BUGLE

You never know if these stories are true but this is a good one 'Watch out! You nearly broad sided that car!' My father yelled at me. 'Can't you do anything right?' Those words hurt worse than blows. I turned my head toward the elderly man in the seat beside me, daring me to challenge him. A lump rose in my throat as I averted my eyes. I wasn't prepared for another battle. 'I saw the car, Dad. Please don't yell at me when I'm driving.' My voice was measured and steady, sounding far calmer than I really felt. Dad glared at me, then turned away and settled back. At home I left Dad in front of the television and went outside to collect my thoughts. Dark, heavy clouds hung in the air with a promise of rain. The rumble of distant thunder seemed to echo my inner turmoil. What could I do about him? Dad had been a lumberjack in Washington and Oregon. He had enjoyed being outdoors and had reveled in pitting his strength against the forces of nature. He ha...

One of my friend forwarded me a poem what has been sent by one of her student from US. She is currently engaged with some research work that relates to the most critical (!) subject at least for me- Mathematics. But that never made her to lose her taste buds for mellifluous, touchy poems. I know not who is poet but my kudos for him or her. Here it goes.............. ..I kept the right ones out And let the wrong ones in Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins There were times in my life When I was goin' insane Tryin' to walk through The pain When I lost my grip And I hit the floor Yeah, I thought I could leave but couldn't get out the door I was so sick and tired Of a livin' a lie I was wishin' that I Would die It's Amazing With the blink of an eye you finally see the light It's Amazing When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright It's Amazing And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight That one last shot...

The oil price is cooling, it touched $99 per barrel and settled around $103 today. At the same time dollar is firming against INR and hoovering around Rs44-45/- per dollar band. Obviously the gain in the fall of Crude price is being off set by the appreciation of dollar for the oil importing companies (that includes all) in India. So, the concerned ministry has announced that they are not mulling any immediate reduction in oil price. In fact they are projecting how much being subsidized per liter of petrol,diesel, kerosene and LPG cylinder. What is surprising they never highlight how much direct and indirect taxes are levied on any petroleum products. Subsidy on them means just ploughing back a slice of taxes collected on them. The inflation rate has shown the symptom to take a downward trend. May be the better time is back or likely to be back in another two months. Monsoon appears to be good , though it has caused havoc in some areas causing flood or river overflowing or changing it...

Not many remember, in late 60s or early 70s, three movies from Hollywood in a series brought Italy in the forefront of cine-goers mind. They were “Marriage in Italian Style”, “Divorce in Italian Style” and “Ghost in Italian Style”. I remembered them with a recent development of dispensing compensation in Italian style. News of Associated Press suggested that Italy agreed to pay Libya $5 billion as compensation for its 30-year occupation of the country in the last century. This has been to by Libyan foreign minister Mr Abdel-Rahaman Shalgam. He further claimed that Italian Prime Minister Mr Silvio Berlusconi, who is visiting Libya at present, is set to sign a memorandum pledging a $5 billion compensation package involving construction projects, student grants and pension for Libyan soldiers who served with the Italians during the Second World War (too late to consider!). He further said “It is a material and emotional recognition of the mistakes that our country has done to yours duri...

Perhaps the present generations would laugh at ; exchanging love letters or mailing them to distant lovers at our times. The e-mail, SMS, cellular phones have made those things obsolete. With mobile phones they feel they are always in touch with each other. I feel pity for them, why you know? They never come to know after dropping the first love letter in the mail box, how we kept waiting for its reply for days. How those intermediate days use to lose its pace with every passing days. Looking at letter box , off and on, in odd hours when usually there use to be no chance of mail delivery, with a hope against hope for the desired mail. Intense the wait, intense the love that usually got projected in the next letter that followed the previous one`s reply. There is no account how many hearts might have broken for the missing mail that contained the first lover letters of the lovers. Obviously they were never responded, frustrating their writer, who always took it granted she was not for h...

If you are a teacher or anyone associated to grill the pupil or public as a matter of routine job, you must surmise how to separate them who lie at ease than who speak the truth. Truly it is a tough task. In a school where hundreds of students throng, one comes up with specific complaints alleging other for the sin. But the guy looks so innocent and narrates his story so naively that it is hard to think that he ever could commit such follies. I remember a story of Mogul style of detecting the criminals by some courtesan on Mogul empire. Some suspects were brought to the court for alleged thefts. All denied having committed the crime. The courtesan, Bribal (Emperor Akbar`s court) came forward and sought permission to find the thief from the emperor. The permission was granted. He asked for some flour. That he distributed everybody one or two spoonful and put that on their palm. Asked them to make paste of flour, with their spit instantly, all did except one. He could not spit a drop, hi...

