Things that I should have said, but I never had

For those of you who have no idea about 'the good news' that I am talking about, its not neither about an achievement of passing an exam with A Grade nor its about the new job in a top-notch company, but for Indian women, it questions their ability to accomplish two things in life - if you are unmarried, when is the D-day? If married when are you planning to get pregnant? A very casual, spontaneous question directed at someone who is already having a hard time trying to conceive and made sure that this is within the earshot of the other ladies around - Its more than a social faux pas. When you scale all the horrible things in life, infertility/inability to conceive ranks galaxies away from the worst. I loved kids. After marriage when I was all set to have one, I thought it would happen naturally and didn't want to go work about having them. Six months gone. There were no signs of pregnancy, and people around suggested me that I consult a gynaecologist. T...

The U.S. and China are already into a unilateral war and a battle of words over trade that has resulted in announcements of several tariffs on imports from both the countries. Let me first vet a clear picture of the Trade happening between the two. The trade deficit in 2017 has greatly widened between the two countries, with the U.S. importing $507 billion worth of goods from China, while the Chinese imported $138 billion from the USA. Now, this would mean that the U.S. is facing a trade deficit of around $379 billion. Trump and many other Americans attribute this huge deficit to the Chinese taking brutal advantage of the U.S. trade laws, IPRs and subsidies for domestic companies.  Last year the United States, the European Union, and Japan agreed to make common cause on this. But now Trump has alienated those allies by imposing tariffs on Japan’s steel and aluminium exports on national security grounds and threatening to do the same to EU allies while ...

  Rahul, will you keep wickets, so that the team can have an extra batsmen/bowler? Rahul, we are in the verge of a loss, will you be on the grease for the next two days? Rahul, we are in need of a captain, will you lead these young guys? Rahul, some of these batsmen are not comfortable in their batting positions, will you swap your batting position? Rahul, we are looking for a team of young players, will you stay back? Rahul, this team of young guys is struggling to face the experienced bowlers, will you be back? Rahul, we are in need of someone to guide these young kids, will you be their coach? He did all these and much more. That was Rahul Dravid, the stalwart now and always, calm and composed, pliable to the players around and the team. I have always wondered and pondered about what made myself admire Dravid, a little more than any other sportsmen. Why am I awe struck, when I think of the non-destructible innings that he has always contributed? Was it...