar.

But I was limping & in pain. So drove away.

Be it 1993 serial blasts, 2001 Parliament attack, 26/11 or German Bakery, Indian govt identified perpetrators and laid out details of how they happened very soon.

But we still have no answers or details on Uri all these years later. Public was satisfied with Balakot alone. Will that be the fate of Pahalgam too? Will we get no serious investigation of the terrorist perpetrators and no serious systemic introspection of security lapses, because these missile strikes and dogfights have brought the josh to shallow armchair patriots?

Why I think Mexican food is the best food in the world. A 🧵

I'm not talking about the "taco nacho burrito quesadilla" snapshot of Mexican food that most of the world carries. That's like thinking chicken tikka masala, naan, samosa defines Indian cuisine.

I'm talking for reals What I'm saying is I'm an Indian who's been all over the world and food I ate in Mexico is, on average THE best food I've eaten in my life!

Not talking Mexican food in America or your country or Taco Bell.

Actual real Mexican food in Mexico.

Reason 1 - Zero taboos!

During & after COVID, I became good friends with a dozen neighbors ages 65-85, mostly women. Coming from India, watching their daily senior citizen lives is such a pleasant cultural shock! So happening!

Now bear in mind, there is a huge self selection element at play here.🧵 These are senior citizens who can afford to AND have chosen to live in Manhattan. Didn't move to Florida Arizona California like many of their generation.

Manhattan is walking friendly. And it also makes you walk. And also keeps you in close walking distance from everything.

Another student visa cancellation horror story. Swimming in these today!

Dude was making a turn in rainy foggy weather and gently bumped against a car. That driver got out. Both examined the damage. Negligible. A nearby cop car saw the small accident and showed up. /1 Cop realized that Dude's license expired 3 days ago. Dude said I know and I've already applied for a renewal and the new one should be in the mail.

Cop said I still have to write you up for driving on an expired license. But explain your situation to the judge. It's cool.

Grad students Amit & Mita (names changed) drove to finger lakes for their anniversary.

Mita was driving when they hit unusual traffic. Due to some escaped convicts, cops had set up a check post to eyeball every passing car.

Cops looked at their car, said please pull aside! /1 "Have you been drinking, ma'am?"

Mita: No I don't drink. He had some saki at lunch but I'm stone cold sober! You can test me!

"That's not necessary but here's the thing. I have a body cam. Which captured that half filled saki bottle in your back seat. It's been recorded."

Something I'm telling y'all that Godi media doesn't. An important distinction.

An "Immigration Judge" is not a real judge. They are directly under Trump's control and are basically bureaucrats play acting judges.

Immigration courts under Trump will not be like actual courts.

Trump is currently targeting actual federal judges BECAUSE systemically, he can't really do anything to them. Other than defy them.

But "Immigration Judges" are hired by him &serve at his pleasure. They have no constitutional validity or independence outside the executive branch

My univ is one of many that recently got hit by what was in hindsight a coordinated sophisticated migration scam built on exploiting student visas. 🧵

You enter USA on visa & i20 tied to one university, but can transfer almost as soon as you get here if another uni takes you...

https://twitter.com/gauravsabnis/status/1888492839547421101

A buddy of mine got into Stevens for Masters, was wait-listed at Wisconsin. Just before the academic year started, Wisconsin sent him an admit. He came to US on the Stevens linked student visa, showed up at Stevens, said, thank you but I want to transfer to Wisconsin....

Bookmark this.

Soon after Trump takes over, you'll see planefuls of Gujarati Haryanvi Telugu young men deported cattle like to India. It'll be on TV news & social media in Feb.

He has to start off with quick easy mass deportations. Recent undocumented Desi dudes are easiest. Trump has been promising splashy deportations that are a media event like his overnight Muslim ban last time.

But it's way too difficult & expensive to actually hunt, catch, and deport those whose melted into society.

It's easier to deport those who turned themselves over.

I know that's what they will come in wanting to do.

The nerdy historic govt wonk point I'm making is that Musk-Vivek will find even that privatization thing hard to pursue cos US govt has gotten that treatment for 40 years now!

