They say sincerity shows in one’s eyes. But then what about those whose eyes look shut while open, or vice versa? Or the poker faced, like non-smiling Buddhas, serene outside but the opposite inside? Inverting the body language syndrome! Given that excitable us are not very good at playing poker [...]

This time I was on the other side of the table, as an interviewer. I remember, over thirty years ago, how much anguish had gone into getting my aging grayish pant, checkered green coat, light blue shirt and bright red tie to ‘go’ together! It was my first and only [...]

Before the Internet, such things happened only between Man and God, in a language that had no script, like the Revelations. But while these script-less spiritual exchanges were accompanied with much sound and fury (remember all that lightning and thunder at Mount Sinai when the Ten Commandments were handed down, [...]

Last week when schools reopened across Himachal after the winter vacations, seeing little children all dressed up in their new uniforms, showing off their new school bags, transported me over half a century back to my own early days in school. March in those days was full of bright and [...]

With the Original Sin, Good came into the world. It was also the beginning of Creeds and Misdeeds. Prior to that, in a sinless universe (God had not yet quite figured out Creation, much less its consequences), we just had “In the beginning was the Word”, neither good nor evil. [...]

 Each winter when those marvelous, majestic birds descend, Quietly or with flutter, they seem to know beforehand From distant lands fleeing freezing and harsh climes, In geometric formations along age old migration lines, Over the high Himalaya, nonstop to Pong wetland!   Some reach in ones or twos like Whooper [...]

Pong Wetland (Himachal Pradesh): The Whooper (pronounced hooper) swan, a long distance migratory bird from subarctic Eurasia has been sighted and photographed at the Pong lake by Devinder Singh Dhadwal, an Assistant Conservator of Forests and accomplished ornithologist, on Tuesday, 29th Jan 2013. The last record of this bird, shot [...]

Kotgarh (Shimla Hills): The British are said to have set foot in Kot-guru (as it was known then) the first time around 1813. A small cantonment is believed to have been set up around the site of the present Mission school. The officers posted here felt the need for a school [...]

We can’t put a date on when geological epochs begin or end.  But to say that Anthropocene began circa 19th/20th century would be reasonable; for some continents early and for others later. The worry is that unlike other epochs that lasted for millions of years each, Anthropocene is certain to [...]

After the resurrection of Jesus Christ I do not think there has been any such miracle in history or mythology, whatever one may believe in. Since the idea of individual immortality is linked to one having an eternal soul, does it matter very much how you are disposed off once [...]