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(A sequel to “On the Mat”) Right through school I hated history, perhaps for the stupid way that it was taught. However, as I became more and more involved with people, I discovered the wonder of history, and its direct bearing on our present day lives. My twin sister is the head of the Department…

He was on the mat, flat on his back, and then he sat up like a conjurer taking something out of his hat, and the world gave this fat cat a pat on the back! Sorry if the rhymes of this muse confuse you (there I go again)! I was just referring to Namo and…

We have had a surfeit of conspirational theories from the time of British India’s “Divide & Rule” policy, to the mysterious disappearance of Subash Chandra Bose; Indira Gandhi’s all weather “foreign hand”, and now the BJP’s tirade against “conversions”! So the reader must needs be forgiven for having misread the title of this piece, and…

As an ardent garden lover (among other loves) I had gone to a nursery to pick up some summer plants. I purchased 12 sunflower plants from my trusted gardener. When he brought them to me I found that they were almost full grown plants, that had already begun to wilt after being uprooted. I felt…

“India is the only country where citizens address bureaucrats as SIR. This in turn gives the impression that the Govt, as personified by the bureaucrat, is the dispenser of largesse, and the citizen a humble beneficiary of the same”. Had these words been uttered by a hardcore leftist they would not have raised an eyebrow….

Are Christians cowards? Are they afraid to confront their attackers? Pope Francis, in the wake of the recent church bombings in Lahore, stated that the world is trying to hide from the reality that Christians are being persecuted worldwide. Be it Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia, Kenya or Pakistan – Christians are seen as soft targets. …

Normally I enjoy tempting and teasing people into reading what I write. But this time I will lift the veil of mystery in the very first para! SS stands for Socialism and Secularism. The Troopers, not unlike the Nazi Secret Service (SS), are those who are advocating the removal of SS from the Preamble of…

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on 30th January 1949 in Birla House, New Delhi. On the eve of his assassination I am reminded of his killer, Nathuram Godse of the Hindu Mahasabha. Godse is back in the news thanks to those seeking to idolize him, and even build temples in his honour. His loquacious proponent is…

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return” (Job 1:21). This was the experience of the Prophet Job, known to Muslims as Ayub. These words are apt for Aamir Khan’s latest blockbuster – “PK”. My wife and I watched the movie on New Year’s Day, the first day that it had…

When Namo thundered from the Red Fort ramparts on Independence Day that what India needed was more thunder boxes (loos) many of his admirers were askance, thinking that he had a loose hinge! Not me. I genuinely felt that it was the most exciting thing to happen since the election of Pope Francis. Let me…