Author: Rama Kashyap

Rama Kashyap is a retired Associate Professor and Head of Department in Economics @ MCM DAV College, Chandigarh. A loving mother of 2 boys and wife of a senior govt. official (Retd), she realized that this all (but one) male family will always talk to the point and will never gossip. Hence she took refuge to writing short articles and letter to editors for various daily newspapers. Even the addition of a daughter in law has not stopped her from channelising her gossip towards writing. This collection of articles has now grown big enough to be presented in this blog.
Posted on

The Stiletto and the Spouse: Choosing comfort over style

“For husband and shoes, one should look for comfort rather than style.” It’s a sharp one-liner from legendary actress Sharmila Tagore that I still remember, even though I read it decades ago. It was published in the now-defunct ‘The Illustrated Weekly of India’, a highly popular magazine during my growing-up days.  Back then, as a dreamy-eyed teenager, I was charmed by the tall, dark and handsome heroes of Mills and Boon novels, even though they were arrogant, rude and often cold and distant. Smitten as I was by these heroes, I found her statement absurd and her advice rather strange.

Continue reading “The Stiletto and the Spouse: Choosing comfort over style”

Posted on

A nostalgic stride in School Shoes

Growing up in the 1960s and 70s was different from childhood today, especially for those of us in middle-class families who lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Unlike the present-day kids who have a dizzying variety of footwear – school shoes, formal shoes and sneakers, our world of shoes was far simpler. We had just one kind: school shoes – a single pair of black leather and another of white canvas, called ‘PT shoes’ in those days. At home, the ubiquitous footwear was rubber chappals, colloquially called ‘kenchi’, a stark contrast to the array of slippers and flip-flops children wear today.

Continue reading “A nostalgic stride in School Shoes”

Posted on

Beware of social media’s wellness minefield

While casually scrolling streaming platforms, the web series ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ caught my attention. I was one of those religiously downing a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of warm water first thing every morning. Although little scientific evidence supports its extravagant health claims, the concoction has become a full-scale fad – the ‘magic potion’ often peddled by social media wellness gurus.

Continue reading “Beware of social media’s wellness minefield”

Posted on

The quirky world of names: from pet to proper

I have always been intrigued by names –the informal pet names, the formal real names, and everything in between.

Growing up in Punjab in the 1960s and 70s, I knew many girls in my circle of friends and acquaintances affectionately called Babli, Guddi, Pinki, Sweety and Lovely. Many boys had pet names such as Happy, Kaka, Pappu, Bittu and Titu. Most of them are senior citizens now, but some are still known by their pet names. ‘Baby’ stopped being a little girl half a century ago; from Baby Auntie she became a granny, yet she is still ‘Baby’. The interesting thing about pet names is that kids grow up, but their nicknames refuse to go away, sticking steadfastly forever, sometimes to the embarrassment of the bearer.  The late veteran actor Rishi Kapoor often lamented that in his youth he was not taken seriously on the film sets as everyone called him by his pet name, Chintu.

Continue reading “The quirky world of names: from pet to proper”

Verified by MonsterInsights