A Lone Stranger

I've learned. . . . * . . .that the best classroom in the world, is at the feet of an elderly person. * . . .that when you're in love, it shows. * . . .that just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day. * . . .that having a child fall asleep in your arms, is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world. * . . .that being kind, is more important than being right. * . . .that you should never say 'No' to a gift from a child. * . . .that I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him/her, in some other way. * . . .that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with. * . . .that sometimes, all that a person needs, is a hand to hold & a heart to understand. * . . .that simple walks with Dad around the colony on summer nights, when I was a child, did wonders for me as an adult. * . . .that we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for. * . . .t...

No "politics" in this at all, but what you will read is very interesting... • The slogan, "Mādarē Vatan, Bhārat Ki Jai", was given in 1857, by Azeem Ullah Khan. • The slogan, "Jai Hind", was given by Abid Hassan 'Safrani'. • The slogan, "Inquilāb Zindābād", was given by Hasrat Mohani. • The slogan "Bhārat Chhoro'' (Quit India), was given by Yusuf Meher Ali, who incidentally, also coined the famous slogan, ''Simon go back''. • "Tarana-e-Hindi" - 'Sārē Jahāñ sē achhā, Hindostāñ hamārā', was written by Allama Iqbal. • Surayya Tayyabji made the remarkable & incredible contribution that gave us our flag, the Tri-Colour as we know it today. Incidentally, not one of the above luminaries, was a proponent of Hindutva, neither were any of them, members of the RSS, VHP, or the BHP (which did not even exist then). The above is a collection from Ali Nadeem Rezavi, Professor & Chairman, Department...

The Black Telephone....... "When I was a young boy, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the Wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" & there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could supply anyone's number & the correct time. My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day, while my mother was visiting a neighbour. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer; the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quick...

Dedicated to you O Intelligent one for appropriate answers : 1. If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented? 2. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes? 3. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery? 4. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled? 5. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular? 6. Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? 7. When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say? 8. Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who drives a racing car not called a racist? 9. Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites? 10. Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things? 11. Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one? (I like this one alot!) 12. 'I am' is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that 'I do' is the longest sentence? 13. If lawyers are disbarred and clergym...

Let her take her time..... * When she takes her time to drink a barely warm cup of tea, let her. She's given her time to cook your meal & serve it to you before she sat to drink her tea. * When she takes time to select a dish from the menu, let her. Every day, for every meal she has prepared she has given her time to think about what to make, how much & for whom. * When she takes time to dress up to go out with you, let her. She has given her time to make sure that your ironed clothes are in their place & knows better than you, where your socks are. She has dressed up her child thoughtfully, to look like the most smartly dressed up child around. * When she takes time to watch TV mindlessly, let her. She is only half concentrating & has a clock ticking in her head. As soon as it's nearing dinner time, you'll see her disappear to get things ready. * When she takes time to serve you breakfast, let her. She has kept aside the burnt toast for herself & is ta...

Eulogy on Vinod Khanna, written by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, on his blog! (Very touching.....) "Motionless .. still .. eyes shut in perpetuity .. a form on wooden logs .. covered .. flames about .. & a life turned to ashes .. I first saw him entering the Ajanta Arts office in Bandra, of Sunil Dutt, where I was making my way to seek a job .. a most good looking handsome young man .. a body in elegant frame .. a swagger in his walk .. & a gentle smile as he looked towards me ..It was 1969 .. he was working in the Ajanta Arts film, ‘Man ka Meet’ .. I was struggling to get a role, any role, anywhere .. In time we met again within the same precincts .. he and I were working in the same film of Dutt Saheb, ‘Reshma aur Shera’ .. look trials in the office of the film .. travel & sittings on the story .. Thapa saheb, Ali Raza, Sukhdev & those all night meets, most novel for me .. my first brush with the way the film industry functioned .. the time for the shoot and the excitem...

Yes, we didn't have the green thing back then..... Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own shopping bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized & explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days." The cashier responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save the environment for future generations." * * She was right - our generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, coke bottles & beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed & sterilized & refilled, so they could use the same bottles over & over. Yes, they really were recycling. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen & we replaced the razor blades in the razor, instead of throwing away the whole razor, just because the blade ...

The flag does not fly because of the wind.... There was a boy called Ayush Yadav. He was a field Captain in the Indian Army. You can tell a service officer, that they are different from others when they stand in a group of boys of the same age. It is not the hair cut that stands out. It is the honour that the uniform brings that makes them stand out. When most boys of their age are refining their resumes for a job, these boys chose a life that embeds honour as a way of life. * Honour in uniform. * Honour in society. * Honour to stand guard for the motherland. * Honour in being a soldier. Uniform portrays purpose, duty & makes you responsible to the trust that the 125 crore people bestow in you. That trust is a very big purpose to bear. This boy, “An Officer & a Gentleman”, stood ground & as a true soldier lived & died guarding that trust. The slow march of six officers of the same rank in ceremonial uniform as pall bearers carried the coffin that contained the mortal r...

"John is my heart"........ (An emotive article by a father, Frank Schaeffer, in the Washington Post.) "Before my son became a Marine, I never thought much about who was defending me. Now when I read of the war on terrorism, or the coming conflict in Iraq, it cuts to my heart. When I see a picture of a member of our military who has been killed, I read his or her name very carefully. Sometimes I cry. In 1999, when the barrel-chested Marine recruiter showed up in dress blues & bedazzled my son John, I did not stand in the way. John was headstrong & he seemed to understand these stern, clean men with straight backs & flawless uniforms. I did not. I live in the Volvo-driving, higher education-worshiping North Shore of Boston. I write novels for a living. I have never served in the military. It had been hard enough sending my two older children off to Georgetown & New York University. John's enlisting was unexpected, so deeply unsettling. I did not relish...

