in search of the origin of a sweet dish

‘Rasagola Dibasa – Odisha Celebrates a Day For Rasagola (Rasgulla)’ is Dr. Anita Sabat's second book. Here is what the blurb says: This publication ‘Rasagola Dibasa – Odisha Celebrates a Day For Rasagola (Rasgulla)’ is a sincere attempt to share about Odisha’s centuries-old sweet-dish Rasagola; continuing tradition, Niladri Bije; and the online celebration of #RasagolaDibasa. … Continue reading in search of the origin of a sweet dish →

A Medley of Lyrical Outpourings

Even though Heartfelt Symphonies is her first poetry collection to be published, Chinmayee Gayatree Sahu is no first time author. She pours her heart out regularly on her blog Chinmayee's Creations. She has already published a collection of short stories titled Five Petals which I had reviewed earlier. I have been more familiar with her … Continue reading A Medley of Lyrical Outpourings →

The Gems in our Backyard

Right from the first paragraph of the first chapter of the book I was highly impressed. Something resonated with me. Maybe because this is something I also profess frequently. We always crave for something faraway. We are fascinated by the tales of the exotic, even though we have hardly explored the gems lying in our … Continue reading The Gems in our Backyard →

The Beauty of Sanskrit Language and Texts – the book

As part of the AtoZ series challenge in April 2021 I had written a series of posts about specific compositions in Sanskrit and the unique features of the Language. All these posts are now part of my latest E-book: The Beauty of Sanskrit Language and Texts. For a long time I had been planning to … Continue reading The Beauty of Sanskrit Language and Texts – the book →

X-factors of Sanskrit

ॐ सह नाववतु । सह नौ भुनक्तु । सह वीर्यं करवावहै । तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै । ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥ Aum! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together; May we both (teacher and student) work conjointly with great energy, May our study be vigorous and effective; May we … Continue reading X-factors of Sanskrit →

varieties of vidya

As we move towards the end of the AtoZ season it will be good to take an overview, then address a few important left out issues and conclude with a summarizing post. Giving an overview of all types of indic texts at this stage will make sense because, the reader who has been following my … Continue reading varieties of vidya →

Ritusamhara – there used to be six seasons, my love

प्रचण्डसूर्यः स्पृहणीयचन्द्रमाः सूखावगाह क्षतवारिसञ्चयः। दिनान्तरम्योऽभुय्पशान्तमन्मथो निदाघकालोऽयम् उपागतः प्रिये ।। The sun is furious, but the moon is cool. Bathing is pleasant, but ponds are shrinking. Day-ends are charming, but the Cupid stirs no more. Cruel summer has set in, my love. (Ritusamhara 1:1) random image collected from internet (supposedly the cover of a You tube … Continue reading Ritusamhara – there used to be six seasons, my love →

Panchatantra – world’s oldest written tale

A couple of years back I had suffered mitrabheda- there was some misunderstanding with a friend and we parted ways. It was somewhat compensated by the mitralabha or the gain of friends that happened due to the flurry of online activities during the lockdown last year. What added to the Corona woes were skirmishes with … Continue reading Panchatantra – world’s oldest written tale →

Narada Bhakti Sutras

I will take this opportunity to talk about the Bhakti genre of literature as well as the sutra form of Indic texts. Bhakti literature flourished in the middle ages. The poet saints of that era wrote odes to particular form of deities. Those who were devotees of Lord Krishna wrote songs in praise of lord … Continue reading Narada Bhakti Sutras →

Mricchakatikam – the cart of clay

Mricchakatikam, the Sanskrit play of the fifth century AD written by Sudraka, has all the element of a Bollywood blockbuster. It is unfortunate that the movies made on this paly in Hindi and other languages did not become so. Hindi movie Utsav was made on this play and it starred Rekha, Sekhar Suman, and Amzad … Continue reading Mricchakatikam – the cart of clay →