What gives

 Not so long ago ,one morning I had this strange urge to paint a picture of a lady.I had no idea what picture I could draw so as I was looking through the choices I had I decided to draw a geometric drawing of an elegant lady whose picture my sister had sent me.I started work on and as it progressed I suddenly had this deep urge to keep one of the hands cut.I followed it and I did just that, Was wondering what it was all about and then towards evening Shanker came to me and told me the news about a missionary kid who had done a deliberate self harm.I knew then that this was what the Spirit had been trying to show me. I shared it with a few people .undertandably,most people just gave me a blamk stare .So many years after the incident .I am meeting my older sister .As we do our bible studies and intercession together she feels that for the season the Lord has poured the Spirit of intercession on me.When I narrated this incident to her she immediately worded the sentencee .'A picture ...

After several decades we all are home at a time, sans dad.Mom had her iron infusion without any allergic reaction and also her first Epo.Solan has been teaching me driving.I,with my learner's license drive almost every evening.At times I cover a distance of around twenty five miles along the treacherous hilly terrain .I have gone through quite a bit of challenges and less than a month after getting a learner's license I am ready to go solo but my family is insistant that I take an experienced driver with me till I get my full license..On one such occasion ,while driving on my own I nearly went down the hill while backing my car.The engine had gone off  midway, so with my feet on the clutch it was functioning on  a neutral gear and the brakes refused to budge.I did not have the experience to get my feet off the gear or pull up the hand gear.By providence, there was a plank lying by the side of the road where the car gently hit and stopped.It was  nerve racking  but I ...

 I decided to extend my stay in Kalimpong  by a day. The day being a festival ,getting a cab was difficult but providence works in ways we fail to undersgtand  often. The gentleman who was driving me happened to be from my church denomination but now worshipping in the local church so he was quick to offer help for the next day although he was already booked for the airport the next day.The hotel guys were finding it difficult to find a cab for the day but they offered to try so we left the hotel early morning on foot .We wanted to walk around a bit.At eight in the morning this particular sight tugged at my heart-strings and brought to memory a scene from more than a decade earlier when as a young doctor I had seen a similar scene which had moved me to the roots. These are young and middle aged men offering themselves for manual work.Anyone who needs them needs to come here and pick them up .There surely must be a more dignified way of doing this. Just today I was attendi...

 We started for Darjeeling at eight sharp after a leisurely English breakfast at the Elgin, The gentleman who was to drive us to and back to Kalimpong for the day happened to be from my mother church. The drive up was slow but the view and the places like Peshok, Lopchu, Jorebungalow all had a box in my head but I did not know where to place it . As you approach town a bold sign greets you. The Queen sure seems to be a self-assured dowager. While one can see a scuffle to project tourism in more amateur places,one has a tough time keeping up with who Darjeeling is. Two things strike you as you climb up the hill as one leaves Sikkim and enters Bengal. 1.The roads are picture perfect  and almost surreal and with it are signs which read 'Roads are mantained by PWD,West Bengal'. 2,Traffic jams are crazy.The government has to find a way to meander this problem in the hills. I had a list of things I wanted to see,I ended up sauntering about in the moody Darjeeling weather,just enjoye...

  I have been fighting my demons in Kalimpong .Elgin Silver Oaks was originally built by a famous British Jute Magnate in the year 1930’s and was later sold to Freiderich Deshraj who is said to have built the Teesta bridge.Freidreich Deshraj later sold it to Diamond Oberio. who added an extra floor and converted it to a boutique hotel.The traffic jam to Kalimpong   was back breaking and having reached the hotel a wee earlier than the check in time we found the housekeeping in a state of panic.While we waited for the rooms to be ready an old soul lead us to the flamboyant lounge,gave us the traditional scarves and a glass of juice. Another fifteen minutes and the room was partially ready so we parked our stuff and decided to saunter to the market.Kalimpong seems to be in a state of disarray.Tight fit town looked like the Gangtok of the eighties.People also seemed to be stuck somewhere in the time zone.Went looking for food in town and predictably ended up in Gompus.The place ...

LION OF JUDAH - (Learning from Sprout). In Revelation, we learn about John’s vision on the island of Patmos where he is exiled. John was the disciple who was said to be closest to Jesus. He lay with his head on Jesus’ chest during the Lord’s ministry on earth. Yet when he sees Him in Revelation , he was so in awe of His majesty that he is said to have fallen at the feet of Jesus as if he were dead. In Revelation 5 ,John sees a book on the right-hand side of God sealed seven times.An angel is proclaiming in a loud voice- ‘Who is worthy to open the book and loose the seals thereof?’ They found no man worthy on earth,nor in heaven ,nor under the earth worthy to let alone open the seal but also to look upon it,so John says he wept much because there was no one found worthy. V5 5 says ‘And one of the elders saith unto me ,weep not :behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah ,the root of David ,hath prevailed to open the book ,and loose the seven seals thereof.’ When John beholds , pe...

