Newsletter 17: About India’s salaried workers, poorly paid umpires and a film on situationships

The Reading Hack

Feb 4, 2026

This week's curation of five free-to-read in-depth works of journalism captures varied stories about employment in India, the love language of youngsters through an indie film and death insurance in Zimbabwe.

Can anyone ever be bored of India? Forget the fact that the country has the highest mountains, the deepest seas, dense wildlife and bustling cities, which in itself is a vibe that few countries in the world can boast of.

Remember, there are a billion of us and hence, at least a billion interesting personas to read, watch or listen about.

This week’s newsletter tries to capture this variety. For instance, we have a data story which tells us that salaried workers in India are a minority and that there are more professional drivers in our country than manufacturing workers.

In the same vein, do check out a report on how Indian cricket umpires clutch at straws to eke out a comfortable living.

We also have an opinion piece by the polarising Manu Joseph, writing about an indie film about situationships, which he categorises as ‘good cinema’.

With a former Army chief’s memoirs being the hot topic in the Parliament, I recommend a well-reported piece on what happened in August 2020 at the Indo-China border.

This week’s last curation is straight out of a dark comedy: how in Zimbabwe, citizens are choosing funeral insurance over health cover.

Happy reading!