SENTENCED TO STENCH FOR LIFE!
PRELUDE I do not know when and how the ‘varna’ system was created in India, but the fact is that it has existed for several millennia. It runs in our veins, even though it has been officially abolished by our Constitution, seventy odd years ago. I must, therefore recount the lines which I have picked up from the Internet, …
3007 Solves the Flooding Problem in Srinagar
An Introduction to ‘Dredging’ For those who may not know, dredging means, ‘to clear the bed of (a harbour, river, or other area of water) by scooping out mud, weeds, and rubbish with a dredge. This process has been successfully employed to deepen rivers and harbours to facilitate marine transportation, and also for flood control. In India, a Dredging Corporation …
HINDI POEM “PREM AUR SAMBANDHON KI SACHHAI”
Introducing Ritu Bhanot Ritu Bhanot is a linguist. A Punjabi by birth, she learnt Hindi and English in school. And then she fell in love with French to which she took like fish takes to water. Destiny put her in touch with a French young man, named Jaque de Juvigny, who became her soul-mate. She has now been working in …
IN A ZONE WITHOUT SMARTPHONES
Introducing Ms Pranjal Subhash I first met this charming young lady in Neelambur, where her father, Dr Subhash Kumar was serving as the Principal of PEEVEES Public School, in Nilambur, near Kozhikode (Calicut) in Kerala. He had invited me for their Founders’ day. I must confess that I enjoyed every minute of my sojourn in that fabulous institution which was extremely well managed by …
I discovered a treasure trove!
AN INVALUABLE BEQUEATH Death has a ghastly face. I have seen few people who are able to face it with courage and equanimity, especially if it arrives early in life. It is generally believed that, when death knocks at our door, we go through five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. But angelic people are made of a different material. For them, …
A ‘Middle’ on Military Meetings
Preamble Before the Television age, the newspapers were our only source of information on the current events. The morning began with a cup of tea and the ‘paper’ For many of us, the ‘middle’ article on editorial page was a great attraction. I, for one, read them with very intently. In due course of time I began to write such …
Milestone Fifty!
The Editor’s Foreword It is said that ‘Time Flies like an Arrow’. This proverb implies that time travels at a very high speed, and also that it can move only in one direction: forward. Therefore, just as the arrow cannot return to the bow, yesterday can never come back. As for the speed, I notice that this is relative, as Einstein …
Visit to Shangri La
Visit to Shangri La by Air Cmde (Retd) AD Chhibbar Introduction We have all heard the famous words attributed to Gen Patton, No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making some other poor dumb bastard die for his country. One tried and tested method of protecting one’s own skin in …
REMEMBERING COL HARMEET DHOT, VSM
The untimely and sudden demise of Col HS Dhot on 10 Feb 2017 came as a body blow to us. He was the life and soul of the Chandigarh Tricity EME Officers’ association, and we have still not been able to come to terms with this ghastly event. Dhot was very appropriately named ‘Harmeet’ (it means, a friend of every …
A Ghazal Embedded in my Thoughts
I first heard this poem more than sixty years ago. Our eldest brother, Air Vice Marshal Manjit Singh used to sing it in parties, and it was always well received. Behzad Lakhnawi (born 1895) composed the lyrics, and he was an acclaimed poet. But after the partition, he migrated to Pakistan, and we heard no more of him. …
