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Business Standard

Best of BS Opinion: When the past and the future hold us in mid-air

You know that odd moment while flipping an hourglass, when the sand hasn't quite begun to fall, and time feels suspended? It's a pause full of tension and ambiguity. We often find ourselves there, between action and consequence, old certainties and emerging futures, motion and meaning. Standing still, but not stable. That's where the world seems to be now, unsure whether to cling to the known or brave the new. Let's dive in. Take the US Federal Reserve, which chose to hold interest rates steady, but not out of comfort. Jonathan Levin writes that geopolitical unrest and Trump-era trade policies have placed Jerome Powell in an economic no-man's-land. With inflation still sticky and labour markets softening, the Fed's September decision looms like a turning hourglass, gravity pulling in all directions, but no clear drop yet. India's political hourglass is turning too, especially in Bihar. Aditi Phadnis meets a Dalit BJP MLA from Samastipur who, despite his party loyalty, admires Nitish Kumar's values. As Nitish faces perhaps his last election, the BJP is hedging bets, unsure whether to preserve past partnerships or prepare for a post-Nitish era. The sand has shifted, but succession lines remain blurred. Shekhar Gupta warns of a strategic stasis of our own making. For decades, India fought to de-hyphenate itself from Pakistan, treating each neighbour, especially China, on its own terms. Yet by making Pakistan central to domestic political narratives, the Modi government risks reviving the very hyphenation it sought to erase. This 'self-hyphenation' may make electoral sense but clouds strategic clarity. The sand shifts, but backwards. Meanwhile, in the virtual world, the sins of our ancestors are back, just with apps and algorithms. Sandeep Goyal rewires the seven deadly sins through digital lenses, from pride on Instagram to sloth on Netflix. Our online lives aren't just shaped by technology; they're trapped in timeless moral loops, only this time, the confessional booth is the comment section. But in one corner of the world, the sands finally settled in favour of redemption. South Africa's World Test Championship win, writes Kumar Abishek, wasn't just cricket, it was a healing echo of Mandela's legacy. As Temba Bavuma lifted the mace, flanked by white and Black teammates, a multiracial team stood tall on centuries of pain. In that moment, the past met the future. And for once, time didn't just pass, it progressed. Stay tuned!