The shrill whistle of the train's guard pierced through the cabin. It was dawn when the train resumed its journey from Godhra in Gujarat. I had been sleeping soundly, but the whistle woke me up for a few seconds. I tried to get back to sleep, but something was nagging me. Hari Chand Aneja writes
I stood on top of the bowling run. This was the fifth ball of the over. Many thoughts came crowding in rapid flashback. The wife was berating me. "What good are you? You could not earn in 40 years what these youngsters earn in 40 seconds? And they are the adulated heroes of the country." Lt Gen Raj Kadyan (retd) writes
Deft diplomacy working patiently and paying no heed to shrill calls for upping the ante has resolved the tense situation arising out of the Chinese intrusion in Ladakh. To back up the diplomatic initiative, the military subtly flexed its muscles. The army presented the government with a number of options, including a show of strength, if necessary, implemented in a regulated manner to apply pressure.
A chance encounter with a stranger sometimes becomes an experience of a lifetime. I vividly recall one such encounter two decades ago. We were returning to Chandigarh after attending a colleague's wedding at his native place in Pathankot. It was the morning after the wedding and we had hired two taxis. Ramesh K Dhiman writes
Variety is the spice of life. It is hobbies that add variety and charm to our life that makes it interesting and meaningful. Those who pursue their hobbies with enthusiasm make their life vibrant. I find inspiration in writing, a hobby I have enjoyed since my school days. Rameshinder Singh Sandhu writes
Delhi University is all set for a big change as it is going to start the four-year degree course that will include in addition to the main subject, as many as 11 compulsory papers, five papers for skill-based courses and one on holistic development of students. Seema Bedi writes
Census 2011 has underlined that Chandigarh has outgrown itself. Before we have a master plan, it’s time to tackle the chaos at hand. Even as the union ministry of home affairs and UT administration grapple with a master plan for the City Once Beautiful, residents of Chandigarh remain in a pitched battle with daily urban chaos. DS Jaspal writes
My mother stressed on the importance of savings. We still recollect her favourite, and at times irritating, sermon: "It is not what you earn and spend, it is what you save that caters to a rainy day." We grew up with this 'rainy day syndrome' often joking about the misplaced roots of the old lady. I still don't remember any drought-like calamity in my maternal lineage. Col Avnish Sharma (retd) writes
I grew up in a family where footwear inside the house was sacrilege. Family members would place their shoes on the rack near the entrance, wash their hands and then go inside. Bhartendu Sood writes
"You are a caged parrot that speaks only what the master says," the Supreme Court had told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director while hearing a petition from influential retired bureaucrats and other activists, seeking cancellation of all coal blocks allotted to private companies since 1993 besides an independent probe and a court-appointed special investigation team (SIT). Kiran Bedi writes
Sanjay Dutt's surrender or Sreesanth's spot-fixing? The electronic media and social media were surely spoilt for choice as to which of last week's two scene-stealers spelt more entertainment, eyeballs and engagement. Chetna Keer writes
The law has done film actor Sanjay Dutt in, finally. While many seem to sympathise with him, I only pray that the soul of his father, kind legend Sunil Dutt, rests in peace. I still remember his eyes deluged with tears over his son's crime, though it is two decades since. Rajesh Moudgil writes
Contingency plans in the mid-30s for an expected European war precluded the deployment of Indian troops in Europe for political and other reasons. However, on the outbreak of war animal transport having been phased out in the British army it was decided to position some elements from the Royal Indian Army Service Corps to support the British Expeditionary Force in France. Mandeep Singh Bajwa writes
During my voyage to the West in 2005 for my first book, Sikhs Unlimited, I got a shocker listening to some of the views a section of the American Sikhs held about their motherland, India. Even though it had been almost one and a half decades since terrorism in Punjab had been quelled comprehensively, a few not only held a very rabid anti-Indian government stance, but a section still thought Khalistan was a masterpiece of an idea and feasible. Khushwant Singh writes
Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh's assertion that nobody should interfere in internal affairs of the Sikhs is highly egoistic, dictatorial and contrary to the Sikh ethos. The jathedar's statement came after the Sikh clergy's May 15 meeting, which failed to resolve the controversy over the inscription of militant preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's name at the Operation Bluestar memorial in the Golden Temple complex. GS Grewal writes