Come, Join Us…
‘Guftagu’ is a community rendezvous. There are neither any boundaries nor political borders. If you are keen to share your views on any subject, just send us your story, attached with a mail. We shall put it on the relevant bill board and simultaneously announce the new ‘upload’. If your contribution generates interest, the readers will record their impressions and comments. And, therefore, you will be able to test your theses and hypotheses. We welcome opposing points of view.
Giving vent to one’s feelings and emotions is a well known process of lessening the burden on one’s soul. It is known as catharsis. A recent study has revealed that writers live long and meaningful lives. For the sake of record, I give below the names of some of the well known writers of my time, whose words have influenced large sections of people. Their dates of birth and death are mentioned alongside. Please note that during their period, the life expectancy was much lower than the present day. Writing is, perhaps, one of the best known elixirs!
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George Bernard Shaw 1856-1950 (94)
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Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965 (91)
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Lord Bertrand Russell 1872-1970 (98)
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Pearl S Buck 1882-1973 (91)
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Nirad C Chaudhari 1897-1999 (101)
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Peter Drucker 1909-2005 (96)
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W Somerset Maugham 1874-1965 (92)
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Mulk Raj Anand 1905-2004 (99)
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Raj Chatterjee 1915-2010 (96)
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RK Narayanan 1906-2001 (96)
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Raja Rao 1908-2006 (98)
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Khushwant Singh born 1915 (97, not out)
A Tailpiece
If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are
dead and rotten, either write something worth
reading or do things worth the writing.
My Dear
General Sir ji,
Permit just
a simple SGMT
of EASY
know ye
I miss getting links from thee
Have I exited from thy memory
In the late evening of my life
Id love to see
the progress you maketh
so distinctly
Its a pleasure for ‘learners’ like me
to mingle with Military literati
like Sir are ye
I always salute the worthy.
Namaskar Sir
The International poets tell me
don’t forget archaic poetry
so do excuse me
kindly
Colls
Canada vich
17 MAR 2022
NAMESTE
I always say
GUFTA GU
for life long must stay
and
all should pray
they benefit from Sir you
day by day
what else can I say
a small
Canadian poet today
PROUD OF BEING
CSM OF EASY SQN
15TH COURSE
SOME DECADES AWAY
HOW LONG
WOULD YOU WISH ME TO STAY
i will follow your PATH WAY
You are Sir …
our MILITARY
KHUSHWANT SINGH JI …
Once I told you so
And see how you fly
above the sky
and now we all know why
LITTÉRATEURS alone convey
so longer on the Earth
in this timeless journey
do they alone stay
Now you are
OUR LEADER
Sir General,
I an ant still
Sgmt EASY
simply
general…
Small Sgmt has the cheeks to say.
STAY AS LONG AS YOU MAY
You are our KHUSHWANT SINGH – personae
I still again say
Have a happy exposure through
GUFTA GU ….way
your CHOSEN inimitable
PATHWAY
Colls does still say
you are OUR KHUSHY
may I say
all our lives way>>>>…..
colls
Dear sir; With a stray entry by a friend on my Facebook timeline, I came to know about Lt. Gen. Hanut Singh. When I wished to know further about venerable General, I got on to your piece on him in the net; and am delighted to know about this blog. With a bit of parochial sense and nostalgia I wish to write this comment as I too have lived in Yamunanagar where my parents lived and where I studied. My father was in EME and I grew up in different cantonments like Dehradoon, Jalandhar, Pune, Jammu and Delhi; but he settled in Yamunanagar. I joined the Indian Air Force in 1969. With a combination of my adolescent perception of the Army and an adult one of the Air Force, I find it very attractive to say that the individual life in uniform and the social one in the hedges provides one of a larger vision of India. Cantonment life provides one an opportunity to be large..; that is large to receive, retain and assimilate cultural and social spread of the entire country. Guftagu among the people in a cantt. is most enlightening and heartening where it easily crosses ethnocentric borders and finds an ease of a good dialogue. Thanks to this assimilative nature, perhaps that a fauji is regarded high in each rung of every community in the country. Fauj, it seems teaches its members, I think more than other professions do in a small time. There is a talk about compulsory service in uniform for every aspirant of government servant. I think, the government will do well in creating that opportunity for the young people. I know for certain, that a stint in uniform for a large section of Indian youth would do the cause of national integration, discipline and patriotism more than any number of slogans and media homilies. As we all know, good citizenship; a very urgent demand of our polity, civics and progress; emanates out of a combination of awareness and discipline, and what can generate such forces in our society than the new phase of such a wonderful opportunity for our youth in the present and those of future, than a rub in the uniform like a medal in everybody’s life in a nation!! Perhaps, this is one subject that should be taken up for discussion more than frequently in our media. Thanks for this space, sir.
Sir,
I just happened to go through the website. I think it is a fantastic attempt to share life and its vicissitudes. And not to mention, do something constructive. I shall fwd some contributions on travel, philosophy, books and life in general. If you find them suitable, they could be uploaded.
