One modest expectation that you have during an air trip is that the security officer sitting at the bags scanner should continue to have a poker face when your bag passes through the scanner. I wasn't lucky that day. I was on an official trip during my tenure at [...]
Honorifics are a pain to waddle through, in India, although most of the time we handle it well. The first aspect of it is that you couldn’t call anyone who is older than you, or superior to you in the hierarchy, by their first name. The next is that [...]
My dad was a teacher in a primary school, where he grew to be the headmaster. He was a well-respected headmaster and during his long tenure that ended only with his retirement, brought glory to his school. He had found a role model in a senior headmaster of the [...]
The government of India now seems to be committed to selling Air India, the state-owned airlines. An organization with its glorious past will finally cease to exist. Despite giving several moments of pride to Indians, Air India also has remained the butt of the joke. There has been a [...]
I had learnt a two-player game, Bulls & Cows, during my first job of teaching. Of course, now you could play it online too or you even get apps for smartphones. Check it out; it is for all ages and is quite fun! In essence, one player holds a [...]
My daughter (undergraduate student) came out of her virtual classroom fuming! I asked, “What now!” She said, "I just don't understand these teachers. They will correct you even if you are not wrong, once they are hell-bent on doing it." That reminded me of a story from my school [...]
The soil in my hometown is called black cotton soil. It is called so as the soil is good for growing cotton. But other than that, the soil is a disaster! It absorbs too much water and holds it, resulting in abnormal swelling. Naturally, when dried, it shrinks heavily [...]
When we talk with our mom, we keep digressing into our family jokes and memes (we have several of them) at every opportunity. Our dad always wonders why we could not stay on the course of discussion and keep it simple. My Mom also has a special flair for [...]
तुम्ही "जाने तू या जाने ना" हा हिंदी चित्रपट जर पाहिला असेल तर तुम्हाला ही गंमत नक्कीच आठवत असेल. चित्रपटाच्या नायकाला हे सांगण्यात आले होते की जर त्याला राठोड कुळाचे नाव राखायचे असेल तर त्याला त्याच्या तीन अटी पूर्ण करायला पाहिजेत - "वो घोड़े पर सवार होगा", "किसीकी हड्डी [...]
There was a funny part of the story of 2008 Indian, coming of age comedy film, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. The protagonist was told that for a boy to truly become a man in the Rathore clan, he must complete three conditions: Thrash someone, Get arrested, and Ride [...]