Serendipity, Saunter and Faux paz

  Saturday night on the way back from town after meeting an old colleague, my rickshaw wallah is driving at break neck speed. It's raining, the wind feels great but it's dangerous as wet roads are slick and slippery. I ask him to slow down and say I'm in no hurry, he mumbles something and slows down fractionally as we are almost on the service road. But instead of slowing further he hits a pot hole and my arm swings and bruises slightly. Now I raise my voice and sternly ask him, why he isn't slowing down despite asking him to?  He: Internet khatam ho jayega.  Me: What?  He: (again) Internet khatam ho jayega Me: What's that? He: Bara bajne ko hai. App nahi chalega. Map nahi chalega. Hum ko pata nahi hum kahan hai. (It's close to midnight. The app will not work, the map will not work and I don't know where I am)  This sounds so bizzare, so Cindrella-ish! The rickshaw turning into a pumpkin and the rickshaw-wallah's shoes turning to ordinary flip-flops. May...

The forthcoming inauguration of the Interact club  co-sponsored by Rotary eclub One has triggered a spate of memories from my own tryst with the Interact club in the late 80s in suburban Mumbai. I am thinking of the new horizons that are going to open up for the participants of this club and how it is going to shape their lives in so many ways, small and big. I remember waiting for Saturday mid morning meetings of the club and the plans we would make for upcoming events - Teacher's Day, Drawing competitions, Carrom competitions, visiting the installation ceremony at the local Rotary club, meeting the new members of the local Rotaract club, annual picnic, visits to other schools and being part of service projects to keep the town clean, help the elderly with their chores and others. The amazing idea of service above self began to firmly take root.  A small group of us also visited the Annual Interact Jamboree in town where we met Interact club members from many different school...