Adults weighing 40 kg can't lose much weight!

https://twitter.com/Prof_Sevak/status/1856707193137147946

The idea of cutting 2 trillion from the federal budget is just so shallow and poorly thought out!

You think that other smarter and more dedicated libertarians and fiscal conservatives wouldn't have done it already?

The bros forget how poor most Trump states are lol!

Thing is, Biden like Obama already deports people with criminal records & such issues, despite the lies Trump has told for years.

So when he starts deportations, their plan is LIFO!

Last in, first out!

Indian young men who arrived in recent years are particularly vulnerable!

https://twitter.com/hay_banda/status/1855694041188385128

Since 2019, at least 400K Indians, mostly young men from Gujarat Haryana Punjab Andhra-Telangana, reached US land borders undocumented, & then formally requested asylum. They have a temporary legal right to be in the country while their cases are heard, but not a right to work.

True story of the only private coaching I took in school in Pune.

It was for 10th Boards English.

This story will lay out many systemic issues with the Indian one shot exam model.

I went to a school that had us read Macbeth in 8th & write about it!

My English was great!

https://twitter.com/gauravsabnis/status/1832008762594328950

At age 16, entering 10th standard, I was in fact extremely proficient at the English language. As well as all my friends who joined that coaching class with me.

Because scoring well in 10th Boards English had nothing to do with being good at English.

It was about exam hacking

Doing lecture prep for Fall & adding this new story in the product development strategy session. Thought it would make a nice 🧵

Did you know that a lot of calculators & music equipment we have is the result of cigarettes not having filters during world war 2?

Fun story! Cigarettes back then came like this. A fully white paper tube filled with tobacco that you lit at one end and smoked from the other.

This inevitably meant that you "wasted" some tobacco at the mouth end while throwing it away.

Tadao Kashiyo in WW2 Japan saw an opportunity!

One thing Rajnath Singh said in LS that stuck with me

"Such schemes are there even in US and they don't complain so why do you complain?"

That made me sit up.

What?

Surely someone would fact check this cos what is he even talking about?

US military agnipath?

So I checked.

https://twitter.com/thewire_in/status/1808812784089751939

There is NOTHING in US military remotely resembling Agnipath!

At the 18-22 age, the US military actually wants you to enlist for life if possible. And will happily keep you on for life if you serve honorably.

The short term stints are like Indian Short Service Commission.

Very interesting conversation with a gujarati bodega owner nearby.

"I support Modi but something is wrong in gujarat. There are more gujaratis taking the risky border routes in the last 2 years than the 20 years before, from my observation. And they all say, no jobs in gujarat" "Until recent years, gujaratis wanting to move either came through family visa or arranged marriage or student visa or at the most, overstay tourist visa. But risking life and limb like this in such big numbers? Modi needs to pay attention to gujarat. It's in trouble."

"Wherever you go in this world, you will find a t̶e̶a̶ s̶t̶a̶l̶l̶ great school founded by a Malayalee."

K.T. Behanan was a brilliant Yale educated social scientist & Indian bureaucrat who landed in NYC with his doctor wife & 5 year old son.

Ran straight into systemic racism./1 The year was 1947 & Behanan, a Syrian Christian from Kerala's influential Kovoor clan was a 45 year old superstar in the Babu circles of the brand new India.

He accepted a position for India at the brand new UN, working on education policy with the Trustee Council.

Ironic.

I'm at that age where a lot of my friends are starting to send their kids to college. So getting a lot of queries on US college as an option.

So I'm going to do this reference 🧵 with the basics to avoid repetition. And send it to them before further more specific questions. I'll start off by saying that if you have ₹3 crore that you can spare, it is a nice lifelong gift for your child.

An undergrad education in the US is an amazing enriching experience beyond just the academics & the jobs after. I envy my students a little they get to live it.

India & China are almost half of humanity, 2 of the oldest cultures, sharing one of the longest and most iconic borders on the planet.

But how little we really know each other!

Recently, a Chinese grad student shared her love story with me. I repeat it here with her permission. She grew up the only child of two people who were only children of parents who were also only children, in the South of China.

He grew up in a similar configuration, in the northeast of China.

They both followed the well set academic excellence route to US grad school.