We all know that other that human, few other mammals have intellectual prowess to recognize self. This faculty is gifted by nature to apes, elephants and dolphins were known so far. Surprisingly recently it has been observed that a small species, non mammal, a bird, the magpies have the same prowess. They too can recognize themselves in a mirrors or where ever their image is reflected. Self recognition is considered to be one of the skills of highly developed brains. It is observed that these birds can recognize themselves like chimpanzee despite being separated from mammals from 300 million years of evolutionary history. Helmut Prior, of Goethe University in Frakfurt, says the findings demonstrate that the ability to recognize a reflection as you self, rather than seeing it as another individual, does not necessarily depend on the sophisticated mammalian brain. “Our findings provide the first Malian species” he says. “They suggest that essential components of human self-recognition ha...

Every year the month of August is august to every Indian. It was in this month on 15th day of 1947, we won our independence. We celebrate with much pomp and show every year this day, the other being the 26th January, the republican day. The history of Indian freedom struggle is a long one. Many parties with various ideas sprang up all over Indian subcontinent, all with the one goal to end the British rule. Smaller parties favored the rout of arms struggle, the bigger chose more safe, wise rout and off course the never heard before non-violence rout. What actually made British to leave this country in a hurry is a matter debate now. However, Congress, Muslim league and the Prince`s Club (consisting 30 Maharajas of erstwhile States during Raj) were together on the same side of negotiation table. Later only those who were at the helm of affairs in these parties remembered most and applauded by this country as the heroes of masterminding India`s independence. Many like Netaji Subhas Bose, ...

It is reported that the famous or ill famous Chambal Valley is going to transform a great national energy hub. How! Having liquidating several gangs of robbers and eliminating the most wanted few, the Madhya Pradesh government is mulling with the idea to let out the valley to corporate on lease to cultivate jatropha. This jatropha seeds are used for making bio diesel; what is on top most national agenda. Mr. Shivraj Singh, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh said “Most of the infamous dacoits of the area have been eliminated. I`s time to convert Chambal into a future energy hub. I am glad that several private companies have shown interest in developing the area and cultivation jatropha under our wasteland development policy”. The global energy crisis reached it`s zenith, has sent a shock wave with the threat of impending food crisis. Since most of the farm lands diverted to cropping bio-diesel, thus creating a shortage of cereals. The food grains price have sky rocketed too all over ...

“DARJEELING”, the very name of this hill station in India reminds you the colonial days and tea. Because it was the British colonizers; who were constantly on look out for cooler places, obviously in India it uses to be in hills what would remind them their home. The temperature in tropical countries, particularly in summer months use to be unbearable for them for mercury touching anywhere between 35 to 44 degree Celsius! In India Shimla and Darjeeling earned their reputation for hosting the colonial administrators with their staffs with families during summer months for running colonial administration for years. Though with English rulers, gone are the colonial days and prestige of Darjeeling, but it still holds name in world for its tea. It still the producer of world number one flavored tea and sold at a price, unthinkable for we ordinary mortals! Off late, a new hue for Gorkhaland is raised time and again. It stared in the decades of 90s, lot of agitations, number of strikes call...

A recent report in news paper suggests that Nagpur ( a city in India ) is leading for the cause of waste management in India. Most of the metro or mega cities in India have undertaken various projects for waste management. Particularly, recycling the waste into fertilizers or bio-gas for environment friendly purposeful usage is becoming popular. In Nagpur, a company; The Unique Plastic Waste Management and Research Pvt. Ltd is engaged in recycling plastic wastes (including carry bags) into fuel oil. It is sulfur free equivalent of industrial crude. This can be readily used as furnace oil and can be subjected to fractional condensation to produce petrol. It offers enormous opportunity for such conversion, if done in a big way. The company presently purchasing 5 tons of plastic waste form the rag pickers and offering them good price for their sale. This can be followed in all urbane area to recycle the plastic waste, which is menacing otherwise by plugging drainage system or blocking the...

While handling with angry or irate customer, one must first of all give a patient hearing. Customer is the king in the modern world. Mind it , that as the old adage is `The King is always right`, thus the present marketing mantra is `Customer is always right`. But ironically, many a times you find that the angry or irate customer is not totally right, either he might have failed to note what was on offer or missed few lines in documents of offer , may be he might have failed to comprehend the matter sometime. Listen him carefully, in which ever service sector you are, listening is a must. You may not be able to solve the problem of the customer you are handling, but definitely you are able enough to calm him down at the first step. If the anger of the customer is for a just cause and due to negligence on the part of you or some of your colleague,immediately resolve the issue then seek his excuse, expressing your regret. One thing may work magic, when you handle a irate customer. Offer ...

