SPANISH FLU (1918-20) AND CORONA PANDEMIC (2019-?)
A Forgotten Episode of Human History Public memory is proverbially short. Almost none of my friends know much about the Spanish Flu, which ravaged mankind a hundred years ago. The few, who had heard about it, thought that it was confined to Europe. I first learnt about it when I was studying the demographics of India for some other subject. …
OUR ELDEST BROTHER : AVM MANJIT SINGH
This is a brief account of the life of our eldest brother, AVM Manjit Singh who took the long road to nowhere on 09 Dec 2019. He went in a manner in which many elderly people would like to go, if they had a choice. Born on 10 Nov 1934, he was nearly seven years older than me. We were …
Rainwater Harvesting by Dave Sood
Foreword by J Thomas It was a pleasure working with Dave Sood. He already had solar photo voltaic panels on his roof, thus proving that he was receptive to new ideas. His niece and staff were also clueful and enthusiastic people. They quickly and intelligently discussed the issues with Dave and implemented the ideas. The first major rain swept …
WELCOMING AIR MSHL “LUNGI” by CYCLIC
CYCLIC is well known in aviation circles. We are now privileged to carry an article by him, quite appropriately with a Khadakvasla background. Even though he is an alumnus of PWMC and NDA, CYCLIC has not lost his sense of humour. He also dabbles in seriousaviation history. He proudly calls himself a “supercilious scoundrel.” Air Marshal Minoo Jehangir Dotiwalla passed …
PITAJI’S DIARIES AND PHOTO ALBUMS
Pitaji’s Archives Our revered father, Major Balwant Singh ji, whom we called Pitaji was born in Faruka (Dist Sargodha, now in Pakistan) on 30 June 1911. During the last few years of his life, he recorded the story of his life, in three diaries. The memoirs go back to 1919. Early in life, he acquired a camera, and the pictures …
RAIN WATER HARVESTING IN DAKSHANA VALLEY
Introduction to Rain Water Harvesting in Dakshana Valley India’s groundwater use was just about 7 cubic kilometers in 1940; it is around 270 cubic kilometer today. Since 1950, the total share of groundwater in irrigation has nearly doubled. The groundwater extraction rose sharply during the late 70s and 80s. People connect it with the Green Revolution during which two things …
Rain Water Harvesting at Jal Vayu Towers Bangalore by Joseph Thomas
Foreword 1997. I retired from the Army, and took up an assignment with Ashok Leyland. I was located at Hosur (TN), which is in effect a suburb of Bangalore. For those who may not know, Hosur was a village with a population of just over 10,000 in 1962. The Tamil Nadu government decided to develop it as an industrial town. …
The last ‘Mahant’of Nankana Sahib
His name was Narain Das, and he was the ‘Mahant’ (the high Priest) of Nankana Sahib during the first two decades of the twentieth century. Being the birth place of Guru Nanak, it was the holiest shrine, next only to the Golden Temple, in Amritsar. His life and deeds are so heinous and detestable that the community has obliterated his …
Post Cards from “Uncle KS”
Prologue I have some pretentions to being a story-teller. But when I look at my writings and compare them with the works of legends like Khushwant Singh, I find that I am not even a midget. In age, he was almost as old as my respected father. It would, therefore, be sacrilege to refer to him by his name. In …
Pandit Nehru and our Jhaiji
Note. We called our mother ‘Jhaiji’. This term was, perhaps, derived from ‘Bharjaiji’ used by our father’s younger brothers to address her. Prologue. The contrast was so glaring and so stark, that the comparison was a bit misplaced, if not invalid altogether. Jhaiji was born in a mud house, in a remote desert village, near Sargodha (now in Pakistan) …
