Over the years, like everything else, Valentine’s Day has evolved from being purely a romantic occasion celebrated by lovers to an occasion to celebrate anyone appreciated. Accordingly, we celebrate our mother’s affection, our father’s protection , our sibling’s care, our best friend’s company and our admired idol this day, apart from our beloved. 

Extending the above logic  further, this Valentine’s Day, I would love to give a rose to the following:

(1) our beloved tobacco and pan chewers, who are determined to fail the national initiative of “Swachch Bharat”;

(2) neighbourhood dog owner who’s unable to control his big dog on leash from attacking by passers and who refuses to clean the dog’s poop from pedestrian pathways;

(3) overzealous road hog, who has scant regard for traffic rules but actually stares at you when you are not heeding to his relentless honking as the light is still red;

(4) enthusiastic social media denizen, who has all the time in the world to prescribe sure shot remedy for anything and everything in the world and has a view on all national global matters; and 

(5) more loyal than others senior, who uses abusive language and makes the life of his team members miserable by his acts! 

And advantage of celebrating Valentine’s Day with the above lot is that no secluded nook is required and one doesn’t run the risk of facing the wrath of self styled protectors of our culture and heritage! 

Happy Valentine’s Day to all my readers and friends.

We are generally advised by wisemen- spiritual gurus, teachers, coaches, orators etc – to live in the present moment as we have no control over the past or the future. While dreaming about good things happening in future is still alright, carrying the baggage of the past can ruin our present. 

However, a friend shared the following beautiful lines by Robert Drake that show our nostalgia or yearning for the past in a completely different light. The lines read:

*Sometimes,*
I feel I want to go back in time… 
_Not to change Things_, but to feel a couple of things twice..

*Sometimes,*
I wish I was a Baby for a while… 
_Not to be walked in the pram_ but to see my Mother’s smile

*Sometimes,*
I wish I could go back to school… 
_Not to become a Child_ but to spend more time with those friends, I never met after school..

*Sometimes,*
I wish I could be back in college… 
_Not to be a Rebel_ but to really understand what I studied

*Sometimes,*
I wish I was a Fresher at my work… 
_Not to do less Work_ but to recall the joy of the first pay cheque.

*Sometimes,*
I wish my kids were younger…. 
_Not because they grew Fast_ but to play with them a bit more.

*Sometimes,*
I feel I still had some more time to live… 
_Not to have a longer Life_ but to know what I could give to others.

Such yearning or nostalgia neither crushes us with burden nor drowns us in any repentance or regret. It actually alerts us about the remaining moments of our life to be savoured with full zest, so that when the present or the future becomes the past, we have nothing to reflect upon. 

A thought just struck my mind that why good things and habits are so difficult to follow and if these are indeed so difficult then how can they be good? 

Daily exercising as against lazing around, eating healthy ( read insipid) food as against lip snacking delicacies, eating fruits ( read monotonous) as against mouth watering desserts, sleeping and getting up early as against late night TV watching and waking up in late hours after sun is out, reading saucy and gossipy stuff against high intellectual stuff, trying natural remedies as against swallowing a tablet for immediate relief, living in present instead of rueing the past and worrying about the future ….. and the list can go on on, are not easy but requiring quite an effort and resolve. 

A while ago, I came across a post, ostensibly by a nonagenarian Japanese that became viral on social media, as it was the antithesis of what all I have listed above as good things or habits. The aforesaid proponent reportedly was living a happy and healthy life without necessarily following the usually recommended doable. 

I think truth lies somewhere in between. Life ought to be a mix of discipline and occasional indulgence. Out of 24 hours, it is not impossible to take some time out for light exercises or yoga, meditation and a brief thanksgiving prayer. An occasional late night binging with some entertainment is alright once in a while, say on weekends. An odd rasgulla or a piece of barfi will not kill us but rather satisfy our craving. And reading is a good habit, irrespective of the kind of stuff we read! 

This, if read in tandem with my previous blog on New Year’s resolution, can help us live a healthy, happy and above all, guilt free life. 

There’s so much around making New Year’s resolutions that largely get broken during the course of the year. While a few get broken at the very start, most of them are consigned to ashes before the year ends. 

