“Rest in next” was the tag line with which my paternal grandfather ended some of his postcards. He lived in Ankola near Karwar on the Western Coast of India. My dad received letters from him on a monthly basis. The letters were sent to acknowledge the receipt of a money order that my dad sent him each month and there…
Once in a while, I come across a book that captivates me. The author is able to draw me into his or her world and take me along on a journey in which I am an interested and intrigued companion. Homer (Sonny) Hickham Jr.’s memoirs titled “Rocket Boys” is one such book and I just finished reading it last night.…
“Don’t expect me to get married to my High School!”, said my daughter in a moment of teenage angst. “Why do you like your school so much anyway?” Why Indeed? Could it have been that imposing building that I beheld in awe as I entered its portals the very first time? The same magnificent building that I look back with…
“Just make sure you pick up a winter sport, like skiing or snow-shoeing, if not you will get cabin fever!” said the Verizon tech as he was setting up the internet connection in our rental condo. I had just moved up from Florida and the tech was giving me advice on how to handle the New England winters. My previous…
No, this is not a reference to my age, though it very well could be. This is my fiftieth post on this blog and time for me to reflect. Now I know that there are prolific bloggers who blog every day or even multiple times a day. I’m certainly not one of these individuals. I had no intentions of starting…
A friend of mine is gearing up to run a couple of marathons in the next two months. I was discussing his training with him yesterday and experienced a mixture of emotions. On one hand, I felt wistful as it has been a couple of years since I’ve run a race. On the other hand, there is a secret sense…
“Romance of Postage Stamps” was a book on postage stamps that I read several times in the late seventies and early eighties. I’m not sure how it came into our possession, it might have been a gift from my grandfather or my brother might have bought it. It was a neat book that provided an excellent overview to an amateur…
As a young boy, my imagination was fueled by books such as “Robinson Crusoe”, “The Coral Island” and “The Swiss Family Robinson”. I was consumed by the sense of adventure and mystery that these books evoked. Many a lazy summer afternoon was spent dreaming of navigating the Amazon on a canoe or trekking through the Himalayas. These were just day-dreams…
Fourth grade was an exciting time for me. I changed schools and was now studying in the same school as my older brother. An impressive colonial-era building, with large sprawling fields – I was fairly intimidated and in awe the first few days. It was also the first time in my life that I had access to a library. The…
Religion is a way of life in India. It permeates almost every aspect of daily living but not in an obtrusive or militant fashion. The landscape is dotted with temples, mosques and to a lesser extent gurudwaras and churches reflecting the religious composition of the population. There are grand complexes several centuries old and modest one room structures. As a…