Columns

The other day I was watching Zac Efron in the movie “17 Again” and I remember thinking, what would I do if I were given a chance to rewrite my fate by going back in time to my days in high school. The chance to be “17 Again.” For some reason, I have a thing for high school movies. I ...

Although my uncle’s house was nothing less than a big magnificent bungalow that sheltered me and my family through all our hard times, I, however, felt a desperate need for a home exclusively of our own. I used to imagine its premises, color, look, design, furnishing, bedrooms, decorations, wall hangings, windows, curtains, and what not. Often a deep sigh would ...

I love eating. Now just to prove it to you, I’m not going to marry the owner of a fast food joint. But believe me, I really love it. And by “it” I’m referring to food here, not marriage. Right from the time we are born, we have our nutrition charts made directing us to focus on balanced diet. But, ...

Democracy vs. Democracy is a rare event. In the heat of the moment, it could be said that “it happens only in India!” Corruption, in this country, is so understandable that it does not need a definition. But what it so publicly seems to need is an autonomous body punishing it. From the storm of 2G scams and Commonwealth Games ...

Whatever maybe the claims of Delhi Police, or of any authority for that matter, sexual harassment, or as it is euphemistically called “Eve Teasing,” and other crimes against the fairer sex, is nowhere near the low mark on any scale. Let us have a look at the data. According to the Delhi Police website, there have been 489 rapes and ...

“Who is it that can tell me who I am?”  ~~ William Shakespeare, King Lear, 1.4.230 My father gave me a name, rather labeled me with my identity, as soon as I was born. It remained my identity, but not for very long. The meaning of it changed when I read the line “what’s in a name?” by Shakespeare. It ...

I once read somewhere, ‘Bricks and stones only break bones, but words can shatter the soul.’ I’ve always thought of myself as the non-aggressive kind. Bricks and stones? Never. But my words, or the words of those around me — who knows how much of an effect they can have on people? This brings me to the issue of ragging. ...

Jamia Millia Islamia, being a central university and situated in New Delhi, the capital city of India, has gained a lot of repute and grown up to emulate some of the best educational institutions in the country. Its location apparently, makes a difference, because many central universities in India despite offering a plethora of courses and being grandiose in size ...

They say the thing that doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. So, maybe I can’t say I am strong yet. Because the scoreboard of my near-death experiences is: Zero. Zilch! My best friend used to go for her evening walks in the park with her next-door neighbor, a girl older to her by a year or two. I knew almost ...

Loyalty–as the devotion and faithfulness among spouses and marital life–a life of positive aspects of compatibility, adjustability, empathy and mutually satisfying create each other; and always go hand in hand together. Where loyalty gives rise to a booming, flourishing and everlasting marital life, a healthy marital life flourishes and furnishes loyalty. In fact loyalty shapes the basic essence of the ...