Edible Shoots

     What can be more daring than setting out in mid-fall for a barbequing expedition on a mountain cliff at 4° Celsius? It is true though it sounds idiotic. It is natural among my circle that one among us will come up with some crazy ideas and everyone will agree with him no matter how crazy it is, because the rest of the pack won’t have any equally crazy ideas to offer instead. This time Dr. Shaheen’s wild imagination led him to suggest barbequing a whole goat at the weekend.      However, it was the best-planned outing we had ever had. The plan demanded preparation in advance, so everything was well thought out and executed. Individual members had volunteered to contribute rice, yogurt, garlic toast, toasted green apples, salads, dates, peanuts, chips, tea, Arabian coffee and dates as pre-dinner snacks. There was only one snag: the place we had chosen for setting up camp.        The set...

     As we prepare to bid farewell to 2014, with another Christmas warming our hearts and hearths, I want to share the following reflections with you.      Someone asked me recently how I celebrate Christmas (or I might have brought it up myself). Not sure how or why, but it made me look back at my college days. I fondly remember exchanging gifts with a special person in my life and enjoying a piece of cake in good company. However, this only partially answers the question, at a certain - social - level. At a deeper level, two beautiful stories come to mind, ones that (to me) are inextricably bound up with Christmas.       The first story is "Christmas Day in the Morning" by Pearl S. Buck, which I first read during my school days. The second is "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, which I read while I was at college.And both of these authors are my life favorites ever since.      I ke...

I treat myself to the weekly luxury of going online to indulge my never-ending curiosity. In so doing I recently stumbled upon “Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence” by Daniel Goleman. Quite impulsively I clicked the “buy” button, much to my own surprise (as I am naturally thrifty). What’s done is done – but I have no regrets. I have fallen in love with this book and now keep revisiting it. Goleman is mesmerizing with a piercing intellect and a conquering feather touch of intimacy. Daniel Goleman is no stranger to those in the field of education. His revolutionary work on emotional intelligence has made him an ever shining star among both educators and corporate mentors.   Practically all of us have gone online only to realize, many hours later, that we have little concrete to show for the last few hours of clicking. There is simply no end to our unchecked online wanderings as we pursue one pop-up and one link after the other. This is an exceedingly common phenomenon i...