In the festival of lights, bank on the light already within
Come the eighth month Kartik of Hindu calendar, the no-moon day is agog with illumination of homes, government buildings, workplaces and industrial houses of northern and other parts of the country. A few days later similar lighting is fervently observed by the Sikh people. To Hindus in particular, Diwali or Deepavali (literally meaning the array […]
Magnanimity of a petty vendor
As we were to set out with our two children for day-long trip of the holy city of Rishikesh after breakfast at our sister’s home where we were lodged, I suggested her two kids to join us, which would be a bonus pleasure to them. They were, as if awaiting the opportunity. I recalled my […]
Let interpersonal spaces be bridged, not widened
Interpersonal spaces determine behaviour, communication and social interaction patterns. Knowledge of how much distance to maintain in different contexts facilitates healthy growth of individuals and society. Kahlil Gibran’s often-quoted line, “Let there be spaces in our togetherness” is more than an admonition against intruding into personal affairs of others. A pun is intended in ‘spaces’. […]
Skip the words, read the intent
Due to poor vocabulary, not everyone is adept in proper use of words. Don’t go just by what she or he said. Try to understand the intention. Relations break, malice and enmities crop up when we take the words at their face value. Sitting with my uncle in his electrical parts shop in downtown Delhi, […]
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?
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 […]
Can I have just a little more please?
Some years back in his hunt for residential land in Dehradun, my uncle set his heart on a far-flung rural site close to a ravine. The kith and kin did much to dissuade him and settle for another plot close to the city that was available at a marginally higher rate but the resolute uncle […]
Magic that friendly words can create
There can be no better remedy in sickness than a friend. Life can become an unbearable in the absence of friends. Immersed in fond memories of my father who left us two years ago this day, few angelic words, addressed to me in those melancholy days, tease me out of thought. And I emerge invigorated […]
Say Hello and start a dialogue
World Hello Day falls on 21 November Salutation or bowing to someone in respect doesn’t imply surrender or servitude. It is only an expression of regard for the divine power inherent in the other person – indeed in all of us. Our belief in the Almighty and submission before Him imbues in us enormous capacity […]
Parenting is not a kidding
A nice successful businessman does all he can for the perfect grooming of his sons who gradually come off and establish them. As age begins to tell on the family patriarch, his sons no longer need him, rather create conditions that the old man is totally alienated and unwanted. In desperation, the old man abandons […]