Prakash made his presence felt. Whether it was in a classroom, on a cricket field, on a quiz stage, at a reunion with friends, or really just anywhere. He had that presence. A booming voice, sparkling wit, and an infectious laugh. My earliest memories of Prakash are from Sophia’s. He stood out with his mop of curly hair. He was…
This blog is a tribute to my maternal uncle, Vijayendra who passed away this day four years ago. He was Vijmaam (maam – uncle) to me and lived at 24 Shantinath Bhavan, the apartment where my mother and her siblings grew up. I spent many happy vacations there basking in the love and affection that was showered on me by…
As a young boy in elementary school, the end of the summer holidays heralded a familiar knot in my stomach. The anticipation of meeting my classmates after a long break was tempered by the twin nemeses of every schoolboy – homework, and exams. Fortunately, our son Nikhil does not seem to suffer from the same malady as me. It was…
It is the second day of school for Nikhil. After six months at home and online classes in the summer, Nikhil is perplexed to find himself still attending online classes. Each night, he has been asking hopefully (via his iPad) “School tomorrow?” only to be told, “Sorry, Nikhil, no school”. Even though Nikhil’s school has opened and his teachers and…
We all have our bedtime rituals whether we are aware of them or not. Some rituals are passed down to us and we don’t know their origin but once in a way, we are witness to a ritual take root in front of us. One such ritual is our son Nikhil’s new bedtime ritual. But before I get to that,…
Do you remember the time your child learned a new word and surprised you by using it in the right context? We had many such opportunities with our daughter when she was a toddler. However, after the first few times, we took it for granted and given the normal trajectory of development, what started as a trickle of words soon…
Indulge me for a couple of minutes and picture yourself waking up each day, understanding what everyone around you is saying and conversing with them, only for them to not understand a word you say. You are not inebriated and you are not in a strange land, you are in fact at home and you are conversing with your family…
Bhala tha kitna, apna bachpan Bhala tha kitna Bhala tha kitna, apna bachpan Bhala tha kitna How wonderful was our childhood How wonderful How wonderful was our childhood How wonderful Hemant Kumar’s sonorous voice was reproduced by the LP playing on my uncle’s radiogram. It was a midsummer’s night in Bombay in 1975 and I listened to the song along…
I remember the first time I told my daughter a bedtime story. She was a little over two and not in the mood to sleep one night. Jungle Book was the ideal story since she loved animals. Her curiosity was piqued as I narrated the adventures of Mowgli. When I got to Sher Khan and “roared”, she burrowed closer to…
On this Teacher’s Day, I would like to honor a teacher whose classes I have not attended but from whom I have learned a lot throughout my life and still continue to do so. I had originally posted this on Facebook in September 2016. September 5th is celebrated as Teacher’s Day in India. It commemorates the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli…