Finding Nemo

I am sure many of us would have played the game of Snakes and Ladders while growing up. It is a multiplayer game where each player takes turns and throws in the dice and moves the number of squares as indicated on the face of the dice. The first player to reach the finish line wins and the last one to have been left behind is the loser. When I was a kid, the fun was not just the winning  but also  watching how many times and when a player gets bitten by the snake. Though we all played to get the ladder for the easy escape, we knew that getting bitten is inevitable as well.  This is an ancient Indian game which was brought to UK in late 1800s from where it got its world wide acceptance and variations! In one of the Ancient Indian variation, the game had the ladders displaying the virtues that one must aspire to lead a righteous life - Generosity, Faith, Reliability,  Humility, Knowledge  and Asceticism. While the snakes represented the vicious vices that are alwa...

चिता  यह कैसी आग है ? सभी तरफ फैली हुयी, ऊँची लाल तपती लपटें , सब कुछ जलाती हुयी ?                                   बढ़ती उफनती यह ज्वाला ,                                    मेरी तरफ ही आ रही है।                                     और वो मोहल्ले के बाबा,                                    देखो तो कहाँ जा रहे हैं ? और यह पड़ोस की नानी ? सुनती थी रोज कहानी, आज किधर जाती हो ? मुझे दूर कहाँ जाती हो ?                                    देखो तो बालसखा मेरे ,    ...