The latest Indian census shows an alarming decline in the girl child ratio while our population is promptly on the rise. Coupled with this is the fact that the attitude towards daughters all over the nation seems to be changing—for the worse. Illegal practices by bribe-happy doctors are adding to this misfortune. Yet there appears to be a ray of hope for the optimist, in the country’s ‘sample surveys.’ But how hopeful can we really be? We have all this and more to ponder over as India inches towards China’s dramatically low gender ratio with sufficient scope to take over as the world’s most populous nation.
Indian gender ratio worsens—yet all is not bad
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Penned: Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
Penned: Tuesday, April 26th, 2011
Extracts from the Cynic’s Wordbook — Part VIII — the letter D
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Penned: Friday, April 22nd, 2011
Penned: Friday, April 22nd, 2011
See previously entered letters C, J, K, M &c. here. Dad - noun A father whom his vulgar children do not respect. Dandy - noun One who professes a singularity of opinion with regard to his own merits, accentuating his eccentricity with his clothes. Day - noun A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent. Decide - verb To succumb to the preponderance of one set […]
Extracts from the Cynic’s Wordbook – Part VIII – the letter D
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Penned: Friday, April 22nd, 2011
Penned: Friday, April 22nd, 2011
See previously entered letters C, J, K, M &c. here. Dad — noun A father whom his vulgar children do not respect. Dandy — noun One who professes a singularity of opinion with regard to his own merits, accentuating his eccentricity with his clothes. Day — noun A period of twenty-four hours, mostly misspent. Decide — verb To succumb to […]
Extracts from the Cynic’s Wordbook — Part VII — the letter S
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Penned: Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Penned: Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Also see letters P, M, K, C, J and R. Sabbath - noun An unknown quantity in San Francisco social life. Sacerdotalist - noun One who holds the belief that a clergyman is a priest. Sacred - noun Dedicated to some religious purpose; having a divine character; as the Dalai Lama of Tibet; the Moogum of M’bwango; the Cow in India; the hair of the dog that bit […]
Extracts from the Cynic’s Wordbook — Part VI — the letter R
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Penned: Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Penned: Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
Previous entries: P, M, K, C, J. Notice I have listed double the number of extracts under this letter. This is simply because these are some of the finest in the whole book by Bierce. A little bonus for you to chew and occasionally swallow and digest. Read on: Recruit - noun A person distinguishable from a civilian by his uniform […]
Extracts from the Cynic’s Wordbook — Part V — the letter J
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Penned: Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
Penned: Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
You have been with me through entries under the letters P, M, K, and C. Today, we shall read through J. J - is a consonant in English, but some nations use it as a vowel–than which nothing could be more absurd. Its original form, which has been but slightly modified, was that of the tail of a subdued dog, and it […]
Extracts from the Cynic’s Wordbook — Part IV — the letter C
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Penned: Saturday, April 16th, 2011
Penned: Saturday, April 16th, 2011
Today is the day of the letter C. ’nuff said. Or maybe, ’nuff seen. Whatever that means. We’ve read through P, M and K. Read on. Cabbage - noun A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head. Calamity - noun A more than commonly plain and unmistakable reminder that the affairs of this life are not […]