Those who serve us are commonly known as servants, and they are usually paid for providing service. A zebra by any name is still a zebra. In modern speak, servants are called employees. It makes them feel that they have a higher status than servants. Nevertheless, the relationship between the person who pays (the employer) and the one who gets paid (the employee) remains the same. The relationship becomes hierarchical, and usually, the buyer of the service (the employer has significant power...

I spend an enormous amount of time gardening, which can be extremely frustrating for my wife and family members. Soiled hands, dust-caked body peppered with pieces of greenery in my hair, beard and clothes and pieces of soil and flora littered in my garden, before I clean up. Drizzle or sun, both don't bother me, but Mohini worries that I might fall ill. Then there is the sweat which bothers her. So she often asks me to hire a gardener, but I steadfastly refuse. I love gardening; I find it...

Facilitating discovery is the essence of education. A couple of years ago, I attended a school concert where our grandson was participating. All the children robed in fancy costumes were trotted out onto the stage where they performed some steps which were badly choreographed, poorly synchronised and badly guided and then trotted back off the stage. To be fair to the school, our grandson is somewhat like me, not musically or artistically inclined but intellectually, scientifically and...