AS one leafs through a magazine or a newspaper, ever so often one comes across tips, pointers and advice galore on how to do this, that and the other. You'll have suggestions on how to be a good/efficient and effective communicator, leader, boss, spouse, teacher. You name it and it's there. The market too is virtually inundated with "how to" books that claim to tell you how to cope with all kinds of problems under the sun — real or imagined — only if you're prepared to heed to their "easy to practice" advice, which, of course, comes at a small price.

Self-help can be negative in a relationship
Hazel Curry
I'M not sure what it was that first attracted me to Mr S. The piercing eyes, perhaps? The ebony hair? Maybe it was the way he fondled the self-help book I'd just bought in the crystal shop where we met? Options on dual meditation sessions and tantric sex leaped into my mind.

Serving the most unfortunate
Kuldip Dhiman
A young man is by the deathbed of his grandfather who has spent a lifetime serving the poor and the ill in his village, Behrampur Zamindari. Before breathing his last, the old man says to his grandson, "Promise me one thing. You will carry on my social work." Holding his tears back, the young man slides his hand into his grandfather's and nods.

ARTISTS’ FORUM
A realistic depiction of life
Moti Lal Verma
SATPAL Verma is a rare name among those self-taught realist painters who have expressed life in its different moods. This artist, also fond of classical music, was born on May 2, 1930, in Ganganagar, Rajasthan.