Mythologist | Author | Speaker | Illustrator
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Articles
Tales of Biblical Jealousy
Jealousy moves quietly through the Bible, slipping into homes, upsetting marriages, splitting kingdoms, and turning love into rivalry. Each tale becomes a mirror for our own anxieties about attention, approval, and belonging…
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Articles
Six Signs Your Friend Has Been Colonised
Once your friend starts saying things like ‘karma is a b*tch’ or ‘you’ll get your karma’, he’s turned an ancient idea into a moral courtroom. He has replaced karma with justice, a concept that entered India through Christian and Islamic theology — through colonial education that divided the world into good and evil, heaven and…
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Articles
Can There Be a Sanatani Missionary?
A missionary (pracharak, in Hindi) is a relentless salesman. He sells God. He sells God’s message. For centuries there have been Christian missionaries, Muslim missionaries, and Buddhist missionaries. The last century saw the rise of Hindu missionaries. Many of these call themselves sanatani today. But what exactly are these sanatani missionaries selling?…
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Articles
Increase upon Increase
The Sanskrit term for compound interest is chakra-vriddhi, literally ‘wheelgrowth’ or “increase upon increase”. This word occurs in classical Sanskrit lexicons and legal-economic literature, where it denotes interest that accrues on previously accumulated interest, i.e., compound interest…
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Articles
Is Zohran Mamdani Muslim, American or Gujarati?
With the victory of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, a man with a Muslim name, an African past and an Indian lineage, the American-Christian establishment suddenly feels threatened. …
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Articles
Papas and Politics
When we think of the Pope, we never think about the Roman Empire. We think of an avuncular religious leader, not a shrewd political leader…
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Articles
Crescent Moon of Rome
Many Islamic nations choose the Crescent Moon as their symbol, a reminder of when Islam overpowered the Christian city of Constantinople, the second Rome. We can say the Crescent Moon is not so much about Islam as it is about the Muslim victory over Christendom…
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Articles
Raiders and Traders of the Desert
What turned Muhammad, the trader, into Muhammad, the raider? It was the lack of empathy. …
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Articles
Seventy-Two, Not Just Houri
But in mythology, seventy two is a very exciting number. It is 2 raise the power of 3 (2x2x2) multiplied by 3 raise to the power of 2 (3×3). A perfect symmetry which gives us 8×9 = 72. In ancient times, such numbers had sacred meaning…
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Articles
Jinns and Aliens
When the Turkish soldiers from Khilji’s army, and later the Mughal army, saw the ruins …
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Articles
Diverse tombs of the rulers of Turkey, Iran and India show that the Islamic world was not homogeneous
Published on 24th February, 2023, in The Hindu. After the sack of Baghdad in the …
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Articles
One Christ, But So Many Churches
Published on 25th December, 2022, in Mid-day. About 1,900 years ago, documents were compiled in …
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Articles
American Snakes in Hindu Ganga
Published on 27th November, 2022, in Mid-day. A section of American Hindus are trying to …
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Articles
Again and Again and Again
Published on 6th November, 2022, in Mid-day. In Greek mythology, we hear the story of …
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Articles
Distracted by Balaram’s Beauty
Published on 23rd October, 2022, in Mid-day. In Persian lore, we hear the story of …
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Articles
Kashmir Before Islam
Published on 21st May, 2022, in Times of India. The Muslims say that Suleiman (Solomon) …