All things Bharat

Most of the time when it comes to gift ideas for teens, I feel lost. After reading this book, I think I've found the ideal present for the inquisitive teenager, especially the kid who is on the cusp of making the career choice. This book by Rachna Bisht Rawat is just perfect. You not only get to read real stories of bravado, adventure, and whatnot but you also get information on the various opportunities one can get if they look in the direction of the Armed Forces. Simple yet engaging language, unputdownable to say the least. This was the short review I wrote as soon as I finished a few chapters in the book. After having read it fully and having digested it, I think I can write a slightly longer review. I wish I could have read this book during my teens and that would have helped me take a different decision about my career. As kids from middle-class families struggling with cash flow, this would have been a great help. Nevertheless, we have our kids to guide now and hope not to r...

This visit of ours deserved a separate post. I had read about Lt Saurabh Kalia's gruesome treatment as PoW at the hands of Paxtani soldiers. May 15, 1999 was the day he and his jawans went missing. His mother suffered a heart attack upon hearing the news. On June 9, Paxtan returned the tortured remains of Lt Kalia and his men. This was from the book Kargil by Rachna Bisht Rawat. In the book she also mentioned that from that day till now, visitors visit the Smriti Kaksh (museum) built in Lt Kalia's memory, meet Vijaya ma'am ( his mother) and spend some time with them.  We visited their home sometime in May end 2022 after we finished our VaishnoDevi darshan in Jammu. We had a plan to go to Dharamshala. A tweet from another fallen soldier's mother Meghna Girish ma'am (mother of Major Akshay Girish) informed me about the events surrounding May 15. I was going to go to Dharamshala and upon checking the map I found Palampur where the Kalia family lived, was only 40 odd km...

                                                       Image from Pixabay  Image by Jai Bhutani Ever since the news about the bloody Galwan Valley clash broke out, I have been restless, sleepless. I began following every bit of news to get the latest update. Thanks to Covid and the current lockdown situation, a lot of plans that I had made have just fallen flat. Plans for travel, religious and leisure, visiting cousins and friends, or even seeing off my dearest bestie before she leaves for the US - everything has come to a halt. I can't stop myself from cursing the neighbour that God has bestowed upon us with.  During such sleepless nights, I scroll my Twitter feed over and over again. I realised I have not done enough, if nothing for my motherland, for my community. I have only b...