Musings, facts and fun

“I am not going to school today”, Ruhi whined stomping her feet as her face continued to turn red. “Yes, you are. You just cannot miss school for random reasons”, I sternly retorted while bundling up her lunch case. “Mom! Have a look outside, it’s raining heavily. My clothes and shoes will get all wet and dirty”, she tried to point me towards the heavy downpour outside, standing on her toes to reach the window I sighed. Unlike most kids her age, Ruhi was extremely punctilious to ensure her clothes didn’t have even the tiniest bit of dirt. “The monsoon season has started, Ruhi. The weather will be like this for months; and I am not letting you miss school anymore. Now, why don’t you make it easy for both of us and wear your rain jacket and get ready to go. Come on, I know how much love your new red polka dot raincoat, don’t you? And since you are so particular about getting dirty, I will also keep your old jacket in your bag as a spare. Now, Is it okay?” I said as I motione

I recently made a series of acrylic works around the basic elements that make up the world around us. My intent was to capture each in monochrome with a solid background while infusing in a little artistic touch and keeping the subject abstract and easy. If you didnt guess already, the paintings represent air, water and land.

Warm mornings, Or breezy evenings, Whether simmered slowly with a hint of ginger, Or coupled with a dash of elaichi and pepper. When there are showers outside, Or when there is a chill inside. Whether its at home or the nukkad shop at the far end, But definitely never at a CCD or Starbucks, friend. While in a train as it chugs ahead, Or when the bus comes to a halt at end. During conversations that stretch long, Or even when someone is alone and forlorn. When the first rays of the sun light up the floor, Or when the clock strikes a nightly four. Whether you'r paired with Samose fresh out of the skillet, Or frugal on your own with a Parle G packet. When in office and your eyes start drooping, Or by the smirk on the colleague's face you know a chai-break is coming. Whether you come steaming with a lot of milk Or with loads of mom's love blended in. Whether the mood is jubilant, furious, sullen or just fine. A first sip of your hot cup is s

Its 68 years since India was freed of colonial rule. You would argue that 68 years is a small time frame for a growing nation of a billion people; but if you look at it from another perspective, its long. Long enough for a generation to pass, long enough for a generation worth of oral history to be ebbed away, long enough for us to forget some of our unsung heroes who only remain in the memoirs of our previous generation. I am someone who is fascinated by stories, not just the ones we read in textbooks or those which come fore into the spotlight; but the stories of the real people, stories of the ladies who came out and picketed silk and liquor stores, stories of the teacher who made sure he instilled the right beliefs in his students during times of turmoil, stories of the men and women who went to prison for the dream of freedom, stories of the people who barely made the cut of glory but made a significant contribution to what was a revolution of an unprecedented epic proportion

It is a human virtue to help those in need. And when you see that some people are in dire need, many of us go about either directly volunteering to go the place where the disaster struck or collecting blankets, clothes and toys to donate. Their intentions are noble but what we need to understand is that the execution may not always be. When amateur volunteers just get on the plane in a quest to help, they instead end up interfering with the plans of professionals who are already there. I read about how the Kathmandu airport got super congested due to incoming goods and people that the actual movement of victims and help for them got affected. Such untrained people swarming there would only add up on those who have to be housed and fed, and this could disorient the efforts of the actual humanitarian societies for those who are in an actual need. I also read about how certain packages with clothes were rejected and I think it makes sense. Someone who is bleeding would not do much o

When the question of sexual harassment and violence against women comes up, many of us believe that such acts happen due to some estranged and perverted extremists out there. We shirk it off by saying 'They are a bunch of psychopathic weirdos.' But are 'they' different? Do 'they' differ in terms of ideologies towards women? The point that many of us miss is that such people only represent a surface of a much larger issue which looms, or should I say engrained deep into our societal fabric which we all happen to subconsciously endorse. That such people share mindsets like us. Losing Honor Take for instance our colloquial language, the act of rape is manyatimes referred to as 'izzat lootna' (In English this translates to losing ones honor). The victim did not commit any crime; she did not venture forcedly into someone else's personal space. How, then, could she be desecrated because some feral man decided to impose himself on her? What doe