yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

This piece based on my experience with Bookworm's Reading Circle is up on their website here .  Warm thanks to Bookworm and the Reading Circle participants.  Thursday evenings, 7.00 pm to 8.30 pm, some of us meet online to discuss the book we have read during the week gone by. Each of us have, of course, read the same chapter(s) from the same book. We are a part of Bookworm’s ‘Non Fiction Reading Circle’. The Bookworm team ensures timely communication ( book details, links and reminders for the meetings and such ) and also sends the books by Speed Post to those of us who do not have a copy and want to borrow one; we return the book once the sessions are over. We read the books individually, it is the discussions that follow that are a group activity. The group is small, 15 to 20 people, and smaller if the book is dense; a few of us may also drop-off as the chapters progress. The scale enables the Reading Circle to be close-knitted and informal. The group that continues, that i...

Footpaths have been in the news in recent times for more than one reason, primary being the safety of those walking on them. I am a big fan of walking, including in our towns and cities, and increasingly have encountered more and more impediments as I walk. Many a time I walk together with mumi, and I must add it is increasingly getting difficult to walk with her.   Let me share some of the innovative ways in which some of us obstruct others from walking on the footpaths - Please add other impediments and obstructions that you have come across in the comments or write to me and I will be happy to add in the text. Security Cabins and Generators - Few of us with large houses install these fixed structures on the footpaths rather than inside our compounds and ensure that not only do we encroach the footpaths but also that the fumes from the generator are meant more for eyes and throats of those on the roads than for ours. This I first encountered in Gurgaon and the blessed genera...

Title:  Shaping and Denying Education: Role of Class, Caste, and Gender Author:  Aman Madan   Illustrator:  AbiraBandhyopadhyay Publisher:  Eklavya Foundation Price: 360/- Pages: 299 License:  Creative Commons   Development Support:  Tata Trusts Education : An uneven playing field Up at Teacher Plus , July 2026.  In his latest book, author Aman Madan talks about the impact of inequalities in our society ( gender, class, and caste ) on education, the dynamic nature of these inequalities, and how societal changes in the recent decades have impacted them. The book is spread across 14 chapters, each with its own set of references. The first two chapters lay the premise, the next five focus on caste and class, the three that follow talk about gender, and the final four about government policies and intersectionality. Towards the end is a list of further readings.   Caste and class. The author talks about caste and class in a manner that is un...

T hese are times of unprecedented chao s. O ur streets are teeming with vehicles and people - few times more than the numbers they are meant to accommodate. Our refuges for the serene and tranquil in the hills are teeming with chaos - traffic jams, absence of parking spaces, water shortages, and such. The wildlife sanctuaries have weddings and music concerts in their immediate vicinity. Moving on from transport and travel to entertainment and media - our films have gotten more violent and gory, our celebrations are incomplete without the violence belted to the ear drums by the DJs, and, in an age where social media’s adverse impacts are discussed with alarming regularity, we are number 1 when it comes to viewers on youtube, messages on Whatsapp, and subscribers on facebook. Talking about numbers, the devotional congregations too are witnessing people throng in numbers not witnessed previously. And, our temples, once associated with peace, have mind bogglingly long queues - people linin...

“ Emails are a major cause of today’s problems ” - someone wiser had once told me. This was some years ago, before we went all ga-ga over social-media with our tweets and re-tweets, posts and re-posts, reels, videos and what not. I had looked at him quizzically and he had taken time to respond. Image Credits : Ribkhan / Pixabay His explanation was on these lines. During earlier times if we were angry or frustrated or disagreed vehemently with someone and wanted to convey - we would have to write a letter. Writing a letter warrants a paper, a pen, an envelope, stamps and some space at our disposal, and on occasions, it just seemed too much of an effort given the reason. Sometimes the paper, or pen, or envelope or the stamps went missing and it could also take a while to find a place to sit and write, by which time some of the anger would taper off. Sometimes it also happened that what we wrote did not appear worth sending or effective and rewriting appeared an onerous uphill task that w...

A World of Possibilities Thanks to the team at The Hindu. Published here .  Recently, a board was installed at our institution to to put up newspaper articles. The idea was to encourage students and teachers to read newspapers. Actually, to just read. We began with an open mind and four dailies. We were keen to get to know of the developments in the country and the subjects we pursued. We began by reading and rereading the newspapers, short-listing articles, pondering over them, and neatly putting them up on the boards. In course of a few weeks, we increased the board area and made it more reader-friendly. ‘ Shall we read? ’ talked of parents’ and bookstores’ efforts to increase reading. We were doing our bit here. Next came the themes. AI is extensively written about these days. We put up articles on how it reinforces gender and caste biases ( Sociology ) or even on how it discourages creativity . We also had articles on the water guzzling and carbon-footprint ( ESD ) that go into...

ODOC - Meat of the matter One District One Cuisine ( ODOC ) initiative of the Uttar Pradesh state government is in the news.  My initial reaction was that Uttar Pradesh has since long accorded food the priority it warrants. Today too, besides taste and variety, it respects seasonality, celebrates harvests, and prioritizes home-cooking – per capita usage of food-delivery apps here is way lower compared to other states! Why mess with the food when there is a lot else in the state that can do with some change? The sheer diversity of Khoya at Khoya Mandi Chunar ( Mirzapur district ) I then took a step back and read about the initiative. First, the number of cuisines (208) way exceeds the number of districts (75) so why is it one district one cuisine to begin with. Secondly, at-least half-a-dozen districts have Samosa as their cuisine or one of the cuisines. Samosa which is consumed across the country in millions each day and even tops the food-delivery platform lists! Third, at-lea...

A season of longing and desire Title: The fragrance of rain  Publisher: Aleph Book Company First published: 2026 ISBN: 978-93-6523-030-7 Pages: 140 Price: 499/- Thanks to the team at Deccan Herald; the review on their website here . The Fragrance of Rain drenches you from page 1. The author enjoys being amidst the rains, and writing; and this book allows him to share these joys with us. His deep connect with Landour, its biodiversity, is apparent, “ Here in these delicate yet resilient landscapes, the rain means as much to those minuscule species as it does to us”. He also takes us to Goa and Kerela. He brings in references, walks in forested lands, and also engages with people to bring out, to highlight, monsoon’s role in our lives. This he does with an uncommon grace and flair in language. The length of the book, 140 pages, 10 chapters - 11 to 17 pages each, belies its scope and the depth it explores.  I have waited a long time for someone in love with rains to write on...

Some thoughts on reading a newspaper article a few days ago ~ Title: For GenZ, climate awareness isn’t turning into action Author: Siddhant Sarang Date: 9th May, 2026 Newspaper: Indian Express Belling the Climate Cat This is a succinct article on climate awareness. There is a lot to concur with the author’s views from how our urban English speaking Gen Z are aware of the details of AQI and IPCC while the farmers affected by climate change are not part of the climate conversations at all to warning that carbon offset is a sham and reminding us that reels are not a solution! However, I disagree with the author’s premise that the reason why Gen Z, our most climate informed generation so far, indulges in actions that harm the planet without giving a second thought, is political failure and not hypocrisy. Gen Z which is well aware of the intricacies of climate change will also be aware how it can contribute as individuals to help contain global warming and carbon-dioxide levels. COVID also...