ONE of the benefits of the lockdown during Covid-19 was reconnecting with my childhood as the responsibility of teaching the maid’s daughter, Mehak, who was then in Class II, fell on me. While reading her EVS book on the structure...
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The Middle
ASPOT of humour, a witty remark or the oddity of a situation are priceless in war. Two days after my 20th birthday in the trenches, the balloon went up with Pakistan's multiple raids deep inside India by F-86 Sabre jets....
AS a septuagenarian couple, when we joined a motley group of youthful friends and relatives for a trip to Bali, we hoped to shed a few years in a boisterous company visiting an exotic location. And we were not disappointed....
THE days at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, are memories of a lifetime. Any biography of a renowned army man includes a stint of his academy days. The training settles the diversified culture at a common grid. Various incidents...
DURING the late 1970s, my unit, 18 CRPF, was deployed in Nagaland for counter-insurgency duties. In January 1979, the unit moved at short notice to the Merapani area in Sivasagar district (Assam), where armed miscreants from Nagaland had killed 54...
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ONE pleasant afternoon in May 2010, I reached Srinagar for an operational task. My team members also arrived there. After a briefing, we were made to depart the Main Guard Room (MGR) next morning in civilian clothes in a taxi...
IN recent decades, our society has become increasingly materialistic. Ethical and moral values are on the decline. There is a mad race to accumulate money and possessions. A few years ago, I read a news report about a ‘dying’ mission...
THE Black Friday fever, an affliction that has its origin in the US, is catching on in India as well. Newspapers in some of the bigger cities carried large advertisements in the last week of November of special ‘sales’ to...
IN the Indian Merchant Navy, a Fifth Engineer is the lowest and Chief Engineer the highest rank. Most Fifth Engineers reach the topmost rank after passing the Certificate of Competency examination, but when joining a ship, they are mostly called...
KANTA Krishen, wife of Haryana’s first Chief Secretary Saroop Krishen, was the founder of the voluntary blood donation movement in India. A blood donor herself, she made her biggest donation — her body — to the PGI after breathing her...
GOING to Varanasi and not immersing oneself in the surreal glow of the evening aarti at Assi Ghat would be an unforgivable oversight. What is this city — one of the oldest in the world — without its vibrant ghats,...
THE 12-year-old boy who claimed to have escaped from his kidnappers thought he had a foolproof story. But the police knew that it was the patent tale of most runaway teenagers who return home after encountering the reality of the...
AT the 1998 World Health Assembly, the progress of efforts to eradicate polio in Africa was reported to be very poor and fragmented. Polio was widely prevalent in that continent, paralysing an estimated 75,000 children every year. Then, some countries...
IT’s quite common to see stray dogs chasing cars or bikes in the streets. They bark at the top of their lungs and then give up the chase, perhaps satisfied that they have unnerved motorists for a few moments. I...
THE sewing machine was gifted to me by my husband. It was a desi brand. Now more than 20 years old, it has seen its heyday and helped me in my journey as a householder. Initially, I sewed knick-knacks, cushions,...
Of all the girls I interviewed, everyone spoke about gender as one of their most significant barriers
IT was not a big town, but rather a small one — but big enough to stay in my memories. It is worth revisiting those vivid hazy images that reflect the past in detail. Springs emerged at many places; water...
ONE wonders whether it was a coincidence or a hint from heaven that Chaudhary Ranbir Singh, who rose to be elected as a member of the Constituent Assembly, was born in a farmer’s family at Sanghi village in Rohtak district...
NESTLED amid the verdant landscape of Palakkad, Kerala, an ayurvedic healing village is more than just a wellness retreat; it’s a sanctuary for the soul. Located just 90 km from Coimbatore, this tranquil oasis provided us — a group of...
AS an MA student in the early 1980s, I used to commute by bus from Malerkotla to Nabha. A concessional bus pass for students was issued by the authorities. It cost me just Rs 27 for a three-month period. We,...
THE other day, my friend’s granddaughter visited us. She was cajoled into reciting a nursery rhyme. She recited ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’, which includes the line, ‘Yes sir, yes sir’. It made me think that many of us say ‘sir’...
My recent train journey to Delhi was an ordeal due to the rail blockade by protesters. As the train halted, I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from my old classmate, who is based in Japan. When I shared...
Birds and animals have an amazing quality of being ‘in the moment’. A glimpse into their life not only delights and rejuvenates us but also inspires and educates. The truth dawned upon me while I was staying in Birmingham. The...
A smooth, shining, spotless coat of whitewash would invariably make people say that it was the dexterous work of Raju. His name had become synonymous with the art of whitewashing. Allah Ditta, popularly known as Raju, was a native of...
THE monsoon season morphed Shoghi into a mystical realm. Hills were shrouded in clouds, their peaks barely visible through the thick, rolling mist. Pine trees glistened with raindrops, and the earthy scent of wet soil filled the air. Streams swelled...
WEEKENDS in the early 1970s were tough in our home. Even at 7 am, six children would be wriggling under blankets, pretending to sleep and dreading the morning routine. We lived in Thoothukudi in the southern part of Tamil Nadu,...
AS we celebrate the 555th Parkash Utsav of Guru Nanak, it’s time to renew our pledge to follow the message of the great Guru in letter and spirit. His teachings remain relevant even today, some five centuries after they were...
IN present-day India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s name evokes a wide spectrum of views — from being the architect of modern India who set our country on the path of progress after the ruinous Partition to the leader who neglected the...
THE other day, I watched a television programme on interiors in which the owner of a palatial house drooled over his expensive Picasso original. As the programme came to an end, it occurred to me that I, too, had a...
AFTER a nearly eight-hour-long flight from Delhi to Zurich, I landed at my uncle’s apartment in a high-rise building near the airport. I witnessed nature at its best through the large windows. Small snaking paths gave me an irresistible invitation....
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