Mecca

Published on 9th May, 2021, in Mid-day. Humans found food in the plant and animal kingdoms. They were first foragers of fruits and roots, and hunters of animals. Then, they became cultivators of the land and herders of goats, pigs, sheep and cattle. Many tribes in India tell the story of how Thakurdev taught them to domesticate cows and cultivate rice, thus giving them an alternative to hunting and gathering. But this caused friction between those who wanted to wander and those who wanted to settle, the hunter/herders and the forager/farmers. The settlers valued land, and so boundaries, while the wanderers believed in no such ..

Published on 7th July, 2019, in Mid-day Once Vishnu and Laxmi had a quarrel. Laxmi left Vaikuntha in a huff, and came down to earth. Vishnu followed her and tried coaxing her to return, but she refused. So, Vishnu decided to remain on earth, until he could convince her to return. He looked for a home on earth that reminded him of Vaikuntha, and found seven hills on a mountain range that reminded him of the seven hoods of the great serpent, Adishesha, on whose coils he rested in the ocean of milk. He made his home there. Today he stands there, as Tirupati, atop ..