London: Almost all of us get songs stuck in our heads from time to time but why do certain tunes have the 'stick factor'?

One hundred years ago in June, 1916 a stylish Gujarati barrister mocked at a new visitor in Kathiwari dress to Gujarat Club, Ahmedabad. The barrister kept playing cards with his friends, even as the visitor delivered a lecture to a tiny audience in the lawn. He knew that visitor was none else than Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who had set up his Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad recently after returning from South Africa. But the barrister, a successful criminal lawyer, had no interest in Gandhi’s pursuits. But as Gandhi persisted with his visits for talks, the barrister decided to attend once out of sheer curiosity.

It sounds unbelievable but world’s first airmail flight took off in India! It was on 18th February 1911 that a private plane took off from Allahabad to deliver mail at Naini, 18 km across the Ganges. A commemorative stamp was issued in 1961 on the occasion of Golden Jubilee of the First Aerial Post.

It's that time of the year again. A festive nip in the air warmed up by 'SALE' hoardings splattered all over. People are gearing up for the Puja pandal visits, Ram Leelas or the burning of Ravana effigies on Vijayadashami, depending on the part of the country that they are in.

Maniyamma, an octogenarian tribal woman of Palakkayam colony in Chaliyargrama panchayat used to struggle with books and slates in her endeavour to become a neo-literate. But a ‘talking pen’ which reproduces the sound of a written text made matters easy for her and so many other indigenous people of the area. They moved the electronic pen across the alphabets and words of songs to hear and learn them simultaneously with ease. 

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in the middle of 19th century and we are in the 21st century, yet his memory lives with us. The Father of the Nation never ceases to amaze young and old how such a simple and humble human being like any one of us could reach such unattainable heights. His selfless deep thinking for the common good elevated him to such a peak.