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  • 2010
    • January
      • The confessions of Sultana Daku
        01/28/10
        Oh! Such a sad tale, full of pathos and foreboding. I was so moved that I went into active depression for a couple of days.

        This is a supposed narrative that Sultana gave of his life to a white Sahib the night before he was supposed to be hung.

        It makes for great reading becau

  • 2009
    • May
      • Today, we stand again amidst the crowds of our countrymen and women....
        05/18/09
        ...and our memories hear that man in parliament on that midnight hour when India fulfilled its tryst with destiny. O what a long hard march this has been! We have broken away from the passion of the founding years and the hatred of partition to finally found a nation; a binding pact with each other.

      • The disasters of total war
        05/11/09
        Why is it that collateral damage is so heavy in times of war? Has no one, not even the great Sun Tzu ever pondered about the horrors visited on the non-combatants in battles not of their choosing or making?

        In fact, many thinkers, military strategists and humanists have thought just such

    • April
      • The life and times of a spoon
        04/08/09
        How did this utensil come to be? One can understand a knife since human beings rarely have the teeth to slice through meat. One could also understand a fork; it’s just a knife with another blade really. If you are a hunter-gatherer, why would you think of scooping anything? Further, even if you were

    • February
      • When a Badshah is really needed
        02/14/09
        What sad times we live in that we have to look to genius alone for inspiration. The misery of all those who live around the Durand Line is hard to see.

        On the one hand are the murderous warlords who force people to grow poppy in some cases and sell it on at atrocious prices. On the other

  • 2008
    • December
      • Mr. Gladwell is at it again
        12/10/08
        Outliers: The Story of Success

        by Malcolm Gladwell

        So now we have another book by Mr. Gladwell that gently reminds us that a lot of what we do in life depends on our hard work and some completely random opportunities.

        He goes on to internalize this concept to include

      • Sensational Read!
        12/05/08
        Playing the enemy

        by John Carlin

        This is a book that truly inspires. I think the author wants to deliberately focus on the Rugby World Cup of 1995 and the rapprochement that it wrought between ordinary black and white South Africans. He chooses to completely disregard the Inkat

    • November
      • We are all Hussein today.
        11/02/08
        When times are tough most of us would yield to visceral fears,rather than move to dispel them by sensible and compassionate behavior. I was just perusing my Facebook connections and I found that several of my friends had changed their middle names to Hussein, just to chide some of us who find signif

    • October
      • Divisiveness and its depredations
        10/24/08
        We have often heard the refrain that goes like this "let them come to power and then they will become more lenient/tolerant/inclusive....". It is mostly true on past evidence, however the baying of hounds can never be really quelled. Please read this article.

        I do understand tha

    • June
      • Israel's National Bird : Hoopoe
        06/10/08
        It is amazing how we can trace the history of this bird through the myths of various religions and ideologies. It catches the fancy in mysterious ways for such an unassuming bird.

        It is considered to be the bird that was the special messenger from King Solomon to the Queen of Sheba in Jew

      • Urdu and its poetry
        06/03/08
        Urdu Poetry Archive

        Without its poetry, Urdu struggles to survive. Its poetry, be it Ghalib,Iqbal, Faiz or Majaaz makes it a transcendental means of communication.

        Enjoy the link above.

    • May
      • Vintage Tea Leaf
        05/30/08
        Vintage Tea Leaf

        This is a great place to have tea in the afternoon. We usually go on any empty stomach so we can enjoy their scruptious sandwiches and lovely tea.

        Tomorrow we are going again with friends and hope to have fun.

        Right near by in Long Beach is Acre of B

      • Renting versus Buying a home in Los Angeles
        05/29/08
        There is so much fighting going on about renting or buying one's home in Los Angeles that one can take very extreme positions either way.

        However this wonderful article in NY times explains things rather well and dispassionately.

        A very worthy read, I think

      • HDTV and what it means in an economy of plenty
        05/27/08
        We went and got a Philips HDTV and now are in the process of getting DishNetwork to give us a good deal on the pricing. This whole duopoly that the satellite providers providers enjoy is one of those wonderful problems inherent in an economy where certain costs, though inherently variable, are actua

  • 2007
    • February
      • Hello and a warm wlecome to all
        02/15/07
        Today we start to talk about Hajj and the best books that will lead you to ponder over this absolutely cataclysmic event in your life. Please prepare your mind for an immersion in something that you have an idea about but no clear view of, if it is your first Hajj.

        Please also be aware th