Mahakumbh: Will it be rinse-and-repeat? Some celebrities during the Kumbh You know how I have taken my habit and skill of worrying to such a level that whenever an award for worrying is instituted, my claim as the first and unanimous recipient stays uncontested. The latest reason – a Kumbh returnee, soaked in piety, in a sharp voice not bothering to hide his disdain, questioned me how I qualify as a practicing Hindu even though I did not take the proverbial ‘holy dip’ in the Sangam in spite of living just a few hours from the sacred site. No, somehow, it did not trigger worry about my being a Hindu because all of us have our own system of belief. Bathing or dubki (taking a dip) too, is a matter of belief and thus, does not give anyone the right to question. The good thing is that followers of every religion have some such notion so nobody should be stupid enough to raise eyebrows at anyone else. My stomach is in knots- the official numbers say nearly 56 crore visitors no...
When signboards steal the show! The past fortnight has been heavy on the nation: the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam and the tense counter-operations that followed. Most of us were not on the frontlines, but our hearts were. The solidarity was silent yet strong; the anxiety was unmistakably real. What if … the worry nagged our minds. In moments like these, I often find myself wondering: how can I contribute, in my own small way, to the larger cause of the nation? After much mental gymnastics, I returned to the old, personal belief that perhaps, I can bring a smile to those around me. And what if those smiles come from a common feature, i.e., signboards: well-meaning but often misplaced, sometimes promising grand solutions to life’s problems, and yet unintentionally hilarious. Amidst the time of gravity, they bring to us a moment of levity. The unintentional cross over that he did not ask for. Move over pasta! The southern state of Kerala has the highest literacy rate, abo...
Age-Old Colours of Devotion Sharad Purnima (the Autumn full moon), Nathdwara painting, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution I hope life has been treating you all kindly since I last wrote. It is Janmashtami today, the birthday of Lord Krishna. Long ago, when Mani was posted in Varanasi, my three and a half-year old woke up on Janmashtami morning, delighted to know there was no school. “Why?” he asked. “Because it’s Bhagwan Krishna’s birthday,” I said. Only very recently had he discovered that birthday meant cake, junk food, colas, and his best friend Siddharth. The idea that God’s birthday could exist without a ‘budday paaty’ baffled him. I tried explaining that we humans celebrate it for Him, but he wasn’t having it. By noon, I was tired and out of arguments, and then God Himself came to my rescue. Mani called to say we were invited to the evening Janmashtami celebrations at the RPF (Railway Protection Force) barracks. That was a big weigh...
Take care, Anupama
ReplyDeletei will, thank you.
DeleteVery nice.
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