Anatomy of suicide: Ethical considerations
The entire home and neighbourly ambience is agog with happiness and joy at the advent of a child … with so many expectations from family members and others. Yet a moment comes when the same person decides to end one’s life. What leads him to resort to this heinous act?
Fake cough didn’t work
Ignorance is bliss! Apropos of the wayside labourers who routinely imbibe tea procured from a nearby vendor, in unhygienic, low quality polythene bag. On two occasions when I explained them about its serious carcinogenic effects, they gave a patient, receptive hearing. A few of them might have relinquished this dangerous practice, I understand. Earlier, […]
Retirement blues
I was reluctant to accept my retirement party. Yet I did. Here is why? This article was published in Deccan Herald nine days after my retirement. Myth of ‘meritorious service’: After three decades and a half of ‘meritorious’ service as they euphemistically term it, as the date of my retirement draws close with only few days […]
Playing truant for a holy cause
My friend’s ingenuity in finding time to feed the unattended bovine at home amidst his daughter’s marriage celebrations moved me and rekindled my regard for the holy cow. I had dropped from Delhi well in advance at the marriage venue, a sprawling lawn in the sylvan, hilly Nangal town of Punjab along Sutlej River. My […]
Staying in sync with youth aspirations
Indian youth, the largest youth power the world over, needs to be groomed amicably, in their own and in nation’s interest as they can become the greatest asset to the community and the country. Owing to immense vibrancy, vigour, imagination and the verve to do, youth is the phase with highest potential. For the receptivity, […]
Wait and reconsider, before jumping to conclusion
On a visit to my affectionate maternal uncle in Lucknow one late evening, not being offered dinner hurt us deeply, and we tended to cherish feelings that were not in good taste. However, a rethink made us change our perception. Whenever out of town, my priority is meeting relatives & friends there, and interacting […]
Taking care of the Care Takers
They are again to the fore in this scary point of time. In the ongoing war against Covid-19 that has so far defied any sure shot medicine, the frontline health care functionaries i.e. nurses have demonstrated remarkable resilience and ‘never say die’ spirit. Undeterred by episodic humiliation, abuse and assaults at some hospitals, they are […]
Making the best of times during the lock down
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …” This opening line of ‘Tale of Two Cities’ by Charles Dickens was meant to pinpoint the-then glaringly divergent conditions of contemporary London and erstwhile Paris; however, it is more true to the home-bound Indians today than it was to Brits way […]
Learning before it is too late
Ironically, the gravitas of precepts of teachers and the other elderly is often realised belatedly. However, the revelation is useful for a more meaningful life and key to sustained teacher-student bonds. The news of demise of Mr S.C. Sharma, our teacher in class VII, immersed me down the memory lane of school days in mid […]
Darkness can’t beat darkness, light does
Getting busy in (or contributing to) beautication of the interior and façade of your home, office or factory premises in the festival of lights is OK. A clean uncluttered ambience helps usher positive vibes. Yet remember. Since man’s true self is divine, cleansing of your mental drawing room is not less significant … so that inner […]
Pleasure of baby-sitting
Tending the grandchild can be quite a pleasant, exhilarating experience. Had it not been for the 20-some days sojourn of our grand-daughter from Mumbai with us, demise of my beloved father few days ago could have fell harder on me and my wife. More than a care taker when we both were away on […]
If only the sons could read his father’s mind!
The first ever letter I received from my methodical father was a sheer advisory. That was in 1980, when I left my parents and others in Delhi to join a new job in Bhopal. Landline phones were few and far between, and mobile phones we had just heard of. Exchange of letters was the […]