“Jhuru . . . jaldi neeche aao,” Amma shouts. Jhuru is atop a hill with his friend Bagha the leopard sprawled next to him. “Bagha, why do they always call me when I am with you?” “Well, they don’t want us to be together,” says Bagha licking his paws. “Or are they scared?” Jhuru asks. He gets up and shouts, “Amma, aataa” and proceeded to sprawl again next to Bagha.

Many of us love pets, especially dogs. But do you know that over the last five years, they have killed more than 300 people, mostly poor and rural children? Over 20,000 rabies deaths have been caused by homeless dogs and more than 30 endangered species have been hunted by them in the wild. The human-animal conflict between people and stray dogs in India has reached an alarming level. So, the next time you venture outdoors, please take care of yourself!

Summarizing the Union Budget in a cool, simplified, less dreadful, more interesting, nowhere mind-boggling, and in quite a thought-provoking manner. *********************************** 11am, 1st February: a moment for which people across the country wait anxiously every year. Why?...