I am not an expert on Sabarimala. I am not an expert on anything. If anything, I am a generalist. I dabble with whatever comes my way. So for this post, I am exploring a question that may interest you as well: Why does the Sabarimala tradition deem the presence of women within the fertile […]
A THOUGHT ON SABARIMALA Read More »
There is a quiet revolution taking place in the world, but as is usual with most good things, it is passing India by. This movement, about fifteen years old but gathering momentum, is variously known as Rewilding of Rivers or as Dams Decommissioning. Its premise is that dams belonged to a different era of environmental
Recently I read the book “In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed” and was totally captivated by it. Partly, I suppose, because it resonated so deeply with me and how I live. From my childhood, I have been chastised for being slow for most of my life. I
Slowing Things Down Read More »
This last week has been a bit of a traumatic experience for us, the residents of Puranikoti village, as far away from Khargone and Jehangirpuri as Sabarmati Ashram is from the BJP headquarters in Jhandewalan. Now, PK is a tiny village with just 192 “souls” ( as the PWD board proclaims), we don’t even have
THE BULLDOZER BLUES Read More »
Vasco da Gama (1469‒1524) from Lisbon arrived in Kôzhikôde (Calicut, 11o25’ N, 75o77’ E) in 1498, during the reign of Nédiyirûppû Swarõpam Mãnava Vikraman Sãmõŧírí1. Consequently, the early years of the 17th century were busy for Europeans. Britain launched the English East-India Company (EEIC) in 1600 AD to explore India, seeking pepper and cardamom. The
Unheard Voices: A Tranquebarian Stroll Read More »
Einstein had once famously remarked that the only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance. A surfeit of either is minacious. A mixture of both, however, can be disastrous. The elected government of Himachal is now displaying that it has both attributes in abundance and it is the residents of the state who are paying
SHIMLA : GOING, GOING, GONE! Read More »
Familiarity is the deadliest religious disease. We feel at home with the familiar, because the familiar does not make any demand on us. It excludes the need to think. Thinking has the potential to unsettle us in our settled ways. It is when the unfamiliar hits us that, thank God, our brain begins to tick!
IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD? Read More »
by Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan Penguin Viking, India, 2022 We Indians must have one of the strongest traditions in the world of respect for older folk. I am from the generation where we touched my parents’ feet every morning. Indeed, even now, by way of greeting me on first meeting after any length of time,
Good Innings: The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of Lily Tharoor Read More »
From childhood, whenever I heard that ‘there was no room in the inn’ for Jesus when he was born in Bethlehem, I used to feel sad. It is only recently that I realized how stupidly wrong I was! Here is the reason, in case you are interested (it will take only2 minutes of your time).
THE COCOON VERSUS THE HIGH ROAD, OR THE INN VERSUS THE WAY Read More »
Very few places in India now offer you the possibility of civilised discussion between different points of view – whether on social, religious, political, and ethical matters, or in relation to economics, business, sport, fashion, the arts, media, education, science, technology, or whatever else.
It is our ambition and desire to be one such place of civilised discussion. That is what we are working towards. That is why you will find divergent voices very welcome here.
Add your own voice, by engaging with the views here – by sending in comments, stories, jokes, questions, and so on. Though only with politeness and civility, please – and only within the values and framework of the Indian Constitution which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949. The most important of those values include Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and Justice.
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