“My grandma used to believe that our ancestors look after us. If there are difficulties in life, huge changes in society, people believe that the souls of our ancestors are there to protect us. We should respect and pray for them. People strongly believe that we still share a connection. After that person has passed away, we still have that connection in us.”
Brahmavadini was the title attributed to women scholars, who dedicated their lives to the pursuit of knowledge and the study of the Vedas. Some were unmarried, living as ascetics and independent of their fathers, brothers or male counterparts. They were paragons of intellectual proficiency, natural philosophy and spiritual enlightenment. They were Rishikis–female sages–in their own right and were revered as teachers, doctors and theorists.
When we remember that it – writing – is a gift, we begin to recognize the tip of its potential. How it is a flashlight, how it is available in our bag of tools, with ever-lasting power. To use it is to shine a light, to guide us, you, yes you, through that maze.
“Night Theater begins with a surgeon who is struggling against corruption in his dilapidated village clinic, and who is visited one evening by the dead and thrust into a bizarre night of revelations and surgeries, with the surgeon trying to restore them to life.”
The Hindu Goddess Kali Ma, is religiously worshipped all over India. In a country where goddesses are portrayed as benevolent and loving, Kali Ma is definitely an exception. Since my childhood, I always wondered about Kali Ma’s appearance. Eventually, my curious mind sought out many fascinating stories related to the Goddess Kali. I have selected a few stories from the Pandora’s box of fables to reflect upon the personality of a violent goddess with a tender heart.
“Audible is doing amazing things with the spoken word: sound effects, a full cast of actors—it is not just one actor reading everything out loud. And the best part is that it’s condensed to fit in your pocket. It’s both completely immersive and totally mobile.”
The prisoners in the cell at least know that they are imprisoned and that’s why they try to escape–not a good thing, but it is what it is. Some of them might even be released after they complete their term. But what about us? The people who are trapped in the prison of life. When will our term end? Will we never even strive to escape? Will we never meet our freedom? If yes, then how?
“I think people in Kyrgyzstan still haven’t faced that modernisation that other countries are going through. 60% of the population are still farmers and still follow the traditions that they came before. They’re following the three pre-existing traditions.”
Being a scientist has forced me to look at everything through black and white tinted glasses. In my wish list of manuals to survive the experience we call ‘life’ I also once wanted a ‘how to write without failing’ manual. Co-incidentally that is when Dipa Sanatani revealed her second book The Merchant of Stories. It is the kind of book I’ve wanted to read for a long time.
Home to over ten million expatriates, Saudi Arabia is at a crossroads. The Kingdom has a rich cultural heritage that makes everybody who has lived here, feel at home. I have lived my entire life along the Persian Gulf. My days have been dominated by the exotic beaches and never-ending parks bordering the huge water body.