2021-06-17 07:52
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EghujaSynnMSo I finally made it to the end of my Christmas countdown. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to make it so far because of all the other work and non-w… Read More
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The Reluctant Hermit Blog
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Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it towards some overwhelming question,
To say: 'I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all' (T.S. Eliot)
2020-12-24 04:22
I don't know Private Jones. All I know about him was that he served with the South Wales Borderers, and died at the young age of 18 on 10th June, 1967.I think his ID number inscribed o… Read More
2020-12-23 04:11
We don't know if the Great Conjunction is in anyway related to the Star of Bethlehem. Maybe or maybe not. We really can't say for sure, but it does add to a good Christmas story. My wif… Read More
2020-12-22 04:47
It has been an inconvenient year. 2020 will go down in history as that year when that which is normal and expected seemed abhorrent. The simple act of meeting and greeting was replaced… Read More
2020-12-20 19:51
Today is my dad's birthday but he is not with us. The reality of his passing has yet to sink in, and so it feels rather strange to celebrate this day without having him around.His absence is… Read More
2020-12-19 19:01
I don't imagine any of us expected to celebrate Christmas in the shadow of the 'new normal.' Everything seems so unreal that we could just be living in a dystopian nightmare, and not 'r… Read More
2020-12-18 19:43
I had planned to repeat my '12 days to Christmas' series but then something or the other came up on December 14, and as a result, I couldn't post anything on that date.I thought, maybe, I sh… Read More
2020-08-15 19:24
Freedom means not getting lynched for what's in your fridge or for what you like to eat...Freedom means not getting hounded for being different from others...Freedom means being able to expr… Read More
2020-07-10 11:59
Sunsets will always remind me of Aai.It will be one year today since she left us after being in hospital for over 45 days. We would meet her in the evenings, and could see the sunset f… Read More
2019-12-25 08:20
So it’s Christmas Day finally and it feels strange to wake up at my family home and not having to greet my parents. This has been my habit and practise for as long as I remember that n… Read More
2019-12-24 16:58
"Bethlehem - Photo taken with my iPhone" by Fabio - Miami is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0As we reach the end of the 12 Day to Christmas series, I thought it would be best to go back to the… Read More
2019-12-24 15:06
"Santa Claus" by Natashenka is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0There are those who believe Santa Claus should have nothing to do with Christmas. They feel that the jolly old man has nothing to… Read More
2019-12-24 06:15
I have heard this hymn so many times and also the story behind it. I can't imagine the pain and sorrow both of them must have gone through but it is encouraging to see the level of fai… Read More
2019-12-24 06:08
"Christmas Candle" by Scott Ingram is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish... (Isaiah 9: 1)It takes the passing away of loved ones - more pr… Read More
2019-12-23 18:54
"Window" by earthgiant100 is licensed under CC BY 2.0What if...We are somehow able to go back in time and make things OK, or at least, make some adjustments that would restore things the way… Read More
2019-12-22 05:17
“A cold coming we had of it,Just the worst time of the yearFor a journey, and such a long journey:The ways deep and the weather sharp,The very dead of winter.”And the camels gall… Read More
2019-12-22 05:06
Sometimes when we are going through a period of melancholy, a story of hope can make a huge difference. A story that shows that despite the grimness of war there was a tiny flicker of light… Read More
2019-12-21 05:24
"Christmas" by scottfidd is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0Sometimes it’s a blessing that we cannot look into the future.I wonder how we would be able to handle life if we were fully aw… Read More
2019-12-20 04:50
I was looking at a crib early this evening. Placed at a table in a corner, the nativity scene was beautifully presented with the small figures of Joseph and Mary looking at the baby Jesus ly… Read More
2019-12-17 20:00
"IMG_5067" by adpal3180 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0I wonder what would have been Mary's response if the angel Gabriel had told her that the Messiah --whose mother she was going to be … Read More
2019-12-16 12:15
"Visitation, Pakenham" by TheRevSteve is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0There is a tendency to view Christmas as a happy event - a time of merriment, laughter and joy.Most of the carols we si… Read More
2019-12-14 15:26
"Christmas candles" by Markus Grossalber is licensed under CC BY 2.0It has been a while since I wrote anything in my blog on a regular basis, and it has been even longer since I worked on my… Read More
2019-11-02 09:58
It's the eyes that reach out at first. A brief glance that stays on a little longer followed by a nod. It's a glance that wants to say something more but at that singular moment words seem u… Read More
2018-10-20 08:05
Image courtesy: Creative Commons/ PixabayThere is something sweet about a touch. It gives us pleasure. It comforts us. It soothes us. It warms us. And then, it connects us with the other per… Read More
