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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.

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From Drudgery to Dreams

The evolving ‘Mrs’: Women across different generations
Sometime back, I watched a much-talked-about Hindi film ‘Mrs’. It’s a poignant story of  a bubbly young woman Richa who marries into an educated family of doctors, only to find herself trapped in the relentless drudgery of domestic chores. She learns to cook elaborate meals to meet her husband’s and his family’s expectations, but she quickly loses all her enthusiasm as her labour goes unnoticed and her efforts remain unappreciated. Richa is a talented dancer who yearns to venture out  and work, but she is constantly dissuaded. Instead, she’s urged to follow in the footsteps of her doctorate mother-in-law, who gave up her own career  to raise her children decades ago. The starry-eyed bride slowly transforms into a shell of her former self when she realizes that no one cares for her life or her dreams.

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From ordinary to an (extra) ordinary bus journey

 My experience with inter-city travel by road dates back to my M Phil studies at the university in Amritsar. Almost every weekend, I would shuttle between my home town, Jalandhar and Amritsar on state roadways buses. My studies completed, but my bus journeys continued, though on a different route. Now I commuted frequently between Jalandhar and Chandigarh, where I worked. Who was bothered about the deluxe buses in those days? I would merrily hop on any ordinary, non-AC bus. Continue reading “From ordinary to an (extra) ordinary bus journey”

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The ultimate Reality Show: Trump edition

An extraordinary scene was orchestrated in the White House. Lights in the Oval Office were dimmed to show video clippings of purported genocide against whites to South African President Ramaphosa. Right in front of the television cameras, unfounded accusations were hurled at the visiting dignitary. The shameful spectacle was reminiscent of Ukrainian President Zelensky’s February visit, when he was humiliated in a similar fashion in the full glare of TV cameras.

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Meandering Around WhatsApp War Posts

 

There is a bombardment of all kinds of forwarded messages on WhatsApp—fake and real. While many forwards may be dismissed as downright silly, there are some that leave a deep impact on you. While meandering around a plethora of WhatsApp messages, I  came across a post that haunted me: “War is where young people who don’t know each other and don’t hate each other but kill each other, by the decision of old people who know each other and hate each other but don’t kill each other.”

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