The story of humankind underlines that truth has more facets than are normally perceived. Tesseract: The Geometry of Truth, unveiled through allegory and animation, movement and music, colour and contemplation shows that our future survival hinges on pure intelligence being tempered by empathyWe live in the age of information. It comes at us from all directions, enveloping and overwhelming, an accumulation and consequence of the sum total of human experience and endeavour. It is exhilarating and disorienting, often both at the same time. Yet the human mind has always been on a quest for truth, seeking it in a myriad ways since before the dawn of history and expressing it just as diversely. But we have been limited by our own power of perception.

The patterns of successive epochs—the archives of human ambition and enterprise—are there as prescient, silent witnesses around us. Who or what can analyse and interpret their geometry? The human mind can, but to do so, it needs to become aware of and open to the fourth dimension that parallels our 3D world, always offering perspective and choice. Its possibilities are embodied in the Tesseract, a theoretical 4D hypercube that exists only in abstraction.Also read: Interstellar, Einstein and the strange elasticity of timeAs a chronicler, The Times of India has built a matchless archive of the human story over the past 187 years. Its news headlines, articles and photographs have borne witness to and documented countless quests. Now The Times of India has taken the human story to the next plane by conceptualising Tesseract: The Geometry of Truth, to reveal the possibilities of alternative choices via story, song and dance— all time-rested facets of human creativity— at the NCPA in Mumbai.

As the Voice of the Archive reveals, down the ages, truth has been sought in many ways, by many people, in many ‘rooms’, from artistes and philosophers to fighters and feminists, from empire builders to iconoclasts. History itself is animated to reveal what many have forgotten

It is not easy to open minds, and nor is the fourth dimension a simple construct. But there is epiphany in journeying with Sophia and her alter ego through the ages of human history wherein advances in art, literature and the sciences were matched by exploitation of our planet and people, where revolution and evolution were not on the same track yet there was an inexorable onward march. And somewhere along the way, compassion fell by the wayside.

In each ‘room’ of human history, Sophia encounters different versions of herself and changing perceptions of truth. Eventually she awakens to an all-seeing and all-knowing presence around her, guiding her to the fourth dimension

As colour and rhythm pulsate on the stage, expressing human thoughts and emotions in its many shapes with glorious Broadway panache, the contours of true sapience emerge. Truth finally reveals itself as a Tesseract—tangible yet metaphysical, radiating a mysterious force that can be called empathy. That it awaits us in the fourth dimension, at the edge of human perception becomes blindingly apt. Sophia finds her truth; we need to seek ours too.“Tesseract: The Geometry of Truth” is produced by The Times of India, with concept and visualisation by Meera Jain. Experience “Tesseract: The Geometry of Truth”, running from 16 to 22 March 2026 at NCPA Mumbai. Book here

Airlines like Air India, IndiGo, and Akasa Air announced fuel surcharge on both domestic and international flights, spiking airfares on all circuits and forcing many into panic booking of tickets for their future travel plans, reports Joy Sengupta. A travel firm representative told TOI, that air fares should drop when oil prices also drop.

NEW DELHI: Bypolls for eight assembly seats – two each in Maharashtra and Karnataka, and one each in Goa, Gujarat, Nagaland and Tripura – will be held on April 9 and April 23, EC said on Sunday. CEC Gyanesh Kumar said bypolls for Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland and Tripura will be held on April 9; and for the remaining constituencies in Gujarat and Maharashtra on April 23. Counting of votes for all eight constituencies will be held on May 4.

T’puram/ Kochi: CPM on Sunday announced it will contest 86 assembly seats in Kerala and named 81 candidates, including six CPM-backed Independents and 10 women. Soon after, many CPM candidates took to the streets, organised rallies, and began campaigning on Sunday itself. CPM state secretary, M V Govindan, said that of the 86 candidates, 75 will be from the party. Independent candidates in five constituencies – Koduvally, Kottakkal, Palakkad, Kondotty, and Tirur – will be named later, he added. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will contest from Dharmadom. Eleven of his cabinet colleagues and 54 sitting MLAs will also contest again. Govindan also said the candidate for Thiruvananthapuram central will be decided after the court gives its verdict on the case against MLA Antony Raju on Monday. Party-backed Independent T Ashok Kumar will contest from Mahe in Puducherry. He said LDF is confident of retaining officer for the third consecutive time, as this is crucial to build a Nava Keralam and oppose communal forces. However, opposition Congress’ V D Satheesan on Sunday claimed that UDF will form a govt in the state. He said UDF’s full list of candidates will be released on Monday. The selection of candidates is focused on winnability, he told a press conference in Kochi. “Team UDF is approaching the elections with confidence and hope. The front will return to power in Kerala with over 100 seats,” Satheesan said. He predicted the success of UDF’s ‘Mission 26’, saying that ‘Mission 25’ has already secured four corporations and seven district panchayats, with two more within reach. Though the CPM is trying to project a narrative that its MLAs are popular, individual popularity does not determine electoral success; political circumstances do, Satheesan said.