2018-10-10 10:41
Somewhere along the way we lose our voice.It doesn't happen with the suddenness of a flashlight but it does anyway - silently, surreptitiously and almost like a cat sneaking from behind and… Read More
2018-10-03 05:26
I wrote this as a comment on a friend's Facebook page after he posted an article that (to my opinion) screamed 'fake news' all the way. My friend was not convinced and insisted that what he… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
It has been quite a while since I've put my blog to some serious use. Not that I didn't have anything to say or that I had lost my urge to speak about things. Far from it. So much has been g… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
These are not the best of times to be a single, straight Indian guy.We've been getting a lot of bad press these days and certainly not for any good reason. Somehow there's just excessive new… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
We have already reached the end of 2013 and are staring into all the possibilities that 2014 has to offer. And for most of us, it's a bit of surprise that this day has come so soon and… Read More
2016-03-19 18:53
In another two years time, the world will mark the centenary of the First World War or The Great War as it was then called till Hitler rolled his wagon into Poland and ignited the second.It'… Read More
2016-01-01 20:21
Sometimes unexpected people impart invaluable lessons...I was in Bombay recently and needed to go somewhere that involved a two-hour taxi ride (one way, that is) to my destination. I co… Read More
2015-12-29 04:04
These are not the best of times for people of faith.It doesn't matter what faith group you are part of or what denominational affiliation you hold. As long as you are a card carrying member… Read More
2014-08-24 03:10
I was spring cleaning yesterday and came across this old article I had written for my column in UOB News & Views (January 2004). I was a bit amused by what I wrote and thought it w… Read More
2011-12-24 13:10
We are supposed to be social animals, gregarious entities who find pleasure in the company of one another. We were created that way, too. Our entire being is meant to belong and not stay in… Read More
2011-12-24 05:39
I am a little behind schedule with my posts because I was not well but let me see how best I can speed up.The ability of light to dispel darkness is, perhaps, one of those powerful metaphors… Read More
2011-12-20 15:49
We are creatures of love but we also happen to be the most unloving race on this planet.It's a weird paradox and one that defies all sense of logic. On the one hand, we demonstrate such extr… Read More
2011-12-18 14:05
This is my second visit to Istanbul, and one thing I've learnt so far is that deja vu is not quite a reliable guide as one would like it to be. On one hand, it can trigger memories of place… Read More
2011-12-18 13:02
Joy is an exclamation mark!There's no other way one can best describe a word such as joy. It's not as blunt, curt and to-the-point like a period. Or somewhat diffident and cautious but with… Read More
2011-12-17 23:31
Peace is a song, a chant, a cry, a reason to protest or an excuse for some sort of action. For many people, peace can be one or two or all of these things. And for still others, it's a… Read More
2011-12-16 23:23
Hope can be electric.It can fire up passion, stir emotions, breathe optimism into the most dismal situation and even encourage the faint hearted to do the most extraordinary things.What hope… Read More
2011-12-15 22:17
Faith is an uneasy word for most people because it assumes a certainty that's not quite there. At least, not yet. It somehow expects adherents to believe that the 'here and now' is not the o… Read More
2011-12-14 02:33
I was in two minds about it. Should I continue with this Christmas tradition of mine? Or shall I just skip it this year altogether?After all, I haven't done much blogging this year, and so … Read More
2010-12-25 21:37
So the day came and went, or at least, it will do so in a few minutes time. And then, it will recede into memory and become another day shared with friends and family. Like always. Each year… Read More
2010-12-24 23:24
I still remember that night very clearly as if it was only yesterday.I was doing my college in Bombay and staying in a hostel that was attached to this college. The Christmas holidays had be… Read More
2010-12-24 22:31
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brou… Read More
2010-12-24 16:03
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.Luke 2:19Christmas is all about memories. It's what gives the season its festive significance: the company of family and… Read More
2010-12-24 12:27
Do unto others as you would have them do to youLuke 6:31 We like to consider ourselves as a tolerant bunch of people. It's something we believe in so strongly without even thinking that, per… Read More
2010-12-23 20:28
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, an… Read More
2010-12-23 16:03
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,because the LORD has anointed meto preach good news to the poor.He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,to proclaim freedom for the captivesand… Read More
2010-12-22 02:40
"... the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”Luke 2:15The search for authenticity… Read More
2010-12-19 20:15
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All retur… Read More
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