Ghazals The Ghazal is an ancient poetic form consisting, of rhyming couplets, and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. The Ghazal has specific form; it deals with just one subject: Love. Ghazals speak specifically about one kind of love- an illicit and unattainable love. The Ghazal is the unrequited lover’s rendition of love for his unattainable beloved. The lyrical impetus of the Ghazal lies in the fact that...

Teens and Drugs The relationship between teens and drugs has been around for many decades. The teen years are probably the most turbulent years of one’s life. They are the most crucial years in the maturation process and during these years, the teenagers are faced with many challenges like discovering their identity outside home, their new sexual roles, independence, coping with authority and the most important of all, figuring out their...

Sudha Chandran Most Indians are familiar with the name of danseuse Sudha Chandran but few know the story behind this woman. Sudha’s parents were art lovers and seeing her inclination towards dancing, took her to Kala Sadan to learn classical dancing at the young age of five. Sudha’s association with the stage began at the age of eight. By the age of 17, she had given over 75 performances. One day,...

Can Terrorism Ever Be Justified? An indefensible act that targets and kills civilians is generally accepted as “terrorism”. When a country is at war, it is prepared to withstand the enemy and lose lives. However, terrorism is different in that it terrorizes everybody and creates in its wake chaos and retreat regardless of race, nationality or religion. Such atrocity is hard to condone whatever its justification might be. The US attacks...

The Grading System – Good or Bad? Most of us are familiar with the popular grading system having been subjected to it all our schooling years. While the objective of the grading system is to chalk the students’ academic progress, it fails to indicate the effectiveness with which students are grasping, absorbing, retaining and applying the knowledge they have gained. The flaw in the system lies in the fact that a...

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan, the name that makes fans go crazy, is still the reason for stampedes at airports, and enjoys India’s ‘numero uno’ star status. His trademark deep baritone voice, his tall brooding persona and his intense eyes are what made Amitabh Bachchan what he is today. True to his name which means ‘brilliance unlimited’ Amitabh shines on like a star. He debuted in 1969 and won the ‘National Film...

Are Beauty Contests Harmful? Beauty contests are a great source of entertainment, and one must admit that there is a certain pleasure in watching a well proportioned body walk the ramp. The catch lies in the fact that beauty competitions conform to a certain idea of physical beauty which is proved simply by the fact that all pageants have at minimum height and weight criteria, suggesting that beauty is height and...

The Great American Dream The American Declaration of Independence states that “all men are created equal and they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The great American dream to John Winthrop was religious paradise in a “City upon a Hill” while to Martin Luther King, Jr. it was “racial equality.” The great American dream is essentially about providing American people...