By Girija Madhavan Many of us elderly folk are now sequestered at home. The television focuses on COVID-19, with its seemingly sentient malice against humanity, or the tragedy of Afghanistan. Books, music and films are a comfort. But nothing can compare with the companionship of friends. “Visiting” was an enjoyable social activity in old Mysore…
By Girija Madhavan Browsing through the internet, a photo from a bygone era caught my eye: Pandit Nehru with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, also called Chou Enlai [1898-1976]. His chiselled features and thick, black eyebrows, brought back memories of seeing him long ago, in person in Beijing [known as Peking earlier]. My husband, A. Madhavan…
By Girija Madhavan The tragedy of Uttarakhand shocked India. Photographs and videos showed ferocious, swirling waters, angry gashes where rocks and earth tore away from the hillsides to add their might to the tumultuous, swollen stream on its course of destruction. Years ago, Chamoli in Pauri Garhwal was to me, just a remote mountainous region…
By Girija Madhavan During the Corona lockdown children have been receiving lessons at home online. I recall my own “home schooling” in Mysore seventy-eight years ago; the loneliness I felt then maybe shared now by the children who are kept at home. I joined the Good Shepherd Convent in Mysore in 1943 when I was…
By Girija Madhavan In diplomatic life, bonds of friendship overcome cultural barriers. For diplomats, getting to know the people of the country in which they are posted is a satisfying objective. In the Indian Embassy in Bonn, in the late 1980s, we met and made friends with Germans, appreciated their values and punctiliousness. Gisela Bonn…
By Girija Madhavan Settling into a new home was always a challenge to a Mysurean like myself, though I had lived in several foreign countries over the years. It was no different when I went to Bad Godesberg, Bonn, West Germany, when my husband, A. Madhavan, was posted as Ambassador to FRG (the Federal Republic…
By Girija Madhavan A new diplomatic posting, though eagerly awaited, brings with it some trepidation and qualms. So it was for me when, from Tokyo, Japan, my husband was posted to the Indian Embassy in Bonn in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1988. Though both Japan and Germany, along with Italy, were Axis Powers…
By Bharathi Ghanashyam, Sr. Freelance Journalist As a child and a teenager, I often clandestinely tuned in to All India Radio (AIR) when I was supposed to be studying. When the announcer said “Yeh Akashvani hai”, it was so exciting because it meant that my favourite songs would follow. At home, I often overheard family…
By D. Lalitha Rao I like to call myself a foodie. All kinds of foods interest me even though I may never get to taste more than half of them. At my time of life, one is content with simple Indian fare without much oil and spice. During my growing up years, I was extremely…
By D. Lalitha Rao A few weeks ago I had written about how we were waiting for a certain happy event, now it’s in the next stage. It has finally happened after months of anticipation. We have become grandparents to a fine baby boy and he is all of two-months-old as of now. He is…
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