In the days goneby, whenever persons of places marked by distance, both near and far, came face to face, it was customary to enquire about timely rains and status of crops (male-bele). The next in order used to be enquiry about status of health, particularly of the aged members of their respective families (sthi-gathi). Their…

Liking one’s work or others, according to some thinkers, is no big deal if love pervades the relationship. Understanding the phenomenon of love properly (wisely) is not everybody’s cup of tea. The abode of God and precincts of spirituality are accepted as not only places flowing with unbiased love and consequent tranquil ambience, but a…

Neither the clock can be put back nor history of a country be changed. The issue of caste, unique to the land and its people, discussed and debated in a multitude of circles for years has its own history spanning for several centuries. Virtually sounding like sloganeering by public speakers of all hues, the air…

The land and its people, according to whatever we get to read in the pages of their history spanning several centuries, have weathered tough times under the rule of both indigenous monarchs of all hues and aliens, some of whom reigned only in parts of the land while the Mughals and the British had the…

According to the English lexicon, the verb ‘to flex’ essentially has one of two meanings. It can mean to show-off, to gloat, or to boast, which is the most popular definition of the word. However, it can also mean to put on a fake front. That set of meaning to the verb ‘to flex’ eminently…

The connect between walking and wisdom is likely to be questioned, given the wide meaning accepted for the latter term by the cognoscenti. To prepare the ground for the narrative in this column, it is proposed to confine its meaning to ‘proper’ functioning of the human brain, particularly on occasions of inappropriately reacting to situations…

Complaining about apathy on the part of functionaries in administration may or may not trigger action in response, if at all. Criticising, often in unsavoury language to express disagreement with others, targeting some person or institution in particular, invariably triggers reaction only to earn more criticism. In the former case, a complaint seeks redressal to…

Till about a few decades ago, although fashions were not bestowed much attention by people at large, excepting the affluent sections of society, called high society and choice of fabrics was nowhere near what is obtained nowadays, citizens attired themselves mostly befitting their calling and, in a certain sense also betrayed their position in the…

Feeling comfortable, whether one lives in a city or a village in the country, is a state of mind to some extent and also a sense of reality to another extent. We seem to have arrived at a point of urbanites at large disillusioned with city life toying with mulling about taking residence in some…

Even as different languages of the land are witnessing their protagonist, both authors of repute and outfits pursuing the cause of languages of their respective regions through hi-decibel sloganeering, public speakers of all hues make it a point to lament on the decline in quality of literary works of various authors, barring exceptions, in our…