Nirupama Pathak was murdered by smothering. Who killed her? Though the truth will take some time to emerge, circumstances point at her family, her mother who tried to mislead the police about her daughter's death. The young journalist was guilty of taking decisions about her life on her own, flouting the age-old regulations of "Sanatan Dharma". This is a letter that she might have written if dead people could write and post letters.

Dear Maa,

Today, I remember a bedtime story that grandma had repeated several times, the story of a mother's heart. Maybe, your mother or grandmother had also narrated it to you.

Once upon a time, in a small village, there was a young man who fell in love with a beautiful damsel from the neighbouring village. When the man proposed to marry her, she agreed on condition that they set up a separate household in her village. He agreed to it and informed his mother.

Many Indians, mostly in small towns, like to read newspapers and flip through magazines while standing at news marts. It's an Indian jugaad for getting to read the newspaper free of cost. Since Indians are too happy to devour a free copy of newspaper or magazine, almost all tea stalls in small towns subscribe to at least one newspaper and/or any magazine catering to the popular taste. However, if you live in a metro, one might not be able to engage in this jugaad for getting to read newspapers for free.

More than 100 years ago, some enterprising newspaper vending company in Bombay (now Mumbai) made an effort to create a news circulation business out of Indians' thrifty nature. It offered newspapers on rent for a few hours. So the same newspaper would be delivered at one home early in the morning, then collected and delivered to another homes. The cost of getting a newspaper reduced as the sun completed its day's journey in the sky. One who waited for the newspaper till 4 o'clock had the option to return it the next morning. If someone wanted to keep the newspaper, he could get the newspaper a day after publication.