Patriot Pedongi
Mules play an important role in the Indian Army to maintain supply of essential goods to inaccessible terrains. Their association with the army is very old. So are their stories of patriotism. Such a yarn of patriotism was related at a function in Bhopal on the Republic Day this year. When the Indian soldiers were fighting against the Pakistani army in 1971, the enemy captured a mule called Pedongi. She was very clever and knew how to dodge the enemy in any given situation. The Pakistani soldiers tied arms and explosives to her back that she might trigger a blast on the Indian soil, but it was not to happen, as she knew what she had to do. Rather than causing any harm to the Indian Army, she dodged the enemy and reached the Indian side of the border unscathed. The Indian soldiers welcomed her with three cheers. The new lounge at ASC officers’ mess in Delhi was named after Pedongi. When a colonel of the Indian Army narrated the tale at the function the audience was in tears.
The Third Woman
Jonathan Freedland’s The Third Woman is a story that delights every journalist, especially the crime reporters. Through every page of this high-concept thriller, Freedland tells a tale of a woman reporter who investigates her sister’s death. That probe draws her into the crosshairs of enemies determined to keep their secrets under cover. The United States and China strike a strange deal. In return for debt, the People’s Republic of China establishes a permanent military presence on the US soil. Years of decline have left America economically vulnerable. The female journalist in the story, Madison Webb, is preoccupied with exposing corruption, lies and injustice. She does not count on the police investigation and also does not bother about the consequences she will face. Every page of the novel is thrilling and rich in expressions. Freedland who regularly contributes to the Guardian is an award-winning author. The other day, when the owner of an old book shop in Bhopal suggested a scribe to read the novel, he immediately bought it and sifted through its every page. The book published by Harper and Collins is worth buying.
The portrait of an artist
An artist in the state capital Raj Saini draws portraits with passion. His magic fingers make every curve of a countenance vivacious. His tribute to Lata Mangeshkar, the Indian Nightingale, was not rhetoric. He has portrayed the greatest singer of all times in her different moods and ages. He has drawn the faces of many important people, including those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor. A camera, too, can produce the portrait of anyone. Yet, there is a difference. A camera gives the mechanical appearance of a person, but Saini’s brush lets out breath into the portraits he makes. Ergo Lata Mangeshkar emerges livelier through the strokes of his brush and colour that really limn the true spirit of the Nightingale. It seems Didi would come out of those portraits and begin to croon with her ever-smiling face: O basanti pawan pagal, na jaa re naa jare ruko koi… (O, the Restless winds of the spring don’t go; don’t go. Let someone stop it). Saini brings that fled music back to life.
Tailpiece
A resident of MP Nagar in Bhopal was proud of his curly hair. He, however, began to lose it. The situation came to such a pass that he went bald.
His wife started teasing him saying you were losing your pride.
The witty man replied: I’m prouder than I was, because a good human comes out on top.
