Archive for 2006
Reviews of Myth = Mithya
Tehelka, Oct 28, 2006 Hitch-hikers, here’s your guide to the Hindu multiverse and all the thirty three million deities. Mythology demystified but not dumbed down. Delves for the sat behind the mithya, and isn’t heavy-handed or maudlin about it; there’s real affection in these retellings. ————————————————————————— Hidden Truth: Making sense of the gods and goddesses [...]
Fate versus Free Will, Bollywood Style
Times of India (Mumbai), Consumer Edge, 18 November 2006 Long ago, Yagnavalkya, the greatest sage of the Upanishadic era, was asked, “Is the world governed by fate or free will?” He replied, “Both. They are like the two wheels on either side of the chariot. If you depend on one too much you go around [...]
Secret of Tantra
From the 6th to the 16th century AD, ritual manuals known as “Tantras” were being produced with detailed instructions on the use of mystical chants, magical charms, and sexual rites. The following passage comes from Brihad Nila Tantra: “Have there a young and beautiful girl, adorned with various jewels. After combing her hair, give her [...]
From Oedipus To Yayati
First published in First City, Delhi, May 2006 There are things in this world that we would rather not talk about, but they demand expression. In such cases myth become a safety valve of culture, expressing unacceptable ideas in an acceptable manner. Stories allow the imagination to flirt with what is forbidden in reality. Take [...]
Judging Medea
Published in First City, New Delhi, March 2006 Long ago, a ship sailed east from Greece across the unknown waters of the Black Sea to the faraway land of Colchis, inhabited by barbarians and home of the rising sun (according to the Greeks at least). The ship was called the Argo. The sailors, the Argonauts. [...]
Frames of Reference
First Published in First City, New Delhi, May 2005 Everybody sees the world through a frame of reference. No one, but the gods, have the full picture. At least that is what the following tale from Hindu mythology seeks to communicate: All the gods of the Hindu pantheon once went to Mount Kailas to pay their [...]
Blood For Durga
Published in First city, Delhi, October 2003 All of us are told that Hindu gods are the manifestations of the same divine principle. Shiva, Vishnu and Durga are different forms of God (spelt with upper case). And yet, the rituals adoring each of these manifestations of the divine are quite different. Especially intriguing is the [...]
Myth as History
Published in First City, New Delhi, September 2006 Many people are convinced that at the heart of an epic or legend is an event that occurred a long time ago, that narratives becomes sacred because they are the only available records (however distorted and embellished they may be) of a community’s past. To these people [...]
Is Divorce an Indian word?
Printed in Times of India, consumer edge, mumbai edition, 23 Sept 2006 In India, everybody is either married or on the way to getting married. The unmarried man arouses curiosity, the unmarried woman pity. Traditionally, no one asks if you want to marry. The spouse is simply chosen for you. Just as you don’t get [...]
Karmic Debt and Karmic Equity
By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik and Rajan Krishnan (Times of India, Mumbai, Consumer Edge, 9 Sept 2006) Where does the small Indian investor put money: in lower-risk debt instruments or higher-risk equity instruments? Twenty years ago, the preference for the salaried class was the former. Fixed Deposits, Provident Fund, Public Provident Fund, Insurance Policies and Postal [...]
Chief Belief Officer
Have joined Future Group (Big Bazaar et al.) in this exciting and radical new role….
Forbidden Foods
First City, New Delhi, December 2003 It all began in Eden. Food restrictions, that is. God said, “You may eat of all trees expect that one.” Eve disobeyed. So did Adam. And since then we have been inflicted with cultures and traditions that judge us by what we eat, and what don’t eat. So we [...]
Song of the Goat
First published in First City magazine, New Delhi, July 2006 What does Tragedy mean? Goat’s song, said the ancient Greeks. Long ago, the Greek god of nature, wine, creativity, intuition and imagination, was honored through a choral lyric called the dithyramb. These drunken ecstatic performances were said to have been created by the satyrs, half-goat [...]