We reach where we must
The Indian Roller, sacred to Vishnu A purplish-lilac throat, tail that’s sky blue Seen perched on electric wires and searching For a careless prey, a small snake for you Sometimes insects and even toads will do So long as they wouldn’t harm it with their sting. A Neelkanth, they say, gets more milk from cows...
The unlikely address of Muse
Reporter: ‘Just setting up my recording device, sir. We shall begin shortly.’ Environmentalist: ‘You’ll make my voice be with you To start just give me a cue’ Reporter: ‘How do you find life in this village?’ Environmentalist: ‘More houses or less houses matter not to me I work for the environment, you see’ Reporter: ‘Since...
Let the body say it for you
Between having something to say and saying something lies the territory non-verbal communication. This is something that adds to the impact of whatever it is that is to be communicated. The body must be in sync with what you are saying… I mean, a peppy waving of hands at a solemn moment runs the risk...
You aren’t going to fade away – 3
When Douglas McArthur mentioned that ‘old soldiers never die; they just fade away’ he did not really mean they intended to retreat from our memory because he was the one who had also said: ‘We are not retreating – we are advancing in another direction’. This is as true now as it probably was in...
Competition versus Excellence
There are people for whom competition is a fight and academic excellence is a part of the larger struggle for existence. A lot depends on how you view the totality of education and its manifold aspects and your approach to the various issues. One really needs to understand the impact of both competition as well...
Men in the kitchen are like consultants for organisations
‘Men don’t cook’ is a fallacy. ‘Men can’t cook’ is a puerile whine. ‘Men must not cook’ is unintelligent. ‘Men can cook’ is similar to what harmony, rhythm and beat are for music. This chorus of not wanting men around in the kitchen because they cannot cook is as funny as the Congress shouting itself...
It isn’t odd that it even reached the future
What happens when a mere declaration becomes a debate and then a way of life? Well, we probably see Delhi evolving as a wonder of the world where an odd genetic abnormality decides not to inflict one born on an even day… after all, one cannot afford to go against politics that ruled the past!...
Let me check if it is available
A lot has changed these past few years. No, I’m not talking about how I now weight 85 kilos and am no longer the trim 57 kilo large-eyed short fellow who has ‘a really good voice’. I’m also not talking about how the political profile of our country is now different nor am I talking...
Only we can save our environment
Only we can save our environment Have you noticed how the two words ‘on men’ are hidden inside the word ‘environment’? The word ‘men’ here represents mankind and what they are trying to say is that it is all of us together who form the heart of our environment. It is, therefore, up to...
Shavecrastination
Shavecrastination! Yes, this word actually exists… and if only you were with me on my first flight to London via Moscow in 1994, you’d have agreed with me. I had boarded my flight late in the night and reached Moscow where I had a few hours to spend before I got my connecting flight...
Innovations swivel
They say it is innovations that create history, fix problems, transform moments, redefine initiative, reinvent, recycle, and embrace a radical evolutionary intent. People also add cheekily that it is innovators who are the madmen of our world, the mavericks, work while ignoring the real world, and insist on change. All I’d say here is that...
The visible is the mystery
No, there is no cellar in our house and no attic, no hidden cupboards and no passageways opening up when you strike the wall in a particular way. I remember there was a time when all this troubled me a lot… but I was in school then and was reading a lot of Ellery Queen...
