“For the last 18 years, I’ve been feeding homeless animals every day. But when the lockdown was announced, I knew that the dogs were going to be in danger. So, I registered as a feeder with the local police station. But the number of abandoned dogs started growing–…
The last two months of lockdown life has been a trying period for most of us. And I am no different. But if there has been one non-negotiable constant that has kept me sane through these strange times, it has been compassion towards man’s best friend. I’ve been…
Like most nights, it was another freezing December night in Leh. Tucked in my bed with an electric blanket below me and a thermal quilt above, I had nearly slept off when I sensed some movement. I saw my father tiptoed in the corridor, dressed in his white…
I live in a part of Mumbai that was declared a containment zone because of Covid-19. It is one of the 240 plus zones in the city observing the lockdown with a higher level of severity because a resident in the zone tested positive for coronavirus. The patient…
I recently visited the Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary in western Sikkim, 30 km from Gangtok, a 52-sq.km natural haven. But my experience was not limited to nature. Entry to the sanctuary required authorisation from the Forest Department. So I took a local taxi for the Pangthang Forest Block…
During my travels to mountains last year, I revisited a fundamental principle of life. Let me share two moments. One evening, a local woman invited me to her home in Mussoorie. We had clicked well over our conversations during a bus journey from one remote hamlet to the…
During a trip to the Netherland’s capital city of Amsterdam, affectionately called the flower shop of the world, I visited a local market and picked up dried tulip bulbs for my father. Back in India, I handed over that pack of bulbs to him, quite happy to gift…
On most weekends, I scan the refrigerator and make a mental note of the vegetables and fruits needed. Then I open one of the delivery apps on my phone, tap away at the screen, fill up my ‘cart,’ choose a delivery time, place the order, and make the…
I donated blood on my 18th birthday for the first time. My father was the force behind this start. For his contribution to the blood donation movement and having donated blood 104 times, he was felicitated as a Star Blood Donor by then vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in…
Most evenings, when the sunrays have softened, I put my pet pair of cockatiels into their cage (they live unconfined in our home), and carry them to a garden barely 5 minutes-walk from our flat. A well maintained oasis of fresh air, I place my birds at a…
