Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
To Burn or Bury.
Published on 21st March, 2021, in Mid-day. Hindus are constantly reminded of the cycle of life, in ritual after ritual. In Vedic times, 3,000 years ago, bricks would be gathered to build a fire altar where the gods would be invited to come and partake in a meal of soma juice. After the gods had…
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Articles
Fluid Marriage Rites
Published on 7th March, 2021, in Mid-day. Suriya, the daughter of the sun-god, marries the twin-gods, the Ashwins, and rides with them on their chariot. So says the Rig Veda. Later, we are told, that the Ashwins do not actually marry her: they simply woo her for her real husband. In the marriage hymn, Rig…
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Articles
The Rajput’s Umbrella
Published on 21st February, 2021, in Mid-day. When a Rajput king dies, his bones are collected after cremation and cast into the river, as is common practice amongst many Hindus. Additionally, the spot where he is cremated is marked by a gazebo popularly known as chhatri (umbrella), so that dogs and commoners may not trespass…
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Articles
Did Karuppu Swami Live 12,000 Years Ago?
Published on 27th September, 2020, in Mid-day. So, the government has appointed a committee to delve into the “true” history of India, starting from 12,000 years ago, since the Ice Age, which Hindutva historians assume is the “pralaya” of the Puranas. The committee has only “upper” caste men. No one from below the Vindhyas, no…
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Articles
Was The Buddha Nepalese?
Published on 13th September, 2020, in Mid-day. Sundar Pichai is the CEO of Alphabet and its subsidiary Google, and has achieved great global success. We, Indians, want to identify him as Indian, although his entire achievement has been in America. Freddy Mercury was born in India, and denied his Indian roots all his life. But,…
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Articles
What They Don’t Tell You About Advaita
Who is a Hindu? What they don’t tell you about Advaita Published on 30th August, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Advaita Vedanta is the de facto philosophy followed by Hindutva. The reason for this is not spiritual. It is political. Advaita Vedanta says the whole world is a manifestation of the one and only God (brahman)…
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Articles
How Hindutva Threatens the History of Hindus
Who is a Hindu? How Hindutva threatens the history of Hindus Published on 5th July, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror. Hindutva history makes the history of Hindus fragile — people whose temples were destroyed by Muslims and who need Hindutva politicians to help them recover. It gives power to Hindutva politicians but strips Hindus of power…
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Articles
Mythology As Politics
Published on 22nd March, 2020, in Mid-day As a child in Mumbai, I watched Rajan Uncle perform Chakyar Kootu. My parents were economic migrants from Odisha. My neighbours were from Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. And we got to see cultural performances that no one in Odisha, or Maharashtra, would have had access to, like…
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Articles
One Idea, Many Expressions
Published on 15th March, 2020, in Mid-day In a typical Hindu temple, we do not find just one image. We find multiple images. For many people, unfamiliar with Hindu tradition, this looks like polytheism. But for Hindus, these are various manifestations or expressions of the same divine principle. Broadly there are three categories of Hinduism,…
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Articles
How To Transform an Object Of Art Into One Of Worship
Published on 16th February, 2020, in Mumbai Mirror Objects of art are part of our day-to-day lives. Displayed in showcases, they lend beauty to the places we live in. Objects of worship are different: they are channels to access the divine. Both may have images of gods and goddesses, but they are treated differently. What…
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Articles
Muslim Guardians Of Hindu Shrines
Published on 16th February, 2020, in Mid-day Nowadays, there is a lot of talk about Muslim immigrants not being welcomed in India. But, when one reads folklore of South India, one finds many places where Muslims saints and warriors are accommodated within local Hindu temple lore. Here are four examples. In Kerala, we have heard…
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Articles
A Family In a Temple
Published on 2nd February, 2020, in Mid-day In a typical Hindu temple, we do not find just one image. We find multiple images. For many people, unfamiliar with Hindu tradition, this looks like polytheism. But for Hindus, these are various manifestations or expressions of the same divine principle, different facets of divinity expressed through a…
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Articles
Is Ganesha married?
In much of the North Indian traditions, Ganesha has two wives: Riddhi and Siddhi. Riddhi is associated with material growth, and Siddhi with intellectual or spiritual growth…
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Articles
Who is a Hindu? North’s Kanwariya and South’s Kavadi
A selective understanding of the faith by those who control social discourse is the tragedy of Hinduism…
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Articles
Vedanta and LGBTIQ
A selective understanding of the faith by those who control social discourse is the tragedy of Hinduism…
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Articles
Who is a Hindu? How Hinduism was enriched by rivalry
Every religion is an outcome of many historical and geographical forces. Every religion has a past and transforms over time…