I have been a regular proponent of this practice – making resolutions at the start of the year and noting them down diligently for meticulous compliance. I also try and review their progress. My experience of this much discussed new year related issue is:

(1) There’s no harm in making a resolution- after all, resolutions are aimed at improving lifestyle. Even if the failure rate is 100%, the satisfaction of having tried at least will be there. As goes a very famous Urdu couplet-

Girte hain shahsawar hi maidan-e-jung mein Woh tifl kya gire jo ghutno ke bal chale

(2) Tensions and worries overwhelm us throughout the year. At least, we think beyond them on the eve of new year and this is a much welcomed diversion! 

(3) Even if we tried to overcome a weakness or step into new shoes for a while, it calls for celebration rather than regret or disappointment. 

(4) By renewing the new year resolutions, I remain concerned about the things I want to get rid of that could otherwise form part of my resigned persona.

So folks, don’t worry and indulge in this exciting activity called “ New Year’s resolutions”.  Whatever clicks is our gain and there’s nothing to lose.

I will exercise daily and eat no junk food,

Minimise use of phone have I decided this new year;

May not be able to exercise daily or avoid junk food altogether,

And lesser use of phone will still make it a happier year! 

It’s a ritual – bidding adieu to the passing year and welcoming the new year, with new hope and expectation that it would be better than the one just gone by! For some the year gone by could have been filled with unprecedented hardships and difficulties and for others full of achievement and happiness. Yet both the above sets expect a better new year.

Another ritual that has become very popular is making resolutions – mainly aimed at overcoming bad habits and inculcating good and healthy practices. 

However, it’s true that our immediate or more recent memories overwhelm us and in that sense the memories of 2025 are indeed overwhelming, especially the unsavoury ones. Tariffs imposed by US, change in rules of employment and immigration by US, carnage at Pahalgam, operation Sindoor and changing geopolitical scenario in its aftermath, unrest in Nepal and Bangladesh, fury of nature in different parts of the world, Israel – Iran, Pakistan- Afghanistan and Thailand- Cambodia strifes and the seemingly unending Russia-Ukraine and Israel vs several wars and towards the end Indigo fiasco exposing the dangers of monopoly or duo-poly make 2025 an eminently forgettable year, notwithstanding a few bright spots here and there – India’s new feat in space, good domestic market due to GST revision, ceasefire of Indo-Pak and Israel-Hamas wars readily come to mind. Towards the fag end, Bollywood witnessed a revival in the form of unprecedented success of Dhurandhar.

Let’s hope 2026 brings lasting peace, happiness, good health and prosperity for all of us and our beloved nation. We can afford to pass resolutions and infringe upon them – but when it comes to nicety, amiability, cooperation, camaraderie towards fellow humans, let there be no infringement.

A new year follows the one that goes by

For change is the name of the game 

Our good deeds, behaviour and acts

Are the catalysts that immortalise our name.

A very happy 2026 to all! 

28/12/1983 would always be a very special day in my life as on that day my life took a big transformation by haphazardly ending my student life and making me a professional. Just a few days prior to the aforesaid date, I was going to university as a student of MSc physics. I was enjoying my Christmas break when this job offer came, requiring me to join at once.

The above was followed by 39 years of professional life without any break ending with my superannuation on 31/05/2022.

I was happy to have retired to have all the time in the world to pursue all that I missed during the four decades of pursuit for better life and nearly three and the half years into relaxed life, the heart is eager to start all that again, albeit with some restraint. This is the biggest dichotomy of life – chasing what eludes us! Message for the youngsters – do your best and extract the most in your active years. When relieved of all that you are doing today, you will miss it!

in my life as on that day my life took a big transformation by haphazardly ending my student life and making me a professional. Just a few days prior to the aforesaid date, I was going to university as a student of MSc physics. I was enjoying my Christmas break when this job offer came, requiring me to join at once.

The above was followed by 39 years of professional life without any break ending with my superannuation on 31/05/2022.

I was happy to have retired to have all the time in the world to pursue all that I missed during the four decades of pursuit for better life and nearly three and the half years into relaxed life, the heart is eager to start all that again, albeit with some restraint. This is the biggest dichotomy of life – chasing what eludes us! Message for the youngsters – do your best and extract the most in your active years. When relieved of all that you are doing today, you will miss it!

Children wait for Santa to fill their socks,

That they attach to their Christmas tree;

With gifts and goodies that they yearn for,

For who else gives everything without any conditions for free! 

