Allô Chatrath

   

 

  Wars have been a scourge of humanity. Alexander of Greece tried to conquer various countries. He conquered Thebes, Ionia, Tyre, Egypt, and Persia. He overthrew the whole Persian Empire killing a very large number of people and causing great misery. He was a great war-monger. And surprisingly we started calling him ‘Great’.  And more recently when the World War-I played havoc with millions on this planet, we started calling it ‘The Great War’! By the same logic were Changez Khan and Hitler ‘great’? How totally inappropriate! ‘Great’ can be used in a number of ways and the manner in which it is used to describe the 1914-1918 War should not be taken to mean ‘   glorious’ or ‘exalted’ or ‘distinguished’. It should be understood in the limited sense of ‘major’ or ‘momentous’. It is ironical that the same people do not call World War-II as ‘great’ though the number of dead in it was far more than in the WW-I!

 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.