"Happiness is a state of mind"..... A guy met one of his school-mates several years after school & he could not believe his eyes - his friend was driving one of the latest sleek Mercedes Benz cars. He went home feeling awful & very disappointed with himself. He thought he was a failure. * What he didn't know was that his friend was a driver & had been sent to run errands with his boss's car. ------------ Rosemary nagged her husband always, for not being romantic. She accused him for not getting down to open the car door for her, as her friend Jane's husband did when he dropped her off at work. * What Rosemary didn't know was that Jane's husband's car had a faulty door that could be opened only from the outside. ------------ Sampson's wife went to visit one of her long time friends & was very troubled on seeing the 3 lovely kids of her friend playing around. Her problem was that she had only one child & had been struggling to co...

Brevity...it is said....is the "Soul of Wit". Read these & introspect.....(some are old repeats, but nevertheless, good fun - still)..... * The difference between in-laws & outlaws? Outlaws are wanted. * Alcohol is a perfect solvent: It dissolves marriages, families & careers! * A fine is a tax for doing wrong; a tax is a fine for doing well. * Archaeologist - Someone whose career lies in ruins. * There are two kinds of people who don't say much - Those who are quiet & those who talk a lot. * They say that alcohol kills slowly. So what? Who's in a hurry? * Alcohol & calculus don't mix. Never drink & 'derive'. * One nice thing about egoists - they don't talk about other people! Some brilliant Puns: 1. A man who wants a pretty nurse, must be patient. 2. A man who leaps off a cliff, jumps to a conclusion. 3. A man running in front of a car gets tyred; a man running behind a car, gets exhausted. 4. War does not determine who is rig...

Someone once asked, "Why do we have brakes in a car?" Many answers were provided, like: "To stop the car". "To reduce speed". "To avoid a collision", etc. etc.... The 'best', however, seemed to be: "To allow you to drive faster". Now, do give this a thought... It is true, but seldom appreciated. It is because we have 'brakes', that we can dare to accelerate; dare to go fast & reach the destinations we desire. At varied points of time in our lives, we found our parents, teachers, mentors, friends, colleagues & even spouses, questioning our progress, direction or our decisions. Remember! It is because of them, that we are, where we are today. So let us learn to appreciate the 'brakes' in our lives. Cheers. Think about it...

Some more common wrongly spelled english spellings obation  ovation obay  obey obleek  oblique oblisk  obelisk ocapella  a cappella occassion  occasion occation  occasion occured  occurred occurrance  occurrence occurence  occurrence occuring  occurring ocilate  oscillate octive  octave odessy  odyssey offen  often offically  officially offisianado  aficionado omage  homage omlet  omelet omnishints  omniscience onomonopea  onomatopoeia opayk  opaque opinyon  opinion oportunity  opportunity orangatang  orangutan orcestrate  orchestrate orderves  hors d'oeuvre oregeno  oregano oricle  oracle orkid  orchid oscilliscope  oscilloscope ostridge  ostrich osterage  ostrich overwelm  overwhelm oxzillary  auxiliary pajent  pageant paradime  paradigm paradym  paradigm parafanalia  paraphernalia paralell...

Some Commonly Mispelled words in English with their correct spellings Austrailia  Australia Checkoslovakia  Czechoslovakia Conneticut  Connecticut Febewary  February Presbaterian  Presbyterian Tootonic  Teutonic Tusday  Tuesday Wendsday  Wednesday abanden  abandon abizmal  abysmal abriviate  abbreviate abscound  abscond absorbant  absorbent absorbtion  absorption abstanence  abstinence abundence  abundance abundent  abundant acatemy  academy acceptence  acceptance acceptible  acceptable acceptibly  acceptably accessable  accessible accidently  accidentally accomidate  accommodate accross  across accually  actually acheeve  achieve acknowledgement  acknowledgment acoostic  acoustic acqueus  aqueous acquiess  acquiesce acrost  across acryllic  acrylic acter  actor adament  adamant...

Indianism refers to words or expressions exclusive to Indian English. We use Indianism so often in our lives that if we were to correct then, it becomes tough. Let us try and sneak peek into the most famous Indianisms in English language. GOOD NAME Do people have bad names? Not that they don’t but do you ever say  “What your bad name?”. No, right. It is a literal transformation from “aapka shubh naam kya hain?” and very commonly used..No denying the fact that I have used it too. REAL BROTHER/SISTERS Are there unreal one? Even if they are then what do they signify? Actually in India we call our immediate as real brother or sister and others as cousin brother and sisters. In the outer world there is either brother /sister or cousin. YEARS BACK We so often use it happened so many years back. OOPSS…..we did not travel back in time. It ought to be years ago. Sleep is coming Now this is really funny. Though very seldom used by people but...

A practice routine that every Voice and Accent trainer recommends, this is a good warm-up exercise, which when followed on a regular basis can help you loosen your jaws and ease muscular movement. These are somethings I learnt in my call centre days and indeed they have always been a great help and must I say that they are great Jaw exercises, these are from the book of Cicely Berry. However for you to learn and practice these properly it is mandatory that you read these with full enthusiasm and regardless read them aloud and try your best to make them loud but not disturbing. OOT(UT)              OHT        AWT     AHT        AYT        EET OOD                    ...