The phrase of the caption for today’s column was first used in the context of environmental challenges compelling attention of that section in society which is concerned about conditions in future affecting human populations and all other life forms across the planet. Long before governments stepped into the environment scene by enforcing environment-related laws, citizens…

The slogan associated with and attributed to India’s first Prime Minister, unity in diversity, prompts one to toy with the term debris, one of the few words in English language which cannot be pluralised, in spite of the all-too-familiar diversity of that mass, appropriately described as rubbish. Urbanites have been showing their annoyance at the…

The top brass in the government, in the august company of the flock of public-spirited speakers from various platforms across the land have been extolling the goal of transforming the nation into a land of vibrant citizens with a sense of urgency and commitment. These two factors don’t seem to have exhorted a major section…

Incidents of suicide, road fatalities and deaths caused by rogue elements from across the country’s border with an ill-behaving neighbourhood land are being reported in the media on a daily basis with all relevant details, including their numbers. These numbers have come to be treated as lifeless information, called statistics (for record purposes) only to…

The discord between the establishment, read the ruling class, either by monarchy or otherwise, on one side and the masses on the other side seems to have woven its yarn through the fabric of the land’s history recorded over centuries. Many legendary leaders, such as Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Chennamma of Kittoor, Abbakka of Dakshina…

Old timers take fascination to share among their cohorts recollections of golden days they lived while moving from middle age to old age and be described as senior citizens. The celebrated English Poet Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) may soothe them as he wrote his famous line “Old order changeth yielding place to new.” Every generation is…