'Indian democracy is alive & kicking' - happily notes KJS 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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Some stunning AI portraits by Polish painter Dorota Piotrowiak' - shared by KJS Chatrath

Image
Dorota Piotrowiak' obtained a diploma in the painting studio of prof. Mieczyslaw Ziomek at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń in 1996. . She works in painting, sculpture and graphics. Since 2013, she has been creating models and dioramas of nature, as well as maquettes and thematic displays for national parks, landscape parks and museums. She conducts authorial workshops for children and young people using the papier-mâché technique. She is the initiator and organizer of “Sztuka Papieru” ( the Art of Paper ) Festival in cooperation with the Friends of the Lower Vistula Society and Paper Technical School in Świecie on Vistula. Associated with the Art of Paper studio ( www.sztukapapieru.pl ). Here are some of the portraits made by her: Disclaimer: The copyright remains with the original holder. This blog is intended to introduce this amazing artist to a wider audience.
Read more

Arthuna- a cluster of gems waiting to be 'discovered' - by K J S Chatrath

Image
  I was lucky to have visited Arthuna, located in Banswada district of Rajasthan early this week. I took a train up to Ratlam and from there Arthuna by excellent road is about 130 kms. The place is a gem for archaeology lovers waiting to be visited and written about.I am grateful to my facebook friend and a remarkable traveller and blogger Mr. Sabya Sachi Ghosh for getting me interested in visiting Arthuna. I look forward to soon meeting Mr. Ghosh in person.  Previously known as   Utthunaka, Arthuna was the capital of Paramara rulers of Vagada during eleventh-twelfth centuries A.D. They patronized both Jainism and Saivism simultaneously, so they constructed a number of Siva temples. An inscription of the Paramara prince Chamundaraja records that he built a temple of Siva called Mandalesa in honour of his father in A.D. 1079. Another inscription of A.D. 1080 mentions that his officer’s son named Anantapala also founded a temple of Siva.  In a group of temples know...
Read more

'Achars- the Indian pickles' - by K J S Chatrath

Image
  According to Hobson-Jobson: The Definitive Glossary of British India , the word ‘ āchār’ finds a mention in CE 1563, in works by Garcia da Orta, a Portuguese physician, describing a conserve of cashew with salt which he refers to as ‘and this they call Āchār.’ In his book A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food , the late food historian KT Achaya notes that pickles fall into the category of ‘cooking without fire’; however, many pickles today do use heating or fire to some extent during preparation. Pickles in India have a rich legacy, which is clear when the historian further adds that a ‘Kannada work of CE 1594, the Lingapurana of Gurulinga Desika describes no less than fifty kinds of pickles’! Another later mention is found in the 17th-century Śivatattvaratnākara , an encyclopedia of ancient Indian lore of Basavarāja, King of Keladi. Pickles in India are of three basic types: those preserved in vinegar; those preserved in salt; and those preserved in oil.   Go...
Read more

Total Pageviews