Hello! We’ve met on a few occasions. Hope you are well. I’m your X-ray machine, stationed in hospitals and diagnostic centers. I’m a silent observer, seeing and revealing to human eyes what human eyes are unable to see and reveal. I’m a web of wires, connections, plates, and invisible light. I may appear cold, clinical, and metallic to you, but I bring clarity and healing. Every day, I watch people walk in. Some are in pain, others anxious yet hopeful, some utterly nervous, and a few are trying to be brave. If I could, I would tell them that knowing is always better than not knowing. I’m just a machine. I cannot speak. As they stand before me, I do what I was made to do. I capture the irregularities; sometimes there are none. I capture that, too, and reveal it all to the doctors. I ask you to be still to get an accurate picture. Bones, lungs, joints.I see them all.  Nothing misses me. I don’t judge or comment. I simply state the facts. I’ve been help...

    Bapu, As the Father of the nation You are worthy of imitation.   Born in Porbandar, Gujarat You won every Indian’s heart. Peace and tolerance you preferred Ahimsa was your watchword.   Barrister in South Africa In India, you only used the charka. Showed  us how to spin our Khadi. How to make our salt at Dandi.   Frail you were, and so bold Bapu, the truth you always told. It was the motto of your life Also of Kasturba, your wife. The British Raj you bravely resisted That they 'Quit India,' you insisted. Swaraj was close to your heart.   Hindu, Muslim bhai-bhai Our country you worked to unify. You dared to disobey the British regime Your courage is held in high esteem.   You called Harijans the people of God They, the scheduled castes over whom we trod. You gave them dignity But for your ideals, you died.   My “Experiments with Truth," the book you wrote Your ‘simple living,...

  “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”  —Thomas Jefferson, former U.S. president The truth be told, the truth doesn’t go down well with all. Often, people prefer to be told what they want to hear. I don’t always take my husband’s advice but there is one piece of advice that I find valuable. He always urges me to tell the truth. I try to remember that in my day to day dealings. Honesty is the best policy, and that, hubby dear says, will always hold you in good stead. If everybody began telling the truth would it make the world a better place. A  lot of what people don’t want to hear would come out in the open. People would be afraid and uncomfortable. Some would be happy that the truth has finally been told. Telling the truth may get you into hot water, but it would be the best you could do for yourself in the long run.   “Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”  —Buddha There are different aspects to telling the ...