 In my early morning prayer between 3.30 and 4AM between lull of sleep and wakefulness I was suddenly up and alert looking at a vision of a ram caught in a  thicket.What struck me about the Ram was the golden horn which just really caught my attention.I finished my prayer and as I went back to sleep I was wondering what I had seen.I told my mother casually when she woke up and I sent a whattsaap message to my sister.I knew I had to go back to my bible to find the context.I had my session of bible reading ,my morning quiet time ,and I got ready for work.I found the pastor's wife standing outside my gate.She wanted some time in the afternoon to speak to me about a young man who needed some help with further studies in biblical mandate. He was someone known to the pastor's wife from the neighbouring state and was looking for sponsor for the last bit of push towards doing doctrate studies . He came in the afternoon.By God's grace I could help him. I was still trying to unroll t...

Last sunday while the worship was on  the worship leader started praising the Lord on high,Even as I was worshipping suddenly a huge image of Christ loomed up before me and He had His foot on a footstool and he had a warrier's dress on with leather sandals.I was taken aback and the first bible verse that came to me was  ' Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool...,'.The preacher was preaching that day about Eliza and the widow.He made special emphasis on how the Lord looked around all the earth and the Lord's eyes fell on the widow who was down to her last portion of flour and oil. I went back to see how Isaiah 66 read and it goes thus- ' This is what the   Lord   says: “Heaven is my throne,      and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me?      Where will my resting place be? 2  Has not my hand made all these things,      and so they came into being?” declares...

 My sister has had interesting set of helpers staying with her.One such lady was Shoolie.She was of bengali origin ,a widow without an issue ,middle aged and a slow person who was frankly confused about her role in the team.Her daily routine would consist of getting up a little late in the morning ,having a relaxing bath,oiling herself and dresssing up for the day.When my sister left for the college she would follow her and generally hover around the whole day and come back home to the same routine.Ocassionally she would cook the dal which she apparently did well.She also kept my sister amused by giving a peek into their lives  One day in one such social gathering one elderly gentleman, a beaurocrat  ,a man of few words,out of curiosity ,asked Shoolie what her work responsibility was. and she promptly answered, 'I carry madam's laptop.'. He was stunned and mentioned it to one of our aunts. My sister was wildly amused but as was expected she had to be sent back to her folk...

.Archana Sharma ,a   gynaecologist in Rajasthan,committed deliberate self-harm the other day. A patient of hers had succumbed to post-partum haemorhage .The relatives of the patient had filed an IPC 302 against her. It was a fleeting news I read which had been highlighted by one of my conceintious colleagues. It was somewhere at the back of my mind. I had a strange dream towards the morning hours.I was in the market somewhere when I happened to notice a ruckus down below.A women was being assaulted by two women.There was a camel lazily sitting on the floor with a lazy mahout stretched out on top of it watching the scenario with utter disinterest.There was an old man with white hair sitting on his haunches towards the head of the camel with tears streaming down his eyes ,wiping it with the back of his hands.There was an old lady crying out loudly gesticulating for help ,standing behind the camel.It was a vivid picture and had me thoughtful. What struck me was how active the woma...

 I am down with a bad bout of viral illness.Have not had conjunctivites forever and having had my flu vaccine ,I have hardly had flu-like symptoms for close to a decade.Suddenly yesterday my sister noted that my eyes were red and today I have a full fledged eye symptoms.I have my dark glasses on ,so to avoid drama. I am trying to make my public appearance as less as possible. Early morning I got called to see my cousin who was down with  pain abdomen.I took her to the casualty and was joined by another cousin who had a pain in the right hypochondrium.It all started at six in the morning and by the time we rounded up it was around eight thirty.Reached home just to find that it was a full house there too .A little caught up for a sunday morning. The war in Ukraine is appalling to say the least.For this time and age, wierd would be the word.It is very difficult to understand the dynamics but the sheer proportion of refugees and war victims leave one's mind numb.Is there a need fo...

 I have often asked my uncle ,a veteran congressman,during his hay days ,as to why the congress is so dependant on the Gandhis.His answer was that ,'without the Gandhis,the party would fall into pieces because there would be so much infighting .The  Gandhis keep the party together.' Indian politics and geopolitical scene has undergone  a mammoth change in the last decade or so.Grass-root politics has become the essence of the day.Are the Gandhis,a problem as the dissidents make it out to be?I guess not.They are doing their bit ..but the aspiration of the congressman that sheer Gandhi charisma and nil work at the grassroot level should win them elections is a myth. I have lived in UP for almost a better part of two years and have seen a vague caricature of what goes on.The truth is,there is no congress presence there. Nearer this election we heard a few Samajwadi noises ,to be precise exactly one brahmin farmer who had just come back from the farmer's agitation in Delhi.I ...

During the different phases of my christian walk I have felt the reassuring hand of Jesus while communing with him .While in North India,there was a phase where I would catch the hem of His robe and follow him...and then there was this phase where He would firmly catch my hand and stride ahead.Then my father passed and there He was with his sleeves folded up looking at the comings and goings around the house. Around eight months back I shifted to Sikkim and joined the government service.I had not really had a clear picture in my mind's eye. Last week while I was in the church,while worshipping, suddenly a picture came to my mind .I was taken aback by it .As soon as I was back home, I shared it with my mother who is my prayer partner. Yesterday while having a zoom meeting with my mission colleagues with Dr KV as the resource person it struck me how important it is to document our individual walk with our Lord and savior who is The living Christ. While worshipping in the church my he...