Recondite Writer

Away from home, away from home, away from home, ...... a hundred miles.....This song (one which we used to hum in childhood) gets some strange feeling. We could associate with it. For walking had been so attached with us during our childhood. Walk to the school, walk to the playground, walk a good distance to get groceries and walk around the lake. Taking a solitary walk around the college area... The song used to get connected with us... As years passed by, walking did not leave. Though provided with delightful facilities walk never eluded. Walk and ponder. Ponder and walk. Walk long distances .Sometimes a silent walk. Sometimes a walk with a bunch of friends. Sometimes fast paced steps. Sometimes lazy, dragging steps. Walking remained.  Sometimes I wonder how a lazy walk from school to home, made me learn so many things. Though had a bicycle (preferred walking) . Would take a lift till halfway where my friend and I would part ways and before parting ways a ten minute of conversati

Though past few days has been rocked by terror, tremor, treachery and trauma , couple of good news makes one feel happy. The first one is the urgent rush of the blood donors to various hospitals in Delhi after the terror strike. Almost all hospitals and blood banks received several calls from callers inquiring the need of blood. (Though almost all the blood banks in Delhi had sufficient units ) It is a social revival of its kind where people have shed their inhibitions of donating blood. Government and social bodies should be congratulated to carry a drive which has informed and educated the people. The second news comes from Bihar where property of a tainted IAS officer has been turned into a Primary School. And several others are in pipeline. This is a massive step as we are all aware of the pathetic state of our schools . And most importantly the building being made from the plundered money of people is being given back to people. Well mostly these mansions made from people'

Recently there was an article in Hindu http://orwell.ru/library/articles/hanging/english/e_hanging This article has  come up on the wake of giving mercy to the killers of Rajiv Gandhi. There has been huge row about forgiving those involved in it. It has been twenty years since Mr Gandhi died and more than 70 years since Mr Orwell wrote the article. Letting these people off the crime they did, seems to be logical amongst various set of society who thinks letting go the criminals is a way forward for an emerging society. Death sentence looks medieval or cruel.  But was the crime (murder) committed a civilized step ? A society that sentences killers to nothing worse than prison -- no matter how depraved the killing or how innocent the victim -- is a society that doesn't *really* think murder is so terrible.  When a killer is hanged till death, society is condemning his crime with a seriousness and intensity that no other punishment achieves. I still remember as a child the broken l