Just & Must

I t was a dark and rainy night in a deep dense forest, a pair of foot steps moved with a confidence of reaching the destined location. Winds carried the howling sounds of Jackals and echo of laughter from spirits seems to prevail in that hour of night. Raja Vikramaditya climbed the tree and brought the corpse down, and as he carried the corpse on his shoulders the ghost possessed the corpse spoke “ Dear Vikram, People enjoy this time of night to sleep and not do what you are trying at this hour”, And so began the journey of Vikram and Betaal which many of us must have read, heard or seen in their childhood. But as I read these today, the stories makes more sense to our life than ever.   Puzzles and question raised by Betaal during the multiple failed attempts by Vikram as he answers them with full earnestness. Assuming the role of Betaal, I begin my modern day story for all of you:  Small town man named Shyamu began his business of manufacturing, his made to order hydraulic ma...

T he nineties were amazing and exciting, lives were simple, who can forget melodies from Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, and Ashiqui the musical or Sreedevi from Chandani and Chalbaaz, or Maine Pyar Kiya, this was the era of magic for many of us while growing up in our teens. All of these in audio cassettes and walkman to play them with limited 60-90 minutes tapes. Or, when we could memorize about 30-50 telephone numbers. during that time, the telecom was limited to a few households and the concept of PP(Padosi ka phone number) was prevalent and we would share their number as our own with pride, and neighbors obliged with a smile and a cup of tea. PCO booths were the place to call and people’s identity was easily associated, identified, and verified with a thick yellow book called a telephone directory. Friends were real, not virtual and people always found time to meet in person. Today, We live in a smart society with access to a high-tech internet world with smartwatches and smartphones, a...

T he announcement was being made during the school assembly and those being affected were looking at each other, as if asking "Bhai, Ab to lag Gayi" and I had no idea till people in the know gave me a reality check. Yes, it was time for cholera shots before NCC camp, but why would it scare me? This was my first camp but fear was forthcoming. There were many such routines that make me smile today but in those days it was tormenting, one of them was hair cut shot. Let me share it this way, the injection may or may not be painful but as the tradition in the hostel goes the hand that gets the vaccine injected receives honorary punches randomly by anyone you pass during your breakfast/lunch or dormitory visit, and there is a callout by puncher "vaccine shot" and it is veerry paaiinnfuul . Therefore, the doctor injecting the fluid may have mercy but escaping the inevitable "vaccine shot punches" was impossible. Shri Shivaji Preparatory Military School, Pune Ever...

A strange bright white ring of light appears in my room at about 3 A.M. in the morning, it was like a pathway or a door. Fearful and curious as I approached suddenly it pulled me into it.  (It was a wormhole as postulated by Albert Einstein for time travel.) And there I was floating in dark space do not know how long and finally where the wormhole dumped me was inside a place seemed like an educational institute. Walking through the corridor seemed like a place frequently seen from somewhere. There was a photograph of noted physicist and Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman displaying a glorious achievement in science along with many other noted scientists of the world. Richard Feynman " The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool"-Richard Feynman. A wormhole is a speculative structure linking disparate points in spacetime and is based on a special solution of the Einstein field equations. Moving around in a night suit in an un...

T oday, I stumbled upon an interesting story published in an online magazine on Insurance.  I n the year 1940, executives at 20th Century Fox had the legs of actress Betty Grable insured for $1 million each. After taking out the policies, Grable probably wished she had added a rider to protect her from injury while the insurance agents fought over who would inspect her when making a claim.    Betty Grable and Her Famous Legs Now, why would Insurance be interesting to a common man?  Let's explore if there is more to it and can it sound interesting. Well, you are up for some crazy yet amazing products offered around the world.  1. Ghost Insurance: The term “ghost policy” has two definitions in the industry. While a Ghost Policy often refers to a situation where a business tries to cheat its way out of proper WC coverage, some insurance companies actually have a legitimate “ghost insurance” policy…to cover damage done by actual spirits. After an alleged ghost sight...

A new Indica car carrying three passengers was passing through the longest highway called Grand Trunk road also known as GT road, at about 0600 hrs. It was Kishore Kumar's song on the radio filling the silent and open road with melody.  The month was of March, but the winter cold breeze made its presence felt even in the comforts of the car. The journey for a new beginning in my life started from my maternal home at Muzaffarnagar, I was about to tie Nuptial knot that day. Destination Dehradoon was about 147 Km and there were four other cars driven by my cousins and relatives. Just to reiterate few details here, the road was a single lane highway and potholes were in fashion during those days. Back to the Indica car where I was joined by Rahul, Sonu, Sudesh(Sister's Husband), and the driver, we somehow were the last car of the family convoy. Preparations were proper and timed and we started post all the rituals in the temple, So it was a perfect itinerary executed by my younger...