'Mahabharata'List of Related Articles with Summaries |
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First Published in Sunday Mid-day 'Devlok' on 27 July 2008
It is said that the Mahabharata should not be read inside the house because it is the tale of a household divided. But incredible as it sounds, Mahabharata is not the tale of war or violence – it is the tale of the futility of war […]
Published as One Man Army in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, on June 27 2008
Duryodhan, the Kaurava, went to the city of Dwaraka seeking Krishna’s support in the battle that was to be fought against the Pandavas. But he found Krishna asleep. So he sat close to the head of Krishna’s bed, waiting for Krishna to wake […]
Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, 13 June 2008
In Vedic times, life was divided into four stages: the first quarter was Brahmacharya-ashram, the stage when one is a student; the second was Grihastha-ashram, the stage when one is a householder; the third was Vanaprastha-ashram, the stage when one retires from active household duty; the fourth […]
Published on 16 May 2008 in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times, as 'We are the World'
Vishwaroopa is the form taken by Krishna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra when Arjuna asked him to reveal his true form. In this form, Krishna no longer looks familiar. He is neither cowherd nor charioteer. He is a magnificent being with […]
11 Jan, 2008, 0548 hrs IST,TNN
When a family business breaks down, one is reminded of an old Indian tradition: never read the Mahabharata inside the house, always the Ramayan. For the Mahabharata is the tale of a household divided while the latter is the story of a household united.
The Ramayan speaks of three sets […]
18 Jan, 2008, 0608 hrs IST
Two childhood friends, one the son of a warrior, the other the son of a priest, promised to share all they possessed even in adulthood. Fortune, however, favoured only the warrior’s son. In desperation , with hesitation, the priest’s son, reduced to abject poverty, decided to approach his rich friend. […]
First City, New Delhi, Feb 2006
They humiliated his wife. Dragged and disrobed her in full view of the court. He avenged her humiliation. Killed them all. Drank their blood. Abandoning dharma in the process. His name was Bhima, the powerful one, the second Pandava. Yudhishtira’s muscle man of a brother, as simple as he was strong. […]
It is not difficult to fall in love with Karna. He has all the elements of a hero but is not allowed to be one – by his mother, his brothers, his teacher, even God. Our heart goes out to him. It all starts with a princess called Kunti letting her curiosity getting the better […]
The story of Drona and his obsessive love for his son, Ashwatthama
First Published in First City, New Delhi, June 2006
The story of the Talking Head is not found in Peter Brooke’s retelling of the Mahabharata. It is not even found in Vyasa’s original. Yet is a very popular folklore. Stories of the Talking Head can be found as far afield as Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu […]
First published in First City, New Delhi, Mythos in April 2006
I have often been asked if the war at Kurukshetra actually took place a few thousand years ago. History is real. Is the Mahabharata a document of facts? Historical? Real? I say: no. No, it is not real. It is not historical.
To call Mahabharata […]
Published in First City, Delhi, March 2005
Why? O why? O lord of Mathura…
Why do you want to go back to Gokul?
These lines are repeated in a soulful song sung by Shubha Mudgal in the film ‘Raincoat’. I it heard at a friend’s house. The tune was fantastic. The voice rich and earthy. But it was […]
Published in First City, Delhi, August 2005
Most Indians believe that one should not read the Mahabharata inside one’s house. But one can read the Ramayana. Reading the former invites strife, the latter brings harmony. This belief is a kind of ‘imitative magic’: the ability of stories, symbols and rituals to influence the surroundings. Like creates […]
