'Modern Mythmaking'List of Related Articles with Summaries |
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Published in Deccan Herald, Bangalore, 20 April 2008
What is the purpose of life? What happens after death? Ask these questions to a young person and he is as clueless as an old person. When it comes to such profound questions the youth today are no different from their ancestors. Yes, they have cell phones, and […]
Part of this article was published in Consumer Edge, Times of India, 2 Feb 2008
Usually advertising tends to steer clear from controversial social realities like caste and religion. So it is refreshing to see an television ad that addresses it head-on: the now famous ‘What an idea, Sirji!’ ad of Idea cellular. It draws attention […]
First City, Delhi, Mythos, September 2007
July this year saw the thirteenth day of the month falling on a Friday. Deemed unlucky, people avoided all kinds of purchase and transactions on this day. Friday the 13 is considered so unlucky that there is even a word ‘Paraskevidekatriaphobia’ to describe fear of Friday 13. It has inspired […]
Published in Times of India, Consumer Edge, Mumbai, 30 Dec, 2006
After palace intrigues forced Rama to leave Ayodhya and go into the forest, his father, Dasharatha, lay in bed a broken man, wailing, “Rama is gone. I will die soon. O, what will happen to Ayodhya?” Kaushalya replied, “Don’t worry. It will survive. We […]
Published in Times of India, Consumer Edge, Mumbai, December 2006
Gods in India love food. Rituals such as yagna and homa are all about providing spoonfuls of butter to a chosen deity. No puja is complete without bhoga and prasadam. Gods in India are also rather fickle about what they are served: Ganesha wants modakas, […]
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 in […]
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 to […]
Relationship of Daan, Dakshina, Debt and Equity
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. Our economics. But the fact remains we simply cannot afford privacy. Until now, that is. Now we can buy a cell phone and have a space that is ours and ours alone. We can carry our contacts, our messages, our ring tones with us wherever we go, like turtles, and share it with no one. That is what the mobile revolution is all about. Privacy. Space. It is the first thing the youth yearns to buy. No wonder Reliance says, kar lo duniya muthi mein.
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 its […]
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 believe […]