NEW DELHI: Calcutta HC holds the key to whether nearly 45 lakh ‘doubtful electors’ will be able to participate in the Bengal assembly elections – their cases being adjudicated by judicial officers in line with SC’s Feb directives. Of the 60 lakh ‘doubtful elector’ cases, 15 lakh have been adjudicated so far, according to reports. CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said the “learned judges” working as per the HC’s directions will be putting out the supplementary list of names approved for inclusion in the state electoral roll, following which EC will add them back to the final roll. The electors added shall be eligible to vote in the upcoming poll in the state.

Praising SIR and calling it a “massive democratic exercise”, Kumar said it has delivered a pure electoral roll, “a bedrock of democracy”, in line with Article 326. An EC official, however, said the rules require the voters’ list to be frozen on the last date of nomination, with additions allowed till 10 days before that, leaving the remaining period for possible appeals. There is a provision for a two-point appeal process against final roll entries, the first point being the district magistrate and the second and final one, the chief electoral officer of the state or UT concerned. This means that the roll may be frozen on March 27 in respect of 152 assembly constituencies of Bengal covered in the first phase of polling on April 23, and on April 1 for 142 seats scheduled to go to polls on April 29.

NEW DELHI: The two-phase polling in West Bengal spread over just one week – making it the state’s most compact in recent memory – is aimed at curbing intimidation of electors and polling personnel by unruly elements allegedly hired and groomed by parties to influence the outcome in their favour, TOI has learnt. Election Commission sources explained that unruly elements, enjoying patronage of the party in office, usually move in between phases from one poll-going area to another and resort to malpractices known in local parlance as ‘chhapa’ – wherein the polling parties are threatened inside polling stations and votes cast through impersonation; booth jamming – a practice followed in rural areas where electors are asked not to go to polling stations by citing violence, disorder or some blockage along the access route; and source/gate jamming – wherein electors in urban areas are discouraged from venturing out of their homes for voting, on the pretext that their votes have already been cast by others. In the latter two cases, most prefer to stay back, strangely to avoid explaining to poll officials why they are not the one impersonating. The sources said the larger the number of phases, as in the past, the easier it was for the limited force of unruly elements to move from one area to another, maximising coverage to “intimidate electors and polling personnel”. The two polling dates – April 23, covering 152 assembly constituencies (ACs); and April 29, covering the remaining 142 ACs – would spread the “unruly force” thin, limiting their potential to sabotage the elections and influence the voting pattern in favour of a particular party outside their “local area”. There will be 100% webcasting from inside polling stations, they said. A key enabler of EC in restricting the Bengal poll to just two phases is the good availability of central armed police forces (CAPFs). Sources indicated that nearly 1,600-2,000 companies of CAPFs – comprising around 1.5-1.8 lakh personnel – may be deployed in the state. While nearly 500 companies are already in Bengal on advance deployment, an additional 1,000-1,500 companies shall be stationed there before April 23. In fact, forces deployed in Assam will move to Bengal soon after the northeastern state completes polling on April 9.

Thiruvananthapuram: Jewellery worth over Rs 2 crore has allegedly been stolen from Kowdiar Palace, the official residence of the Travancore royal family. Based on a complaint filed by senior family member Asw-athi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bai, Peroorkada police registered a case of theft. The ornaments, reportedly kept in an iron cupboard in the complainant’s bedroom, are suspected to have been stolen between Oct and Nov 2025. The family initially believed the jewellery had been misplaced. Among them were gold chains embedded with orange coral beads and gold pearls, anklets featuring the ‘pichipoo mottu’ design, and those studded with black and gold beads. Police suspect the theft has been carried out by persons familiar with the palace. They said videos of the interiors surfaced on social media, suggesting outsiders may ha-ve entered the premises.

NEW DELHI: India-flagged oil tanker ‘Jag Laadki’, which was loading crude at UAE’s Fujairah port on Saturday when the oil terminal was attacked, sailed safely for India from the port on Sunday morning, the shipping ministry said. The ship is carrying around 80,800 tonnes of Murban crude, an oil grade produced by the UAE, it added. The ministry also said all Indian seafarers on board the vessel were safe. The ship is owned and operated by the Mumbai-based Great Eastern Shipping Company.

A Liberian-flagged tanker, MT Smyrni, carrying about 1.4 lakh tonnes of crude reached the Mumbai port on Saturday night. This is the third tanker to reach an Indian port after crossing Strait of Hormuz amid the West Asian conflict. In a statement, govt said, “Two Indian-flag LPG carriers, Shivalik and Nanda Devi, carrying about 92,712 tonnes of LPG, which crossed the Strait of Hormuz on March 14, are currently on passage to India and are scheduled to reach Mundra Port on March 16 and Kandla Port on March 17, respectively.” At present, 22 Indian-flagged vessels with 611 seafarers remain west of the Persian Gulf region. India has been in discussions with Iran for safe passage of India-flagged ships in the conflict-hit region.