Tushar Mangl

Punjab is gearing for assembly polls. The ruling Akali - BJP alliance faces a strong incumbency factor as it has had a ten year run of the state politics. The media of course favors AAP as the coffers of the Delhi government have been too generous to the media. It continues to highlight the success of AAP in Lok Sabha elections some time ago. But what it does not feel like informing the citizens is that most of those MPs have faded away already. Only Bhagwant Mann remains party's face in Punjab. Of course, relations between AAP and Congress are nice and comfy and that seems to be the way these elections might go. An alliance between the Congress and AAP. The Akali Dal is financially sound and well organized as well. Whatever allegations of corruption people might hurl, they have tried to push the state forward. The BJP it seems has already decided to grab the post of the biggest loser. Its fate now lies in the border district of Amritsar where the Navjot factor will decide ab...

I have been working on The Crumpled Innocence for a long time now. Its been in the cold storage for a while now. It was a spark of an idea but could never reach its true potential. But now I have restarted work on it and release date has been finalized as 15 July, 2016 . Let's hope it goes well. Writing has always been an integral part of my adult life. But will it always remain so? At some level I hope I will move away from writing as it takes up too many of my emotions. Another thing that has always been with me is my reading. It still is my most favourite pass time and I wish and pray it remain so. But now I have added yet another hobby. At least am trying to build it up as a hobby. That is walking and exercising. I like walking. But always felt lazy to take it up. Also my health issues have always been a hindrance in taking up any sports. But look at the kind of lifestyle we lead. Too much unhealthy (yet tasty) food, sedentary lifestyle excessive pollution is all negating o...

In her autobiography Agatha Christie wrote that she seldom went to one place twice for vacation. Her reasoning as I recall was that you have certain memories and you like the place. When you visit that place again and again it spoils those memories. I agree to that. There are so many places in the World. Why keep visiting one again and again. Keep the memories intact. But is it always possible? There are so many places which we visit where memories are created, good and bad. Say an old fort in your city. You went with a loved one for a walk (just saying). Would you rather go their again and again or would you rather never go their again so that the memory of the place remains intact? But you can't avoid the town, can you? Like hill stations. You go to a hill station after few years, you will see less trees, more pollution, more people. The memory of the quaint little town with waterfalls is bound to be disrupted forever. Nostalgia is a tricky thing. Can get you hung over any t...

Over the holi long weekend, I was in Ludhiana, my birth place. We were driving down a road, which I used to take while cycling to school. The road has now been widened, and is much better but the majestic eucalyptus trees, that shaded me in hot summer months, are now all gone. In the maddening rush for wide roads, huge number of trees are being chopped down, not just in Punjab, but in other states as well. It does not make me sad as that is what the countrymen want. Wide roads. Everyone wants that, and politicians too realize the need of their vote bank. Trees don't vote. Where once they grew from a sapling to a an adult tree, they are now just being seen as a road block, an eyesore. And who will speak on their behalf? The moment you try to speak against this shameless atrocity you would be branded as an anti development, activist. As if speaking for a bunch of trees is such a huge sin. The felling of roadside trees also does not affect the NGO types as well, who have much larger...