Author: kirklandc008@gmail.com

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.” ~Viktor E. Frankl A few months ago, I was on a crowded highway with my wife and son. Traffic was barely moving. Vehicles were inching forward, one small gap at a time, with the usual impatience hanging in the air. Suddenly, there was a loud bang. It sounded like something had burst. For a second, I didn’t understand what had happened. Then I realized a motorcyclist trying to squeeze through the narrow space between cars had hit us. His side bar had…

Apropos the HT article ‘Beyond the grain: Punjab needs new Green Revolution’ (May 3), it is time to move away from narratives that unfairly malign Punjab’s agriculture and its hardworking farmers. The real conversation must focus on the government’s persistent failure to effectively tackle the sustainability and environmental challenges facing the state’s agricultural system.What Punjab needs is a new and targeted breakthrough in cotton, mustard and pulses crops that once formed the backbone of farming in central and southern districts. (HT file photo)For decades, Punjab has been viewed through the narrow lens of the rice-wheat cycle, sustained by MSP and procurement.…

It’s late afternoon, and Lucy texts her husband’s girlfriend. The sound of cartoons plays somewhere in the living room, and she absentmindedly wipes a smear of jam off the countertop.A few minutes earlier, Lucy’s phone buzzes with a school email: a parent-teacher event for Thursday evening. She’s been attending these events alone, but pauses this time. She wants her husband, Oliver, there.When she glances at the shared Google Calendar, she notices that Thursday is already accounted for. Oliver has a date with Cecilia.Lucy opens WhatsApp. She doesn’t text her husband. She texts Cecilia. Cecilia replies quickly: they can find another…

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Brajesh Pathak on Friday ordered strict action against several health officials, including the dismissal of five doctors from service, over alleged negligence, dereliction of duty and irregularities in the health department.UP govt sacks five doctors, orders action against 16 health officials for negligenceAccording to an official statement issued by his office, five medical officers were dismissed for remaining absent from duty for a prolonged period without information and for staying away from medical work.Those dismissed include Dr Alaknanda of the district hospital in Gorakhpur, Dr Ramji Bhardwaj posted under the Kushinagar…

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said the state had moved away from the politics of “appeasement” and “fatwas” to a model focused on development and public welfare.Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at a public event in Saharanpur district on Thursday. (HT)He also said the recent election results in West Bengal had exposed forces trying to weaken the country’s social fabric through caste-based and divisive politics.The chief minister was addressing a large public gathering at Deoband in Saharanpur district where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 325 development projects worth ₹2,131 crore.“Earlier, government funds were spent on…

A 52-year-old property dealer allegedly died by suicide after consuming poisonous tablets, reportedly due to prolonged mental stress linked to a financial dispute involving crores of rupees. Before taking the extreme step, the businessman allegedly recorded a video naming 11 persons whom he accused of harassment and non-payment of dues.Following the complaint of the deceased’s wife, the Dugri police registered a case against 11 persons. (HT File)The incident came to light on Wednesday night when the victim’s condition deteriorated after he allegedly consumed poison inside his vehicle. Family members first rushed him to a private hospital and later shifted him…

Chandigarh, Jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh’s mother on Thursday asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann why her son was not being brought back to Punjab from Assam despite his detention under the National Security Act having ended.Why is Amritpal Singh not being brought back to Punjab, jailed MP’s mother asks MannWhen Mann was taking out his “Shukrana Yatra”, which was organised at Rayya in Amritsar as a sign of “gratitude” for the implementation of the anti-sacrilege law, Amritpal’s mother Balwinder Kaur reached close to the chief minister’s vehicle.”Listen to me for a minute. You are also the son of a…

When it comes to relationships with extreme power imbalances – say, professional hierarchies or underage participants – there is broad consensus on what’s acceptable. But a relationship between people whose ages differ by a decade or so confuses and intrigues people endlessly.Generally, the wider the age gap and the younger one partner is, the greater the skepticism. Older men have long been side-eyed for dating substantially younger women. The reverse – older women with younger men – also remains somewhat subversive. But the latter dynamic is increasingly celebrated – last year, the Cut covered the trend of older women seeking…

Chandigarh, The Haryana Advocate General’s office has been completely digitalised, ushering in a new era of digital legal administration, according to an official statement.Haryana Advocate General’s office fully digitalisedOn Thursday afternoon, Advocate General Pravindra Singh Chauhan launched the Pro Case Management System , an advanced extension of the Litigation Management System, which is the Haryana government’s integrated workflow-based system designed for departments, corporations, boards and other state bodies to monitor the status of cases related to them.Digital transformation of the Advocate General’s office began around six months ago, when Chauhan appointed Senior Deputy Advocate General Arun Tewatia as the IT…

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” ~C.G. Jung For twelve years, I believed I was the architect of a perfect life. I had the “Summa Cum Laude” degree, a respected career in human services, a devoted husband, and two healthy daughters. I had checked every box on the “Success” list. I truly thought I had outrun my past. But trauma has a way of waiting. It doesn’t disappear just because you stop looking at it. It simply goes underground, like a silent program running in the background of a…