Mental Excursions

Signs for smiles! What will I be without my friends! In view of my fascination for interesting signboards, some of them send me photos and I am forever thankful to them. Every few weeks I have a big collection of such notices and signboards. But on e of the three teachings of Guru Nanak was  ਵੰਡ ਛੱਕੋ  ( vand chhakko or   share what you have), so following that, I am posting those signs here  in an effort to share some smiles and a few grins . Is he undecided, unsure of the name or just ready to marry whichever of the two appears at the time and venue of the wedding? Is the gun lobby active in India too? What kind of holes do people get shot into their ears? Is it some kind of introduction which lets him be the king of the road? I hope by now this son of a gun has removed this from the vehicle. Look at our police’s commitment to duty. Sometimes signboards can be very precise ! Now  this can be scary. The sign in Hindi says  Upar jane ka rasta  and ...

Man go, enjoy the mangoes! I am not sure if it is safe to announce here but I am one of those cribbers who can ceaselessly complain about the hot, stifling days of Indian summers and not feel guilty or ashamed about the rant. (If there is rebirth I pray that I am reborn in a place with cold climate.) So when a friend from Bangalore rang up yesterday and sang some praise about the weather there, I went through my routine of reciting the Celsius and humidity percentage here. Happy living in a comfortable 26C, she in turn advised that I should be glad I can enjoy all the mangoes in Lucknow because as she grumbled they are not getting good mangoes there this year. Now trading good weather for mangoes is not a profitable bargain in my book, but I have to admit the fruit does have distinct qualities. It is said that Mughal emperors had their minions store mangoes in jars of honey to preserve them for eating during non-mango season. Remember there were no refrigerators in those times. Wh...

Nap time, sacred time Having attended office mostly in the afternoon, evening or night shifts, there was this one luxury that was reserved for days off, and during train journeys, albeit if there was some reason to not do any reading or needlework or not meet up with friends and that was- taking a nap in the afternoon. This one ‘activity’ has always been among several other things I want to do in this life lest God should send me back on Earth to carry out my unfulfilled wishes. People napping at 8.45 a.m. in the park in front of our building. Although any time during the day can be a nap time  (some like to nap after an exercise session),  yet in the hot Indian summers when the days are long and afternoons languorous, one feels a heaviness in the head after the midday meal and looks for a short break to rest the mind and the limbs and what could be better for that than a catnap. (The cold, long nights in the winters, on the other hand persuade the mind into staying in bed f...

  Unhappy Environment Day! In the universe, are billions of galaxies, In our galaxy are billions of planets, But there is only one earth! ‘Only One earth’ is the theme of World Environment Day Tomorrow. Since the Stockholm Conference in 1972 on the Human Environment when the United Nations (UN) decided that June 5 be observed as international World Environment Day every year, for a ‘coordinated global focus’ on conservation of environment, the day is increasingly getting more and more attention. The schools are closed for summer vacation, but private and government organisations all over would organize (even on a Sunday) seminars, lectures and several events to show off with pride their focus on conservation of environment. They would use thousands of flyers and banners to announce the event, hire big halls, and decorate them with tons of flowers (the more expensive and large the volume, the better proof it is of your commitment). Hundreds of light bulbs and tubel...