The Middle

THERE exists a subspecies of the classroom bully who believes in the flimsy axiom that everyone is looking at him — that when he bangs the desk, the world trembles. Power, in his worldview, is his unquestionable right, and he...

I prefer travelling by cab. It spares me the ordeal of wading through traffic and finding parking space. More importantly, it offers me an interval of quiet reflection — a chance to plan the day, revisit evergreen Bollywood melodies or...

THE ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has turned my neighbourhood into a bustling hub of voter verification and documentation. Seeing enumerators going about their job reminds me of the heartwarming story of a government schoolteacher. Though teachers...

MIYAN Tansen was one of the Navratnas (nine gems) at Mughal Emperor Akbar’s court. He was a Hindustani classical music maestro, famous for his mastery of musical instruments, a melodious voice and deep knowledge of raags. Legend has it that...

Rameshinder Singh Sandhu DURING my school days in the 1990s, I spent the summer vacation at my maternal grandparents’ home in Butala village near Amritsar. Of all the memories from those carefree days, sleeping under the stars remains the most...

AT the Polo Park Mall in Winnipeg, a Punjabi girl in her twenties greeted us warmly at a retail showroom. The moment she learned that my wife belonged to Ludhiana, her face lit up. With a spontaneous smile, she began...

IT was at Attari village near the India-Pakistan border that I first encountered war — not as a chapter in history, but as a life-changing reality. I was a schoolboy when, in September 1965, the fragile divide between peaceful village...

INDIAN migrants usually aspire to professional success on foreign shores. I was no exception. Upon my arrival in Sydney on a one-way ticket more than two decades ago, I was fervently expecting that many Australian employers would take no time...

IT was my misfortune to come across these lines from Vladimir Lenin’s 1920 speech titled ‘The Tasks of the Youth Leagues’: “You can become a Communist only when you enrich your mind with a knowledge of all the treasures created...

THE recent earthquake near Mount Fuji in Japan led to speculation about whether this could be a precursor to an eruption of the great volcano, which has been dormant since 1707. The incident brought back memories of my ascent of...

WHENEVER I drive into a hotel, a security guard asks me to open the boot of my car. I comply without protest. He peers inside with admirable seriousness and shuts the boot, and I proceed with the comforting feeling that...

MY relationship with bananas began long before I understood nutrition, fitness or common sense. I was barely six years old when, during a visit to my maternal grandmother’s home in Mohali, I ate six bananas in one sitting. The feat...

IN the early 1970s, I was studying in a Jalandhar college. My home was about 10 km away from the campus, and like most of my classmates, I commuted by bicycle. Not just any bicycle — it was an old,...

I inhabit a two-room apartment in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi. My balcony offers a view that looks out mostly onto a lush-green canopy. As an ardent votary of the minimalist lifestyle, I have sparsely furnished my space and everything...

THE other day, my son looked at my plate and asked with genuine concern, “What exactly are you eating, mum?” It was a fair question. I looked down and realised I could not answer with confidence. On that plate were...

BACK in 1991, Punjab was going through dark times. Turmoil, uncertainty and a lingering sense of fear had woven themselves into the fabric of everyday life. College and university campuses were no exception to the unrest, which was exploited by...

FANNING himself with a handkerchief, my son said: “We should get a second inverter, since this one cannot last beyond 12 hours during a prolonged power cut.” It was the day a violent storm damaged power lines, causing an outage...

IT was a busy life for us at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, near Ooty. We used to organise a bimonthly party on a rotational basis to unwind and reassure the ladies that we were not always occupied....

THE rainy season of 2025 proved to be even more devastating for Punjab than the 1988 floods. Weeks after the deluge, a scheme was announced for flood-hit villagers: “Jisda Khet, Usdi Ret” (whosoever owns the land shall own the sand)....

WHEN we brought home a brand-new microwave, it did not arrive as an appliance. It arrived as a prophecy. The salesman promised a culinary renaissance. This gleaming metallic marvel would bake, roast, grill and gratinate. Cakes would rise like proud...

LIFE often teaches its most valuable lessons through people whose simple actions leave an enduring impression on our hearts and minds. Some encounters remain with us for years, quietly influencing our thoughts and actions. Many years ago, I had to...

BORN in Rangoon (now Yangon) in 1925, my elder sister belonged to an 11-member family that fled Burma during World War II. Along the 1,500-km stretch of hilly, trackless terrain, the barefoot caravan of women and children endured severe food...

BORN in Rangoon (now Yangon) in 1925, my elder sister belonged to an 11-member family that fled Burma during World War II. Along the 1,500-km stretch of hilly, trackless terrain, the barefoot caravan of women and children endured severe food...

IN a corner of our ancestral house lay a charkha, covered with a fading white cloth. As children, we seldom paid attention to it. It neither glittered like modern machines nor demanded admiration like the appliances that were entering Punjabi...

PEACE is as elusive as a butterfly, difficult to catch yet vital for the advancement of humankind. Thousands of years ago, our rishis composed Vedic hymns and Shanti Mantras, invoking peace on the earth and in the skies, waters, winds,...