Once again, thank you very much for sharing the site with me and enabling me to learn some more from the wisdom of more knowledgeable people.
Warm Regards
Neeraj
SOME ERROR TOOK PLACE I GOT UNSUBSCRIBED REENETER PLEASE AND KHUSWANT SINGH WAS BORN IN 1914
Get this link from google while searching for Khushwant Singh write up.
Sadly Khushwant Singh now OUT in nervous nineties
I accidentally came to this site surfing for stanza MARZ BADHTA HI GAYA JYON JYON DAWA KI and got really touched by the effort and look forward to see Surjit Ji.
I do believe in that “Purpose of Life should be a Life with a Purpose”. Everyone should leave his/her mark in this world.
Gautam Malik
Dear Prof Gautam Malik,
It was nice talking to you.
If you find time, do go through some more posts on this website. Choose the topic which you like. I think travel stories may interest you. In the reflections head you may find some posts of interest to you.
Regards,
Surjit
I read book Bandicoot Run when I was in college 25 years ago. I can say it was brilliantly written book with vivid description of character. That Major Garud, the KYT Nadkar bootlegging the truckload of liquors from Chakreef rifles, the General of Pakistan Army trying to steal the records from Indian Army. It is fantastic thriller.
Dear Sanjay Jadhav,
That book impelled me to go all the way to the house of Col Manohar Malgonkar in Bithur, near Belgaum. He lived near a thick forest, where they were visited by wild beasts regularly.
Malgonkar was easily one of the most readable Indian authors of the present era. I am in total agreement with your impression. His “Bend in the Ganges” is equally brilliant.
Surjit
I read book Bandicoot Run when I was in college 25 years ago. I can say it was brilliantly written book with vivid description of character. That Major Garud, the KYT Nadkar bootlegging the truckload of liquors from Chakreef rifles, the General of Pakistan Army trying to steal the records from Indian Army. It is fantastic thriller.
Sitting together and batting the breeze is something I look forward to both digitally as well as in person! Guftagu is certainly a good idea to take forward and here’s hoping that your circle of influence grows fast and wide.
Warm regards
Sailendra Bhaskar
Dear S Bhaskar,
Welcome aboard. On this timeless journey, we are all sailing together. There is no destination. The journey itself is our goal and objective!
We will be delighted to received a contribution from you.
Surjit
Sir,
Today I happened to open up your web site thr, your one of the forwarded mails. Your web site is quite motivating and I certainly would follow it in future. Though I am also from EME but never got the opportunity to meet you in person.
Brgds
Col P M Singh
Dear Col PM
Welcome to the ‘Guftagu’
We look forward to your participation on the informal chat we have on this forum.
God bless
Surjit
Dear Surjit,
I accidently came to see your website through Priti Shankar obituary. She was one of my class fellow at IIT Delhi where I too graduated in EE. I really didn’t talk to her much, during our stay in the institute, however admired her focus on studies, her goal and attention to her studies. It is very sad that she has gone that young. Even almighty needs good people.
I on the other hand, took a lot of interest in playing sports. I had a chance to represent IITD in all 5 IIT annual meets. I have worked in almost all continents include Europe, Africa, North America, South America and of course in india. My wife and I are currently settled in Vancouver, Canada. We visit india every year. I am still working with an international consultancy company.
It was so nice to read some comments in your forum with people of so many backgrounds. You are right the life will carry on. We should follow the good universal virtues. One of them is – Be Nice To Everyone. I am still practicing on it and hope I can practice it with 100% accuracy.
With kind regards,
Shiv Sharma
Excellent Website. Informative and reflective. Look forward to more posts on this site.
A very interesting and motivating web-site. It is a real pleasure to see my own philosophy being reflected and followed by so many. I have developed teaching, reading and writing as my hobby from my school days except the writing gap during my active service career in Army !! Yet, I agree that we need to share our little acquired knowledge and experience for others & next generations !! We all can contribute !! Regards/Aditya
Great initiative!
God willing we’ll contribute something sometime.
Fond regards
Renu n Sudhir
Thank you, Sir
Nirmal Mahajan
Surjit,
Good, it reminds people like me, of my age group, how were the things 70-80 years ago. Please keep on sending more tit-bits of this nature.
yash
Thanks a lot . I will certainly like to remain on your distribution list Regards Ranjit
The site is excellent. The philosophy behind it is very innovative. Good luck.
Very nice.
we need to ‘talk’ more albeit through the keyboard
a man past 55 is essentially an island, how much of childhood we carry with us is really surprising
we look forward to Guftagu, how it shapes up , we need to wait
amongst we the Bongs we have similar stuff called ‘adda’ which is absolutely divine
regards
Prabal Sen
Website is very good, appreciated a lot by entire team of Unique Digital Services
We are happy to go through it. It is sober , simple and informative
Regards
Ruben and Claudette