Archive for 2005
Mr. & Mrs. Tarakki
Published in Times of India 'Consumer Edge' Delving Deeper on 17 December 2006 Privacy is a luxury in India. You are never alone. Crowds every where. At home. At work. In trains. You are expected to share everything. Your room. Your car. Your toilet. We can blame the population. Our obsession with marriage and children. [...]
Symbols of Security
Times of India, Mumbai Edition, Consumer Edge (Delving Deeper) on 26 November 2005 During the Savitri vrata, married Hindu women go around the Banyan tree. For centuries, the Banyan tree has been the symbol of permanence. It was there when you were born and it will be there even when you die, barely changing [...]
Troy: From myth to history
Film review in First city magazine, Delhi “The gods are conspicuous by their absence,” said a friend after he watched the recently released film Troy starring Brad Pitt. And it is true. No Aphrodite. No Zeus. No Apollo – except as an idol enshrined in a temple. No myth or magic. None of the fantastic [...]
Waves of Varuna
Published in First City magazine, Delhi, February, 2005 Change. It is a constant. But the rate of change is not. Nor is the direction of change. Sometimes things can change for the better. But when we talk of change we often think of change for the worse. Change is often slow. Giving us time [...]
Why is Wednesday called Wednesday?
Published in First City magazine, Delhi, September 2005 From Saturn comes Saturday. From the sun comes Sunday. From the moon comes Monday. But what is the origin of Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? Friday? The answer takes us to the mythology – known variously as Teutonic, Norse, Viking and Germanic – that dominated North Europe for centuries [...]
When Prester John Ruled India
Published in First City magazine, Delhi, April 2004 Eight hundred years ago, Europeans believed that a Christian priest-king called Prester John ruled India. Those were the days of the Crusades. Under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, Christian soldiers fought to reclaim the Holy Lands, especially Jerusalem, which had been under the control of Muslims [...]
He who rides Rats
Published in Times of India on Ganesh Chaturthi, 7th September 2005 Imagine walking into your house and finding a rat scurrying across your sofa. Or imagine opening your kitchen cabinet and a rat leaping right at you. Sharp teeth, red eyes. A painful bite. Open your desk and there are the gnawed remains of your [...]
It’s Magic
Published in Times of India, Consumer Section, 8th October 2005 There are two types of magic in this world. The first one is called `imitative’ magic. The second one is called `contagious’ magic. In the first type of magic, you imitate what you want using symbols and rituals. In the second type of magic, you [...]
Waves of Renewal
Published in Bombay Times 31st October 2006 Walk along Marine Drive. Sit on Juhu beach. Watch the sea. That vast expanse of water. The limitless horizon. The tide rising and ebbing with the phases of the moon. The waves flirting with shore. This tide saw you as a child, searching for shells in the sand. [...]
Ardhanareshwara
Compared to the images, stories of Ardhanareshwara are relatively rare. Below are a few retellings: · In the beginning, a lotus bloomed. In it sat Brahma. On becoming conscious, he realized he was alone. Lonely, frightened, he wondered how he could create another being to give him company. Suddenly a vision flashed before his eyes. [...]
Celebrating Shiva's Holy Night
Speaking Tree, Time of India, 15th February, 1999 Why is Shiva-ratri one of the few Hindu festivals to be celebrated in the not-so-auspicious dark half of the lunar cycle? Why is it celebrated just as winter draws to a close? These are questions to which “real” answers may never be known. However, one can always [...]
How to Share in the Lord’s Delight
Speaking Tree, Times of India, 24th October 1998 "How do you worship the lord?" asked the master. "By renouncing the world and fixing my mind on Him," replied the first student. "By appreciating worldly beauty and bounty," replied the second. The master smiled and embraced the second student for he had understood the essence of [...]
The Lotus and The Swan
[Speaking Tree, 23 Nov 1998] Some leaders of our country believe that schools should begin their day with prayers to Saraswati, goddess of knowledge. Why not with a hymn to Lakshmi? After all, isn't wealth and power the motivation for parents to send their children to school? In universities, medical schools, engineering colleges, management institutes, [...]
Ego is the Forbidden Fruit
Adam and Eve ate the Fruit of Knowledge and learnt how to differentiate good from bad. They began ‘judging’ God’s creation. They became conscious of their nakedness and covered themselves. They became mortals, destined to toil until the day they died. This story of the Original Sin has profoundly influenced Judeo-Christian traditions. Taken metaphorically, the [...]
The Book of Kali
Compiled by my sister…based on my essays….the cover has changed though in new reprint