IN October 1962, I was studying in Class III in my village school. My father was in the Army. With the outbreak of tensions at the India-China border, 9 Punjab Regiment was moved from Secunderabad to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh,...
The Middle
MODERN-DAY texting has played havoc with the English language, but I doubt if it’s anything new. Our daughter was just five when, on a week’s leave from Nagaland, I casually flipped through her English notebook. I noticed a red circle...
DAY in and day out, we keep blaming farmers for burning parali (stubble) and causing air pollution. But it wasn’t so in my childhood; crop residue did not have any stigma attached to it back then. Huge piles of parali...
A month or two before the year ended, somehow a diary made its way home. A diary was irresistible — it compelled you to write. A pleasant smell wafted in the air the moment you picked it up. The pages...
OUR Army camp had a mazaar. One of its two rooms had a grave that was covered by a green cloth. The adjacent room was a prayer chamber with a mimbar (pulpit) in the west-facing wall. We could not go...
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MY alma mater is a school founded by Yadavindra Singh, then Maharaja of Patiala, which was the largest princely state in Punjab at the time of Independence. As the chancellor of the Chamber of Princes comprising 565 states, the Maharaja...
WATCHING Hindi films as a youngster, I used to wonder why the police always arrived late at the scene and let go the opportunity to thrash the baddies. Years later, its perverse logic was revealed to me by the stolid...
LEAFING through one of my old diaries, I stopped at a page marked with a red asterisk. It was the last day of October 1984. I was posted at an obscure village, Bhutti, in the interior of Himachal Pradesh. A...
LIFE is stranger than fiction. A few years ago, I was in Kolhapur (Maharashtra), where there was an eatery near Shivaji University. A woman in her early seventies ran that joint. The lineaments of her face suggested that she may...
LAST weekend, I made five calls to India to catch up with family and friends, but no matter who I spoke to — sisters, aunt, sister-in-law or a childhood friend — the response was eerily identical: “Sorry, can’t talk, I’m...
I was commissioned into a battalion comprising Jats and Rajputs in equal proportion. The salutation among the troops and officers is preceded by ‘Ram-Ram’ by Jats and ‘Jai Mata ji ki’ by Rajputs. During Navratri, many soldiers observe a fast....
AS an experienced lawyer, I am often asked by budding lawyers and young students what are the most important skills that one needs in order to succeed in the legal profession. My first instinct is to mention my experience of...
No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. Yet, over time, fear gives way to something else — something bearable. — CS Lewis WHEN I came across this beautiful quote, the first thing that flashed across my...
IN 1988, while working as a document writer in the district courts, I got an opportunity to appear for a skill test and interview for the post of stenographer (ordinary grade) on an ad hoc basis in a Central Government...
THE way spellings are getting mutilated and phrases are being reduced to acronyms on instant messaging platforms would make Wren and Martin purists agonise over the thousand cuts their beloved English is facing daily. The first wave saw shortening of...
IT was baffling. Every now and then, the doorbell would ring. There would be a delivery boy at the door, either to deliver something or pick up a return. From daily-use items to fancy products, perishables like milk and vegetables...
THE oath-taking ceremony of the new Haryana Chief Minister and his Cabinet, held in Panchkula last week, was lavish despite those in power claiming to be frugal. It saw the masses being subjected to great inconvenience. Roads leading to the...
IHAVE had the privilege of visiting numerous hill stations across India. Each visit has not only provided a retreat into nature but also offered Wordsworthian moments of reflection, shaping my outlook on life. The beauty of these places is more...
AFTER a family trip to the enchanting Kaziranga, the Rhinos' habitat, we turned our gaze towards Kohima. This place is the vibrant home of the Kulkis and the Naga tribe, known for their rich culture and fierce self-reliance. Our journey,...
I WAS studying in class three or four at that time. The enactment of Ram Lila by the neighbourhood children was the highlight of pre-Dasehra days. It was a unifying occasion for the colony, with people from all religious hues...
IN the military, both officers and troops have to be fully familiar with their weapons and equipment. In the case of weapons. it is important to have full knowledge of their operation, performance and parameters. In the Armoured Corps, there...
AMONG the wealthy and famous, 'destination weddings' are the flavour of the season. These events are commonly conducted at grand locations within India and abroad. Artistic designers create novel, exclusive backdrops. Conspicuous opulence drips at every stage of the elaborate...
MY tenure in Lebanon as the Commanding Officer in the aftermath of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war will always be etched in the depths of my heart. With a tinge of sadness these days I watch on TV the skyscrapers in...
AS the foliage of autumn painted the jungle in hues of gold, a peculiar predicament dawned upon its inhabitants, most notably His Majestic Excellency, the tiger. The impending Navratra season — a revered celebration — brought with it an unfamiliar...
IT was late evening on January 10, 2008. We were in England on Air Force duty and after a long day in the cold, wet and windy English weather, we were enjoying a drink in the cosy anteroom of the...
THE other day, a doctor used the term ‘Googlopathy’ during a conversation with me. It was not difficult to guess that the term referred to the Google search by patients about ailments, treatments and drug side-effects and the subsequent exercise...
I WAS just 20, fresh out of college, and about to embark on the first major adventure of my life — a 15-day training for my first job as a medical representative. I remember my excitement and anxiety as I...
WHENEVER my close relatives or family friends visited my house, they used to bring sweetmeats despite my pleas against this formality. I would always tell them: “Please don’t bring sweets for me as I am consciously avoiding them.” “But how...
IT was an autumn morning. Roused by the hurly-burly on the street, I peeped out through the window of my study. I saw an old man being pestered by a group of teenaged boys. They were pulling a long-strapped leather...
GANDHI Jayanti brought back memories of my interaction with a Gandhian in the Netherlands five decades ago. He was Jan Tinbergen (1903-94), the first recipient — along with Norwegian Ragnar Frisch — of the Nobel Prize in economic sciences. I...
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