Allô Chatrath

 Let me start with a little backgrounder. I am 81+ and stay in Panchkula, Haryana. Today is the day of voting for membership of Haryana Assembly (MLAs). I had made it a point to stay in Panchkula on this day to cast my vote and take part in the festival of democracy.  I put an alarm for 5 am and got up. Made my cuppa and then got ready. By 5 minutes to 7, I was at the polling booth. There was not much of rush and in any case an old man coming enthusiastically to vote at 7 am was an amusing sight for some. The process of voting was uneventful and I found the staff on duty polite, knowledgeable and helpful.   Yes this the proof that I voted. Of course I am not going to tell you whom did I vote for. Back in my flat I settled for another cup of tea and started going through the newspapers which had since arrived. And look what did I find!                                         Indian Express, Chandigarh, October 5, 2024.  My reassuring take is that democracy is alive and kicking in India.

                                                                Daal Banjara (Gypsy lentils)

 This is the story of a picture postcard.  It was posted on 10th June 2024 at Istanbul...received in Panchkula, India on 1st October 2024....Shame on the Turkish Postal Authorities, Indian Postal Authorities and the International Postal Union.

   

 I have been a fan of actress Sanya Malhotra. (Farrukh Jaffar Paggliat Badhai Ho Minakshisundaram Sam Bahadur: She was wasted in a very routine role.  'Photograph' was her first film that I saw. She was in a de glamourised role. She remains serious throughout the film and hardly speaks, except once when the old lady asks her to smile for a photograph. But she does not let her co-actor and senior Nawazuddin Siddiaqi over shadow her even once. My favourite scene in the film was when she and Nawazuddin touch each others hands for a few brief seconds. Kathal was a slap-stick comedy with a serious message. She, as a junior police officer performs her role with great gusto.  Mrs. inauguration in Australia in a ridiculously loud dress.

I visited Hoi-An in 2019.  Hội An is a city on Vietnam’s central coast known for its well-preserved Ancient Town, cut through with canals. The former port city’s melting-pot history is reflected in its architecture, a mix of eras and styles from wooden Chinese shop houses and temples to colorful French colonial buildings, ornate Vietnamese tube houses and the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge with its pagoda