It was for the first time that I was attending Sunderkand Paath being held at my friend’s place. I was trying to catch up with the ladies as they recited the couplets from the scripture. I could hardly understand anything from the rendition but for one couple that caught my attention, “Dhol, gavaar shudra, pashu, nari, yeh sab taran ke adhikari.” (Animals, uncivilized, low castes, animals and women need to be reprimanded). Continue reading “Scriptures – How fair to the fair sex”
That unforgettable stormy night……………….
It is not unusual for the weather to take an erratic hostile turn during the month of May due to Western disturbances but the panic this time has been unprecedented. Of course, the havoc wrecked by storms in many parts of the country has been tremendous but, the social media played no less a role in whipping up storm hysteria. Continue reading “That unforgettable stormy night……………….”
The Elusive Civic Sense
Deeply entrenched in my memory is a cover story published decades ago in now defunct, ‘The Illustrated Weekly of India’ of which I was an ardent reader in my youth. Columnist and scholar Khushwant Singh, then editor of the weekly, wrote in his inimitable, no-holds-barred style as to how Indians were the dirtiest people in the world. I won’t dare make such a statement but ……… Continue reading “The Elusive Civic Sense”
From ordinary to an (extra) ordinary bus journey
My experience of travelling by (ordinary) buses dates back to the time when I was pursuing M Phil at GNDU. Almost every weekend I travelled to and fro between my home town Jalandhar and Amritsar. Even after the completion of studies, my association with buses continued, though the route changed. Now I commuted between Jalandhar and Chandigarh where I joined a college as a lecturer. Who was bothered about the deluxe buses in those days? I would merrily catch any ordinary non-AC bus. Continue reading “From ordinary to an (extra) ordinary bus journey”
Decoding the World Happiness Report 2018
Finland is the happiest country in the world as per the latest World Happiness Report released by United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network on March 14, 2018 that ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels covering the period 2015 to 2017. Continue reading “Decoding the World Happiness Report 2018”
