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...
Perhaps What Divides Us Is Only an Optical Illusion! Four pictures, eight interpretations, maybe more. Look closely, tilt your head if you must. What you spot first, and what you miss entirely, might just say something about how you see the world. What do you see in these pictures? They say psychologists can glean insights into a person’s mind based on how they interpret an optical illusion. I’m no psychologist, and wouldn’t dare trespass into their territory . But I do believe this: t wo people might not see the same thing the same way, one image can hold a thousand interpretations. And just a gentle warning—this post may run a little long. There is much I want to say, but never quite enough space or time to say it all. Prepping for the event! In my last blog post on Bada Mangal in Lucknow, the city of Lakshman, and the story behind how the tradition started, I mentioned Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s wife getting the Aliganj Hanuman temple constructed. A reader had com...
Take care, Anupama
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DeleteVery nice.
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