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...
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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...
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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....
ON weekdays, my grandmother would stand at the window of our house at 1 pm sharp, keeping her eyes planted on the road unblinkingly. That was the time when famished schoolkids were rushing home. Whether her great-grandchildren — my daughter...
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,...
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...
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...
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