Matilda

Yes, it has finally started! I prayed to God to give her strength to bear the highest intensity of agony for my pet was now experiencing labour ache. As she wreathed in pain, clueless about why all this was happening to her, I witnessed the miraculous dog-birth sitting right next to her. It was so divine to see a small living being giving birth to four new lives. I was reminded of a line in a poem by Tagore “Each new birth is a signal that God is yet not discouraged of earthly beings.” My pet had been carrying the pups for two long months now and was extremely restless for the last three nights. She kept tossing left to right as if something was troubling her internally. Actually, it were the pups kicking their mother from inside; eager to see the colourful world outside!   My internet-read-knowledge said that when the pup is completely out of the mother’s body, the mother dog cuts the umbilical cord herself and licks the pup to initiate the first cry. Howe...

“When the power of love overcomes the love for power, the world shall know peace.” I m reminded of this famous quote as we drove around the Dal lake. As we were rowed around in the shikara, I could  hear the birds crying for a safe haven and the quieted waters begging not to be turned red with blood and malice. The beauty of nature’s bounties is so miserably undervalued.This valley which is sandwiched between two nations at loggerheads has been bitterly misunderstood. So, I put down my pen to paper to tell their story!  Most of the people in Kashmir independent of caste and religion don’t have any hardliner opinions as the governments make it out to be. The major consensus is not to join Pakistan or become an independent state. What they demand is instead very simple and fundamental! They want to be respected as free citizens. I shall elucidate the exact meaning of freedom in this context using a few anecdotes. The Kashmiri youth is facing high rates of unemployment an...

As the ripples of the holy Ganges kissed my feet, I saw each drop sparkle in the sunlight. Letting my eyes reach as far as they could, land wasn’t visible on the other side as if the river’s expanse was beyond infinity. There is something so magical and mystical about nature: The more you approach her,  the more she whispers to you! Despite the blot of urbanisation and dangerous levels of environmental exploitation, some vestiges of nature’s bounties are still pristine.  The residents of the area told us that heavy rain and storm in the past two days had left the river in an overflowing condition with lot of mud and silt. Despite the cautious warning, my grandmother, my mother and my sister turned a deaf ear. First, they put their feet in water, then they tried to splash water on each other and in no time we all were taking ‘dupkis’ in the ‘not-so-clean’ river. My grandma proudly proclaimed that Ganga Mata is the mother of all rivers, so she can’t harm us! My grandfather w...

My sister and I were taking a stroll in the neighbourhood park. Ahead of us was another dog owner who had got their pug for easing out in the park. Just then something absurd happened which left me with mixed feelings.  A 11-yr old boy came up to the dog-owner and said, " Uncle, Modi ji toh jhaadu laga rahe hain aur aap ganda kar rahe hain .” We both stopped. I was ashamed because we would often get our own dog to the park. But, I was also glad that Mr. Modi’s speeches could mould the mindset of a young boy. We have actually come that far when children know as much about Mr. Modi as we do. A glance through most dailies tells us that everybody expects our PM Modi to stay for a little more time in India than abroad! Most editorials recommend the PMO to now focus on domestic policy after foreign policy extravaganza in the last 365 days. But have we ever reflected on what all he achieved just staying in India for the “little” time he did? I am neither a Modi fanatic nor a propagat...