Krishna, Dharma, and the Mahabharata I Thought I Knew

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Krishna and Arjuna at Kurukshetra When I was growing up, I used to listen to so many stories from our epics and mythology—whether it was reading Amar Chitra Katha books or listening to my paati narrate tales of bravery and valor, the purpose of the divine, and the importance of adhering to dharma. Stories of Shiva and Vishnu found their way into my life through various forms. As a child, it was fascinating to see the power wielded by the Gods. And the message I took away was very simple: if you are devoted to the Gods, no harm can befall you. The Mahabharata, Ramayana, Nala-Damayanti, tales of Muruga and Ganesha, Draupadi, the Pandavas, the Kauravas—the army of characters was endless. To say they fascinated me would be a big understatement. I have read the Mahabharata many times, through various authors, and listened to many narrations of it. Every single time, I walk away with a new meaning. Kri...
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Aaj ka vichar...

It was 6:30 in the evening. All of us were feeling cosy due to the warmth of the snug rug adorning the living room of the apartment. All of us were lazing around after another tiring day running between the university and the apartment. We got into a long conversation. Guess about what! The talks were centered on India, India and India. Politics, condition of roads, owning independent houses, fields, farms, temples, food served in South Canara temples, Dharmasthala, Sringeri, Udupi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kancheepuram, Kanchi madam ( Mutt), Jayendra Saraswatigal, corruption, concerns, goodwill, railway lines in India, Indian economy, Impact of Chinese goods in the United States, textiles in India, Why Chinese bikes didn't hit the Indian market?, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Golden Quadrilateral dream, state highways, national highways, use of local dialect in the respective states and what not!!!

An Indian atmosphere is certainly recreated here. A general feeling of being abroad is not evident at all, the way we carry ourselves. A lot of discussions on day to day topics in India coupled with the fact of being in the Indian hub has made it very homely till now here. Arguments, counter-arguments, facts, quotes, teasers and light hearted discussions has added an aura of Indianness in all of us to a large extent.

What fun to get into these animated discussions!! But there is a pitfall too! At the end of the marathon session, we happened to see the clock ticking. Believe it or not! It was 9 PM, which means that we had a Hard Talk for two and a half hours without realising what in the world we were upto. We were lost in this conversation.

Of course, the sad part after all this is we had to buck up to help ourselves with rice, dal and curd rice!!

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