Musings

 Last few weeks have been particularly painful for the likes of me - where 'we' the nuclear family become an extended family of the place where our spouses work. The fraternity of any service becomes a close knit one - with all the baggage's of any typical family. We celebrate together, we cheer together, we gossip together (separately) and yes we also we mourn together.  The man at the helm of affairs of the Indian Coast Guard Director General, had an unexpected call from the heavens and he went away just at the snap of a finger. Imagine someone leaving the house in a perfect condition and coming back in a casket?  Hardly had we gotten over this loss that, we heard that an ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) who was on the way to save someone from a merchant ship had to ditch it's course mid way and land in to the vast sea. Precious lives lost again. Incidentally the same ALH had saved close to 67 lives in a flood situation, just few days back. Unfortunately there was no s...

It is a common scene in the various social or official circles. Someone is leaving your office, locality, home for better prospects (or otherwise!) and there is this sudden demand for that person. Words of praise flow in which have been absent for so many years of togetherness. Gifts are exchanged or given; contact addresses are exchanged (no matter the next moment it is not to be found) and invariably there is an unknown, unheard of sentiment which chokes many a throat and in some overflowing–with-emotion cases wets many a shoulder. I always wonder where all these are hidden when the person is physically present in our life. Why do we mask our feelings or worse why display something which is not exactly what we feel? If it is the second case it is a total hypocritical display and less said the better but what really intrigues me is the first case. Is it that we expect people to be always available at our beck and call and hence think they have a permanent availability for us? It is li...