Let’s also become children at least for a day,

Lighten our hearts laden with happiness;

Let’s tie our socks to the tree of our  imagination ,

Hoping it will be filled with peace, optimism and happiness! 

Merry Christmas! 

 I came across a beautiful thought a few days ago attributed to the Mayor of Bogota and immediately related it to a news item that I read today. First that thought – 

“An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but one where even the rich use public transport.”

The news item that appears in today’s HT reads – “ Automakers report brisk sales in November with major manufacturers achieving record sales.”

We can and should celebrate a booming economy and an ever growing affluent middle class. We can also celebrate easy access to credit and scaling up of lenders’ business. More profits would mean higher share prices of auto makers, their ancillaries and banks and NBFCs! But in this celebratory process, we must not lose sight of increasing pollution, congestion on roads, incidents of road rage and increasing import bill due to purchase of more oil! 

On the contrary, we should celebrate, every new metro line that’s being constructed and creation of metro network like Delhi in major cities, Mumbai being on road to achieving it. We should celebrate more advanced trains, more airports, cheaper airfares, better public transport infrastructure ( AC buses and locals, chartered bus service, cab pool services etc) .

The above view is neither socialist nor anti people. People should own cars, but drive it as a matter of luxury and leisure – on Sundays, holidays, family outings- and use public transport for day to day office and business travel. In the process, they can decongest roads, reduce air and noise pollutions, save on oil bill and above all, take care of their health as public transport necessarily entails some walking, climbing up the foot-over bridges and hence exercising! Win -win for everyone- public, industry and environment! 

The above is Singapore model, a city and nation that leads the world in all such noble initiatives. 

If you ask anyone about his or her favourite film star, depending on the generation to which the respondent belongs, the answer could be any of these – Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor – then Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt – then Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh, Shashi Kapoor- then the three Khans and to the present lot of Ranveer, Ranbir and Varun! But seldom would you hear Dharmendra being mentioned as one’s favourite star!

Notwithstanding the above, Dharmendra remains the most loved film star, with movie lovers thronging to the theatres to watch his movies. Right from Phool aur Pathar to his last outing in Rocky and Rani ki Prem Kahani, the actor delivered what was lapped up by masses. His characters ( Veeru, Satyakam et al), dialogues ( kutte main tera khoon pi jaaoonga, Basanti in kutton ke saamne mat naachna), pairings ( especially with his life partner Hema but also with Rekha, Zeenat, Sharmila and Asha Parekh), cult movies ( Pratiggya, Sholay, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Satyakam, Chupke Chupke), and above his down to earth personality, deeply rooted in his native village, all added up to make him a star without any parallel! He was the original He-man, much before, gym sculpted bodies became the order of the day. But behind that tough exterior lied the heart of gold, ready to help anyone coming in his contact.

The way condolences are pouring in only reconfirms the adulation that the star enjoyed across the cross section of society. There will be stars – more famous, talented or idolised, but Dharmendras are born very rarely. His journey will continue to inspire millions of small town denizens, dreaming of making it big in Bollywood!

Dharmendras don’t die – they continue to live in the memories of people till eternity!

Internet ecosystem has introduced us to several new terms that are part of the techie lingo. One such term that we all feel fascinated by is FOMO – fear of missing out. 

In fact, none of us are bereft of this fear of missing out on the information that’s being bombarded on us every minute at lightning pace. If you open your FB account after a few minutes, you will come across numerous new posts, reels, stories and if you try to search any post that you had seen a few minutes ago, chances are you may not find it! Ditto WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn , SMS and your email. And not to mention, continuous beeping of our mobile phones with news alerts and other messages from the subscribed apps and websites. And very few of us read newspapers today in detail and just skim through headlines or main items, as most of the news appearing in the morning newspapers had already reached us on real time basis. 

How does one consume so much information and more importantly retain and use it? 

I myself sometimes get disturbed at not being updated enough on several news items and current affairs. Little I realised that by knowing everything happening under the sky, I might not have lost anything unless I was participating in a quiz programme or appearing for an IAS exam, till this realisation dawned upon me only after I came across another term JOMO – Joy of missing out, an antithesis of FOMO. 

Indeed, let’s rejoice in missing out on the fare dished out on social media, internet and other sources of information around us. Things that are in reality important for us will in any case reach us. 

Of course, working professionals may follow JOMO at the peril of missing out on important issue, in the form of a message on WhatsApp or an email, earning their boss’s wrath in the process.