Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
Power Helped Women Change World Religions
Roughly 1500 years ago, femininity became a major force, not because men became enlightened, but because women secured positions of power…
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Articles
Homophobia is subtle in Gurudom
Most of these gurus do oppose the criminalising of homosexuality, and so appear to be modern. However, they do see homosexuality as a deviance (or its Sanskrit equivalent), or a ‘fluidity’ that needs explanation, management and re-alignment…
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Interviews
‘Lazy minds often confuse mythology with history’
In this interview with Latha Srinivasan, author Devdutt Pattanaik talks about the central role mythologies play in shaping societies, and how liberal values can be derived from tradition…
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Articles
Shunning the feminine
How many of us know that the Indian Parliament’s circular shape was inspired by a Yogini temple? How many of us have been told the story from the Mahabharata of Sulabha … (or) the story from Yoga Vasishtha of Chudala?…
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Articles
Is Hinduism feminist or patriarchal?
In Hinduism, God is not a judge and so feminism is not about judging men…
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Articles
India’s New Age gurus believe sexuality may be fluid – but not brutal structures of caste, gender
They have fine-tuned Indian philosophy to pacify middle-class guilt about wealth and power while amplifying guilt over pleasure that could disrupt social norms…
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Articles
Chef Nala
Once upon a time, there was a man who cooked so well that a woman decided to marry him… His name was Nala…
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Articles
God’s Marital Status
Is celibacy or singleness a prerequisite to seek an ideal world? It’s another matter that marital pleasures are fine for temple deities with their consorts…
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Articles
The laughter of women
The idea of a woman laughing at a man is seen as the most humiliating act, enough for justifying her abuse her in public…
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Articles
Historians too should share the blame for the rise of religious radicalism
It is easy to blame radical politicians and religious leaders for igniting the spark. But let’s not forget those who fuel the fire…
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Articles
Romeo squads? Let’s rename them after Kichaka or Dandaka
This worldview that locates the hermit over the householder, and men over women, dominates the Hindu right, though in keeping with contemporary thinking, celibacy is no longer linked to the occult. Instead it is linked to service…
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Articles
Fear of female fantasy
Let’s tell tales celebrating women’s desires, such as where Shakti demands Shiva satisfy her; and he does…
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Articles
The Excluded Ones
I heard that in the entire “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy, no two female characters ever speak to each other. You never notice these things and then you realise how many of these stories are of men, by men, for men. Women are excluded. Queer people too. We make so many people invisible. Karan…
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Articles
What do Manusmriti and Dharmashastra have to say about homosexuality?
Tales, of God prohibiting certain sexual acts but allowing others, are not found in Hindu mythology…
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Articles
Amritsar: The Lake of Nectar
The Golden Temple is located in the middle of a water body considered to be an elixir of eternal life…
