Friends, last week Parliament was stalled for four consecutive days. The reason is a political standoff driven by the insistence of Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi. The House was scheduled to debate the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address, followed by the Prime Minister’s reply- a long-standing parliamentary tradition. The PM was to…
Tennis-Grand Slam Players
In today’s weekend blog, I am writing about male tennis players in Grand Slam Tournaments ie Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. In Grand Slam tennis tournaments, 128 players take part in the first round, then 2nd round (64 players), 3rd round (32 players), 4th round (16 players), Quarter Finals (8 players), Semi…
Mumbai-Pune Expressway-Accident
The MUMBAI-PUNE EXPRESSWAY was totally inoperable on Tuesday (from 3rd February at approx 5 pm) because a tanker carrying highly inflammable Propylene gas was overturned on the Bhoir Ghat section just before Khandala on this expressway. The tanker developed a leak at three places, and to safeguard people’s lives, traffic was halted in both directions,…
Mouth Ulcers-Warning Signs
MOUTH ULCERS– also called canker sores or aphthous ulcers- are small painless lesions that appear on the inside of the lips, cheeks, tongue, gums, or on the floor of the mouth. Most people experience them at least once in their lifetime, often dismissing them as minor, self-limiting problems caused by stress or spicy foods. However,…
UGC- New Rules
For the last few weeks, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been in the news after it announced new rules regarding the Promotion of Equity in Higher Education. The UGC notified its Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institution Regulations, 2026 recently. The UGC notified a new set of regulations aimed at addressing discrimination in…
25 Years-25 Films-2
In continuation of my last weekend blog on the best 25 films of the first 25 years of the 21st century, here are the balance 13 films: 13 Gangs of Wasseypur 1 & 2 Anurag Kashyap’s grim multi-generational revenge saga centred on the coal mafia of Dhanbad and gave Bollywood a glimpse of what rural…
Indian Politicians-Unnatural Deaths
Yesterday, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died in a private plane crash at Baramati. This was yet another incident when an Indian politician died an UNNATURAL DEATH. Many Indian politicians have been killed in unnatural deaths- like road accidents, assassinations, air crashes and some other mysterious circumstances. In India’s political history, several political leaders…
Headache and Stroke
Headache is one of the most common health complaints worldwide. From stress-related tension headaches to severe migraines, most headaches are harmless and temporary. But a question that worries many people is: CAN HEADACHES LEAD TO STROKE?. The short answer is that most headaches do not cause stroke, but certain headaches can be linked to a…
Oronyms
Friends, have you heard about ORONYMS. They are phrases or word sequences that sound the same (or very similar) but have different meanings. Often leading to mishearing or humourous misunderstanding. These rely on phonetic ambiguity, and are common in spoken English song, lyrics and puns. Here are few examples of Oronyms: 1 A name /…
25 Years-25 Films
In this weekend blog, I am continuing with Bollywood. Friends, the 21st century is 25 years old. Over the past 25 years, societies have evolved, and tastes have changed. Cinema absorbs and reflects this transformation. Now picking only 25 films from the first quarter of the century is going to be tough. The films selected…