Usha and I were ready for a much-needed vacation after a hiatus of almost two-and-a-half years due to the pandemic. Thankfully, we were spared from Covid due to the care of our children here, Yasho and Anu. Feeling fit and fine, we left for Washington on May
Read more
Anti-vaccine militants gun down policemen guarding polio vaccinators at Kot Azam, Tank district, in north-west Pakistan. The two gunmen had been hiding near a water channel before opening fire on the guards and then, fled on a motorbike; they spared the vaccinators. Pakistan and
Read more
Since I was 16 years old I have been a student of, and involved in, economics and my involvement with the subject is now 55 years old. My first job after my MA was as the Economics Editor in a large British publishing house. After a few years I got bored
Read more
Go to any toy store and you can find the dominant presence of plastic in various hues and shapes. From dolls to building blocks, cricket bats for tiny tots to portable indoor slides, teething rings to bath toys, it is plastic all the way. It is almost
Read more
Shekhar Mehta, as RI President in June 2022, presented the Rotary Award of Honour to Prince Charles at a private audience during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda. Mehta expressed appreciation for his dedication towards sustainability and biodiversity and highlighted Rotary’s shared commitment
Read more
Gift-giving has always posed an insurmountable problem for me. When I first acquired a girlfriend about half a century ago, at the age of 24, I was amazed at how she could give different people different gifts which never failed to please them enormously. Mine, in contrast, evoked a mere thanks.
Read more
Childbirth is a natural process, and normally all efforts are made to keep any intervention as close to nature as possible. Similarly, the agreed view among experts is that this principle should also hold true for parenting from the moment the child marks his or her presence
Read more
When the French Open ended this year someone asked me if I had watched the matches. I said no because I think the French Open, which is played on clay, is more a test of endurance than tennis skills. Opinions vary on this but I also think the bigger culprit, or
Read more
Essential to a truly healthy and green kitchen is not only the food you cook, but the cookware used for cooking it. There are several aspects of kitchen operations that even the best of cooks often ignore. Do the utensils used safeguard your health? Do they leach
Read more
A little reggae, marimba music, some samba and soccer… and of course Shakira’s haunting melody from the FIFA world championship… ‘Brazil, lalalalala’. The word ‘Brazil’ comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew in abundance along the Brazilian coast. Brasilia is the capital
Read more