Heart to Heart

  November trip to Amritsar To ward off the melancholia induced by the rigmarole of our mundane routines, we, the three old friends with our wives decided to make a short trip to the foodies’ paradise to relish ‘Ambarsaria’ cuisine, among other things. With cackling laughter almost rending the skies, we set off on a high note. Not exactly as smooth as the cheeks of an actress that our ailing politician Laalu Yadav once spoke of, the 4-laned GT road from Pathankot onwards made our journey fast and comfortable. However, in a way it was like air travel: bland and spiritless. We missed the sights and sounds of the towns so vibrantly alive with Punjab’s colourful and rich culture: no ganna-ras or gur- and shakkar-selling rehris and no sight of tall, brawny gabhru sherputtars, nor any sohniyan mutiaraan in sight to steal a sly, covetous look at! We skipped having lunch at any roadside dhaba on purpose so as to have our very first meal at Amritsar. After checking in and refreshing ourse

                Patriarchy and the unheard sigh of “Beti Hai Anmol” Although we ‘sanskari’ Hindu-Indians brag about our ancient civilization, great religion and rich culture , (coin fancy slogans like “Beti Hai Anmol”) , and our incorrigible lawmakers make huge political capital out of it, let’s admit that we are hypocrites of the first order. How else otherwise can we explain the slur of patriarchy and gender discrimination that strangles our society even to this day? No doubt that the affluent West has not been immune to similar demeaning evils. But with the sunshine of science-backed education, rational outlook, liberty, and democratic ethos empowering people to break free from the stifling noose of the Orthodox Church (that had Galileo run for dear life once!), the West has been able to combat these regressive inequities to a large extent. Thus quick to jettison the millennia-old weight of injustices, modern ‘Eve’ in the West is no longer the male-oppressed handmaiden of the ear