According to the Hindu calendar, this is the month of Margashira. It is supposed to be the most auspicious month of the year. In Bhagavat Gita Lord Krishna says- ‘māsānāṁ mārga-śhīrṣho ’ham ‘. I am margashirsha among the months. Today is Gita Jayanti – the anniversary of Bhagavat Gita. The Gita in the title refers …
How I met my books
The Little Clay Cart Some of the interesting books I have read are associated with their own interesting stories about how I came across the books or, in what circumstances I read the books. While helping my father-in-law arranging his home library a couple of years back I came across an Odia version of the …
watchings of idle hours 11 : the art of eating mindfully
Cultures can be widely different in their values and practices. But human emotions and individual human values have the elements of universality that transcend cultural differences. When the tiny country of Japan became a world economic power post world war II, it came with its side effects. Post retirement, salary man Takeshi Kasumi finds out …
Continue reading watchings of idle hours 11 : the art of eating mindfully
Nobel Intentions 2
From the social media trends it appears that Indians are divided as to whether to welcome the fact of a persons of Indian origin winning the Nobel prize in economics. Many Indians, as usual, felt proud - particularly those from Bengal and JNU, while some smelt a conspiracy. I will remain sceptical. Nobel for economics, …
Nobel Intentions
When Barrack Obama won the Nobel Prize, sensible people were surprised. At that time Obama had barely started his tenure as the president. He had not achieved anything worth while to be considered for the award. Later on Nobel clarified that the award was given keeping his potential in mind. Seems, rationalization is not restricted …
sounds interesting
This week's Indispire prompt of Indiblogger is unique in the sense that usually you know a place is interesting or not after visiting it. You know whether food is tasty or not only after you have tasted it. But the prompt asks you to write about an interesting place you are yet to visit. An …
watchings of idle hours #10 : cities of gods
When it comes to what to watch on even specialised topics, these days we have problems of plenty. Apart from the fares available on paid subscribed TV channels, youtube and other free apps have opened the flood gates of professional and amateur videos. In watchings of idle hours #4, I have shared selected documentaries about …
Continue reading watchings of idle hours #10 : cities of gods
To buy or not to buy
The fare comes to Rs. 492. I hand over a five hundred rupee note. While searching diligently for the change to return, the Ola driver smiles sheepishly and says, 'Sir, five star please'.. Let me simplify this for you. There are two kinds of reviews. Influenced reviews and honest reviews. Or, paid reviews and honest …
A land linked by the footsteps of pilgrims
Post independence we can say our constitution defines the idea of India, apart from its physical boundries carved out through historical corrections and blunders. But the idea of India is an ancient one, as ancient as perhaps when efforts were taken to sanctify its mountains, rivers and all other important natural landmarks and link those with local/pan Indian deities and events of our great epics. It is not great kings or factors like language or ethnicity that created and sustained the idea of India, but rather the footsteps of the humble pilgrims.
Read the full article published on Bengalurureview
You may also read : understanding nationalism
“A specialty of India’s landscape is that all its physical features such as rivers, mountains and seashores, are associated with myths and stories, ranging from local to pan Indian, from obscure tales to famous legends known throughout the length the breadth of the country,” writes Durga Prasad Dash
There have been numerous western scholars who have written books about India and Hinduism. Most of them have tried to see India through the lenses of either orthodox Christian values or liberal western values. Having done away with the pagan Gods at the advent of Christianity, it baffled the Europeans who came to India to see a thriving civilization with polytheistic beliefs and multicultural identities. However, instead of probing India’s cultural roots and taking a holistic view, some authors focused selectively on only the negative aspects of Indian society such as the caste system, and tried to establish that their own culture…
View original post 1,412 more words
understanding nationalism
Yuval Noah Harai, in his book 21 lessons for the 21st Century, gives a beautiful perspective on Nationalism. He says that the nation is basically a story we tell ourselves. No doubt every nation has its geographical boundary. But without those stories, the collective feeling of belonging to a nation would not come. In order …
