I still love my Parker Frontier
Last week I sat at a press event and was busy writing probable questions with my Parker Frontier fountain pen in my black Moleskine notebook when a twenty-something YouTuber whispered in my right ear, ‘Is that an ink pen?’ ‘Yes, it is,’ I said and looked up towards him. He said nothing but his expression...
Cricket and laughter go together in India
Cricket and laughter co-exist… at least sometimes. Yes, we have seen the famous yawn behind the wickets in CWC 2019 and Sarfaraz was trolled like mad for days. The televised matches make sure that every yawning gap between a ball rushing towards the boundary and a fielder diving valiantly to miss it by millimeters, the...
Technology is a double shot of espresso
I’ve always believed that technology dances with the spirit of life… and I did not use the word humanity because from agriculture and medicine to entertainment and information, from the ethics of politics and the economics of infrastructure, and even from the sweat and blood of relationships to the heat and dust of yearnings it...
Calling teachers “untalented leftovers” doesn’t tell the complete story
With the NEP 2019 zipping and zooming from one stage to another and its interpretations getting into every kind of conversation taking place anywhere, the focus is bound to be on teachers… and students, of course. Everyone wants teachers to get better. There is a lot of talk about doing away with sub-standard teacher training...
Always give more than what you get
This is the text of my email conversation with Shiv Khera, the iconic speaker on leadership and motivation and author of many books. He says that 85% of self-made millionaires globally today are first generation. A survey said that they read about 50-60 self-help books a year because they realize that one good idea could...
The paradox of being a common man
The month of May this year has been over-flowing with bold strokes and brilliant strikes. Yes, one can think of everything from cricket to politics and from nabbing terrorists to tickling the media at the right time. We have all realized that even ten seconds in front of a button can spell anything from prosperity...
Happiness is hearing that silent roar
Only a few minutes back when I searched for the nail-cutter to trim my nails, I noticed that the left index finger had that tell-tale black-ink mark made during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. A little later once the nails were done I discovered that the black-ink mark now looked like a tiger’s triangular stripe...
I don’t want to be like you
Days have this strange habit of throwing different sorts of people towards you… and this is why I call them fun to be with. I mean earth days, of course. Not sure if this happens on other distant planets as well, but here on earth, I can open a sleep laden eye and see Specky,...
Throw the R away in FrEE
Long queues, hurried footfalls, urgent changes in plans, snap-snap, snatch-snatch, adrenalin rush, and all survival techniques put to use are invariably found to co-habit wherever and whenever the word FREE comes into force. Just whisper the word ‘free’ and any place gets transformed into a war-zone. This is a global phenomenon created by brands to...
Everything means nothing
Armies of specialists have taken over. Consultants are grabbing all there is to grab. Experts walk around with pedestals looking for a place to set up their shop. You really need to be a wizard in one thing or the other to get attention. Survival is difficult if you cannot prove that you are an...
Terrorism is a monologue in a subverted mind
Defining terrorism isn’t easy. Kamalhasan calls Nathuram Gadse the first Hindu terrorist but Madhu Purnima Kishwar retorts by tweeting that some people ‘can’t tell the difference between a terrorist and an assassin. The latter is not a complimentary term. Kennedy’s killing was an assassination and never called a terrorist act. So also Gandhi’s murder by...
The day I met Gandhi
Yes indeed, I met Gandhi a few days back. No, not the one who just wants to be left alone by his political friends. Neither any of the hundreds who go around with the Gandhi surname dangled around their existence. I met the real Gandhi. The one we all know as Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi....
