TAME THE SUN ON YOUR ROOFTOP
In praise of the Sun The sun gives us light and energy. There would be no life on the earth if the Sun did not rise, day after day, without a single day’s rest. People of many civilizations have worshiped the Sun as God since times immemorial. But during the tropical summer, it emerges with brutal fierceness and saps life. Productivity …
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RADCLIFFE LINE
My Mother-tongue: Shahpuri Punjabi Before our independence in 1947, the undivided Punjab was at least eight times larger than the present day Indian state of that name. A large chunk went to Pakistan, and what was left was divided into three states, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. In 1911, the state was so noteworthy that when Gurudev Tagore wrote an immortal song, …
VANITY
First published in April 2006 : This little story has come down to me by word of mouth. I heard it from an elder many decades ago, when I was not even a teenager. I shared it with my friends nearly ten years ago. Some recent events have caused me to revive it and post it on our website once again. I …
PICTURES IN SEARCH OF SUITABLE CAPTIONS
Dear Friend, Recently, I received a picture from a friend, which compelled me peer at it for quite a while. I then used the ‘picture manager’ to focus my attention on a tiny portion, then looked at half of the photograph, before getting back to the entire picture. I am sharing the results, since it tells a poignant tale. I want you …
Crime, trial, verdict and sentence
From my archives Recently, I read a ‘middle’ article written by Rashmi Oberoi in a newspaper in which the author recounted an incident which was very similar to my own experience, forty odd years ago. Way back, in 1972, I wrote a story based on what I saw in a hospital. I was able to lay hands on it, and when I …
A TREASURE TROVE IN KASAULI
A brief note from the editor A Caravan Many months ago, perhaps in January 2015, Ashwani came to me and told me about a dysfunctional tower clock in a church in Kasauli. He told me that no one is willing to repair it, even as far as Delhi. It emerged that it was installed in 1884, and is a pendulum controlled mechanical …
REMEMBERING JAGGI BRAR by Brig SS BRAR
Editor’s Note I doubt if there is a more daunting challenge for a soldier than to take off on a fighter aircraft to bomb and destroy an airfield in a well defended air force station in the enemy territory. Only those who have seen the pilots ‘scramble’ and then take off at an interval of a few seconds to join the formation can …
VIDYA VICHAARI TAN PAROPKARI
The 2nd of September is a date etched in the psyche of our family. On this day, in 1926, our saintly ancestor, Bhai Hira Singh ji, breathed his last. Tomes have been written about his life and work. He became famous as a ‘Ragi’ ( a singer of the guru’s hymns). However, what is not so well known, is that …
DIVINE TONES OR NOTES by Sultan S Malik
Editor’s Note I once asked a youngster, “Do you go to school?” The frank lad said, “No uncle, I am sent!” For a while, I was taken aback. But when I pondered over it, I felt that he had stated a profound truth. It dawned upon me that most of us do not ‘go’ to our place of work. We …
JHUGGI DWELLERS
Foreword Like all tellers of tales, I mix imagination with reality. The ratio varies, from story to story. However, the piece given below is all fact with no fiction. It is a narration of an experience from my own life; and it is as true as truth can be. Jhuggi-dwellers 1962. I had just turned 21, and being young …