The next world war will be fought over water --- was said by ex World Bank President, perhaps in 2005. I cannot recollect the year and the name of the thoughtful person. We are yet to comprehend that, especially those of us who live in cities or metro or mega polis. Thank god! We never know what a draught is or famine that follows! Sometime while sitting in our drawing rooms in cozy comforts, surfing television, suddenly some news channel ushers the news of draught or famine, starvation in Africa or elsewhere on the screen. Cold feelings may crawl down for seconds through our spinal cords or may not, because we quickly switch over the channel. After all such horrendous scene cools down our spirits which prefer to take off every evening for pleasure flights, we think it is not and never with us, but with them! Who are they? Are we not part or likely to be part of them, if not near but in far future? Let us see what is all about the water. Since, our childhood we all know that our planet...

Sea piracy is one of the oldest professional crimes, ever since men learnt to brave the high sea on boats or ships, sea pirates followed them to loot them. In mid sea, before heavily armed looters the sailors ever remained helpless. However in those days, the pirates were happy with their loots, whatever they could find on board. Latter in middle age they use to carry the sailors along to sell them off as slaves many times. The slave trade was thriving then. It is unfortunate that though we are exploring the surface of moon or mars but we are yet to purge the surface of our own planet! Sea piracy is very much on even now, the pirates use those ships that are not recorded with Lloyds. Nor they are satisfied with their loots what they usually find on the ships that fall pray. They take the seamen on hostage for ransom. Usually the they get it, on the face, from the shipping companies who own the ships. It is left to anyone`s guess who funds the shipping companies. After all you cannot ...

"Maharaja"s in India before independence were spectacular in their life style,pomp and shows. There are many stories hover around them, in fact they are not stories but facts read like stories, as it is truly hard to believe them. Here is one of such facts or stories , as call it; Maharaja Alwar had six Rolls-Royce cars. He wanted the company to do some modifications, which Rolls-Royce refused . Maharaja got angry and converted all these cars into garbage trucks. Probably Alwa r(an Indian Princely State, before Independence) would be the only city in the world where Rolls-Royce was used for garbage collection

...when you were born, your brain weighed about 350-400g and you had almost all the brain cells you will ever have. In fact, your brain was closer to its full adult size than any other organ in your body! And... .that your brain stopped growing at age 18

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat.They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, " Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... "goodnight, sleep tight" Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, "L.A." Many many years ago New Year was celebrated on April 1 after the closing of accounts in March. Later the Roman calender became official and January 1 was declared as the New Year, but there were still many people who did not know this and celebrated New Year on April 1 - they were termed as fools and that's how APRIL FOOL'S DAY was born. Here are some facts about the 1500's: These are interesting. Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers ...

The by far most important means of public transportation in Japan are the trains. Aside from Tokyo and Osaka) the subway lives a　shadowy existence and many times is even outclassed by the buses.　Incidentally Hiroshima is the only town with a tramway. The delightful thing with this concept is the fact that the trains are nearly always　precisely on time: If the　board display "Departure: 17:08 o'clock", well you　better be sitting in the train at 17:08 or else its gone, however　it doesn't leave one minute before either. Such a refreshing difference to our train system. One fact is confusing the first few times: There's not one train line but thousands　and thousands of them and　nearly all are independent from each other and parts of different companies. In spite of that they all cooperate perfectly, the harmonize in a manner of speaking.

Yesterday was the day, marked for one of the last monarchy`s fall. The King of Nepal, the small Himalayan kingdom has ended its centuries old monarchy. The King Ganyendra is no more the king, the irate mob attacked the royal palace in Kathmandu, as every time such thing happens when a monarchy or dictatorship ends anywhere in the world. It happened recently in Iraq, we watched on TV, how the tall statue of Saddam Husain was pulled down by hilarious mob. The royal palace is likely to be converted into a national museum. The King is likely to stay elsewhere as an ordinary citizen. Nepal has become a republic after lots of struggle. Now the world will watch how the republic is run in future. In fact history offers evidence that in past, where ever the democracy emerged ending the monarchy it lasted and in many cases as a true democracy. But where democracy emerged ending the colonial rules as in India, sometime it was very short-lived. As we find in the case of Pakistan, Myanmar (former...