Chastity

Published on 10th September, 2017, in Mid-day. In a guru's ashram, I saw a young, beautiful girl who had completely stripped herself of her gender and sexuality: shaven hair, ash on her face, baggy clothes, bare feet, and complete subservience to her guru, who she referred to as 'master'. The men were similarly shaven, and dressed. This was supposed to purify them, and help them commune with God via the guru. I remembered a Japanese story of a Buddhist nun, who was determined to attain nirvana (oblivion, in Sanskrit), the highest state of wisdom in Buddhism. She, therefore, burnt her face so that men would ..

Published on 29th January, 2017, in Mid-day. Some people are upset that Bollywood is once again distorting history. This time it deals with Padmavati, the queen of Chittor, who killed herself rather than letting the Delhi sultan, Alauddin Khilji, capture her. Historians argue that information about Padmavati comes from an epic poem Padmavat by Malik Muhammad Jayasi that was composed over 200 years after the 14th century invasion. So she is at best a legendary figure. Legend is story based on few historical facts, unlike myth which truth based on faith. But what historians, and Bollywood, will not openly reveal is that Alauddin Khilji was ..