Archives October 2013

I live in Delhi. It has a big railway station. Yesterday, I went to the railway station to receive my friend. He was coming from Punjab. I bought a platform ticket and went in. The station was very crowded. There were so many people moving on the platform. Some people had come to catch a train. Others had come to receive or see-off their relatives. Many coolies could be seen. They were wearing red uniform. People were waiting for the trains. Some trains were late. My friend's train was also late by forty minutes. So, I decided to take a look around. There was a huge crowd on the platform. There was great rush of hawkers at the platform. The hawkers were shouting at the top of their voice in order to sell their things. They were selling eatables, fruits, food, tea, newspapers, magazines etc. At the windows of the more...

One of the greatest rulers of India's history is Ashoka (Asoka). Ruling for thirty-eight years (274 B.C.-232 B.C.), he was generally mentioned in his inscriptions as Devanampiya Piyadasi ("Beloved of the gods"). As the third emperor of the Mauryan dynasty, he was born in the year 304 B.C. His greatest achievements were spreading Buddhism throughout his empire and beyond.   He set up an ideal government for his people and conquered many lands, expanding his kingdom. The knowledge of Ashoka's early reign is limited because little information was found. His edicts and inscriptions allowed us to understand his reign and empire, and have an insight into the events that took place during this remarkable period of history. Eight years after he took his throne, Ashoka's powerful armies attacked and conquered Kalinga (present day Orissa). Although he had conquered many other places, this violent war was the last war he ever more...

Accidents are very common in big cities as there are many modes of transport and roads are becoming narrow and overcrowded. We hear of them and read about them in newspapers almost daily. Such accidents result in loss of life and material. These are caused by carelessness of drivers and their ignorance and negligence of traffic rules. Once my brother and I decided to see a movie at Golcha Cinema at Daryaganj in Delhi. As we were getting late for the show, we began walking fast along the crowded road. All of a sudden there was a loud noise. I saw a man rolling on the ground. He had been knocked down by a car. The car driver was driving at normal speed. He saw a lorry coming from the opposite direction. It was being driven rashly. Since the car driver feared a collision, he tried to turn his vehicle more...

All those who avail the facility of a phone are quite used to the phenomena of wrong-calls blank calls and 'cat-calls'. This is a nuisance but one such happening turned out to be pleasant for me. It was a wrong-call in the beginning but a series of such calls by one person led to my one and only phone friendship. I accepted the polite sensitivity of the voice and over a period of time the friendship grew. He decides the time to make sure that I pick the phone. It is always he who calls. I don't know his phone number, may be because I never asked and he never mentioned. I have never seen him. He doesn't want to meet me either. All I know is his name and I recognize him by his soft voice. He has a good sense of humor. We discuss various issues except our more...

Teachers' Day is a national function celebrated in India. It is held on September 5th of every year which is also the  birthday of Dr.  Savepalli Radhakrishnan, one of our former President Dr. Radhakrishnan who was an ideal teacher. So it was decided to celebrate his birthday as Teacher's Day to honour that noble profession,   The main idea is to draw the attention of the society towards this profession. No other profession either medical or legal have a day meant to celebrate and honour the best among them. It is an unique honour awarded to the teaching profession in our country.   On that day nearly a hundred teachers selected from primary, upper primary and secondary schools, oriental schools and colleges are invited by the President Of India and honoured by giving a certificate of recognition along with some cash prize. The award given by the President is called more...

A festival plays a great role as it brings new joy and hope to the people. Of all the festivals I like Diwali. Diwali or Deepawali which means rows of lights is an important festival of the Hindus. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm all over the country. This festive day falls on the Amavasya of the month of Kartik every year exactly twenty days after Dussehra by the Hindu Calendar. This festival of lights sweets and crackers is celebrated with fun and frolic by all. In this day, the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after gaining victory over Ravana is memorable. To welcome him back and to express their joy, the people of Ayodhya lighted rows of earthen lamps. Some others believe that Goddess Lakshmi of wealth and prosperity visits every house on this night. To welcome her the lights are lit throughout the night. Jains believe that more...

This is a crow. It is an ugly bird. It is seen everywhere. The crow is black in colour. Its chest is of ash colour. It has two little disshaped legs. It is a big bird, Its neck is grey. It has sharp eyesight. The crow is greedy bird. Its eye-sight is defective. The crow is the most cunning bird in the world. It has a harsh voice. Its beak is strong and big. It caws loudly. Crows live on trees and in big groups. Crow is a very common bird. It picks up worms, small fish and frogs with its short beak. It also eats crumbs of bread and other things. It is afraid of men and animals, especially dogs. It snatches breads from small children. The call of a crow is not pleasing because it is harsh. It-is a very clever and cunning bird. I do not hate more...

Since many years now, my favourite bazaar has been Cannaught Place. The main bazaar is on Janpath and this is one place where my happiness knows no bounds. The activity in Janpath can make the saddest day came alive. Walking down Janpath one comes across the Tibetan shops that sell jewellery and other fancy household decoration pieces.     I love to shop at Janpath because  there is always a wide variety of each item that one wants to buy. If a need a garment, I come across numerous shops that offer varieties that I can choose from. Books, shoes, leather goods, cosmetics, music, paintings, etc whatever you need – you can find it on Janpath.   My day of shopping at Janpath is never complete until I have cold coffee to drink and chaat to eat. People of all age groups throng at the shops to buy the things more...

A radical change has come about since Independence, in the Indian Woman's role in society, where women automatically took a 'back seat' in all decisions which were made by the 'men' of the households and she followed blindly, never questioning, never considered important or intelligent enough to express an opinion. The 'weaken sex' who remained a 'home commodity', whose clearly defined role involved cooking, taking care of the children, running the household on the money allotted her by her husband, being the ever patient, ever docile, ever obedient wife and mother. Although pre-partition, women were liberated enough to step into public life, like Sarojini Naidu, Kasturba Gandhi, Bhikaji Cama, and others encouraged their peers to change the myth that women could not work outside the confines of their homes, the real radical change only came later when Indian women began to walk and work and think at par with their more...

Peacock is a large and majestic bird. It has got a long and beautiful tail. Both the peacock and the hen have crest. But the crest of hen is smaller in size. The main body of the 'cock is mottled brown in color. Especially, the metallic green color found on the lower neck is very attractive. Though peacocks are beautiful looking birds their calls are loud and coarse. They move in-groups and they are normally spotted in the forests, villages and nearby fields. They are shy in nature. If feeds on lizards, snakes, grains and insects.  The hen lays a maximum of five eggs, which are in pale cream color. The significance of peacock is attached to cultures of India, Far East, Ancient Persia, Greek and Christian. In Hinduism, the image of the god of thunder, rains and war, Indra, was depicted in the form of a peacock. In south more...