Just Like That

Equality -Conditions apply!

 By Aasawari Shenolikar : T HERE is apeculiar species of men I have encountered over the years - evolved, articulate, well-read, and perpetually on panel discussions (even if only within their own WhatsApp groups). These arethe ProgressiveMen. C..

Ode to teenage... ...and to parental odyssey!

 By Biraj Dixit : “YOUR teenagechildren arelike your office crush!,”said the comedian to a loud roar of laughs.“Youfeel as if on the seventh heaven, if they speak with you.” “You knock at their shut-for-all-times do..

Development...Served hot!

  By Biraj Dixit : “As hot as hell!” This idiomatic simile may be part of the many myths associated with hell (as no one has returned to confirm or reject those), but it absolutely serves its purpose when describing Indian summe..

The War Games

A LL the prayers for the end of the war are yet to be answered. Skies are still bearing the brunt of human Afollies flying high. Bombs are destroying cities, eroding life and whatever is good around it. Someone is calling for a ceasefire but the fire is still blazing. Upon the debris of human life,aflag awaits hoisting. Of the many crimes, wars are the least accused of...

‘No one’s illegal on a stolen land’

SINGER Billie Eillish may have won Grammy’s ‘Song of the Year’ for Wildflower, but this powerful sentence uttered as part of her acceptance was no less a ‘song.’ It held the mirror high. It’s not likely that people - powerful, self-obsessed - may see the mirror yet. But once the mirror of truth is placed, one cannot ignore it for too long. It is funny how easily the uninterrupted flow of history is often diverted to channel one’s own narrative. Focus on one little detail, cry hoarse about it and all ..

‘...Yeh saal achchha hai!!!’

  By Biraj Dixit :   “Dekhiye paate hai ushshaq buton se kya faiz Ek barahman ne kaha hai ke ye saal achchha hai...” Imagine, the great Asadullah Khan Ghalib, a master of the art of weaving rebellions into poetry, so easily submitti..

On the absolutely ‘missable’ pleasure of doing nothing

The instant and humongous ‘daad’ that Rahat Indori Saheb received after pronouncing these lines in his inimitable style vouched for the accuracy with which they gave vent to that general emotion. ‘Pairon ka chakkar…’ January se December!!!’ Just days before we were celebrating the New Year! No, actually months have passed in what seems like days. An age in what seems like years! Has someone pressed that fast forward button? ‘Carpe Diem’, ‘Live life King size’, ‘Savour every moment’ and many more such ..

In defence of nonsense

Nonsense - It has been a word, an exclamation and at times a complete sentence. Though primarily it deals with ideas and actions, people have gone as far as to use it as an adjective to describe a person. Very technically, it may denote lack of sense. Sense, in turn, is the ability to think and act rationally. After thousands of years into human evolution and humongous efforts for its cultivation, the place where we presently find ourselves today makes it amply clear that sense is not a particular ..

The Mother’s Pain

A slight chill in the morning air is all that the weather is offering to denote the change of seasons. The rest of the day is hot and humid with clouds not yet ready to depart. The Met office has predicted more rainy days. Perhaps, the Rain God, too, wants to savour the taste of ‘Navratri’. Perhaps He, too, is mesmerised by the grandeurs of the celebrations. Perhaps, He too, wants to have a look at Mother Goddess’ beautiful face carved by human devotion. He, too, wants to touch the Mother’s feet. ..

Jammed Tariff...errrr...traffic

WORLD has never been this confusing, at least in the years that I had spent in it. Some leaders were always quirky, some situations truly messy, some disasters always waiting to happen. But never was everything this pronounced! The chaos is so into your face. I say the world is too jammed up. It looks just like the roads in my city - jammed. Everyone’s honking, wanting to pass, not letting others pass and consequently no one is going anywhere. Nothing seems to be making sense...

Worth our salt!

How much is too much? Big question, isn’t it? Who can describe ‘much’ in universal terms, leave alone ‘too’? Well, actually WHO can and has. The World Health Organisation, I mean. It has described as too much…the salt that we Indians eat. “You are in such a pickle,” it has told us Indians. It could have said, “You are in a soup.” No way! The soup is no match for a pickle when it comes to ‘too much’ salt. So, the thing is, as you already know, we Indians are eating way too much salt. Just like way ..

Let’s swallow the bitter pill And then bite the bullet...

By Biraj Dixit :   The first step towards healing is to acknowledge that something is wrong with you. The logical next step is to get a correct diagnosis – what hurts, where and why. Once these basic steps are taken then t..

Just laugh it off!

  By Biraj Dixit :  Yesterday was International Joke Day. Celebrations were held the world over. You might not have heard since they were not typical celebrations. But jokes were many. A close look at the world and you would see that it had..

The Good, the Bad, & the Choice

By Biraj Dixit : “WHAT would you like to be - a good girl or a bad girl?” a mother asked her two-yearold. Pat came the reply, ‘Bad girl.’ Even as the mother laughed, the girl beamed with the clarity of a two-year-o..

Of ‘breakingof the ice

By Biraj Dixit : W AR is often described as a conflict between two or more countries which accompanies use of weapons and results in loss of lives. In order to protect their populations, countries try their best to avoid it and use diplomatic m..

‘THE TRUTH’

FROM “set of lies agreed upon” to “...written by victors,” History often finds itself denounced for inglorious ‘tilt.’ It was meant to connect the presentwith thepastjoiningdotsso that thechainof events, its causes and implications could be understood. Knowledge gained thus could have lit the path of the presentso thatitcouldhaveseen fartherinto the future. Alas, history’s ‘inglorious tilt!’ This near-fatal flaw is the result of it being chiselled by human hands. These hands are often led by minds ..

As the Nature wearscolours of the spirit

THE Great American writer, philosopher, poet Ralph Waldo Emerson felt that Nature always wears the colours of the spirit. I am not sure if he was awareof thecolourfully spirited festival of Holi celebrated in India. For if he had, he would have elucidated his statement with a fine example. The festival of coloursis upon us. And though the fire of the celebrations will beignited tomorrow,Naturehas already adorned the colours of the spirit. Or to bemoreprecise, thehuman spirit will wear the colour of ..