iWorld
Q brings eccentricity and oddity to hoichoi with Taranath Tantrik
MUMBAI: It’s time to relive the legend through the eyes of a cult director – Q – who is famous for his aesthetically treated content. hoichoi is bringing Q’s take on the famous character created by legendary Bengali author, Bibhutibhushon Bandopadhyay, Taranath Tantrik on screen as a web series.
The series is based on various short stories written by Bibhutibhushon Bandopadhyay and his son, Taradas Bandopadhyay. Bibhutibhushon was a renowned scholar, a civil servant, a nature lover and a prolific writer. Despite being a rationalist, he was deeply interested by the pagan practices. Having spent much of his life in such spaces where the old practices were still active, he has written extensively about the paranormal in everyday life. He wrote only two short stories about the character. Much of Taranath’s life is displayed prominently through these two stories. The writer himself always tells the stories. He is a regular visitor at Taranath’s old house. Sometimes with a friend, sometimes alone. Every time, Taranath tells a story. After Bibhutibhushon’s death, his son began writing more stories about Taranath Tantrik. These fascinating stories make for the narrative of the series.
Based in turn of the century Bengal, Taranath Tantrik (played by Indian American film and theatre actor, Jayant Kripalani) is a collection of fascinating stories providing an insight into the period narrated by a renowned tantric. These are stories of dark arts, mystery and magic. The stories all begin with a young writer, and his friend Kishori buying a packet of Passing Show cigarettes visiting Taranath. In lieu of the gift of cigarettes, Taranath, who lives with his pretty but strange daughter, Chari, will tell them a story from his rich repertoire. He has had an eventful life as an itinerant student and practitioner of Tantra. The writer and friend, being rationalists, have doubts about the authenticity of the stories. However, Taranath is a master storyteller, and takes them on a whirlwind trip of insane adventure every time. All episodes of Taranath Tantrik are streaming now.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
