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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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Highly Recommended

Being an ardent fan of RK Narayan, I come across forwards from friends of the great man. It doesn't give me any more pleasure than to abandon everything and read about him. Here are a few links which make great reading. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1914/19140670.htm - T.S. Sathyan http://www.flonnet.com/fl1416/14160980.htm http://www.flonnet.com/fl1416/14160970.htm http://churumuri.wordpress.com /2006/04/19/campaign-why-you -must-speak-up-for-rkn/ http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/may/16spec.htm http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl? file=2006052100270300.htm&date=2006/05/21/&prd=mag http://www.rajiv.com/india/humor/rkn.htm http://www.bostonreview.net /BR31.4/ lahiri .html http://www.outlookindia.com/dossiersind.asp? id=254&dn=R%2EK%2E+Narayan&ty=6 I will update this list as and when I get good links!
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The return of Malgudi

The late nineties witnessed some great entertainers on the only television channel in India. Lifeline, Buniyaad, Fauji, Ramayana and the Mahabharata were some of the serials that culminated in high TRP ratings, thanks to enthusiastic and curious family members at home. The serials were successful since Doordarshan was the only mode of visual connection to the outside world available at that point of time. It is altogether a different matter that these teleserials were of very high quality with deep meanings and good moralistic values. There was a lot to gain from the small media and it served as an inspiring influence in the daily lives of the common man. As Mahaa..Bhaa..rat resounded in living rooms, the traffice in the outside world ceased to exist, what with everyone lying in the comforts of the living room to watch the effects of virtue over evil. It was quite a big event for everyone to see the mythological tales retold by grandparents over the years on the television. Th...
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R K Narayan

I have always wanted to compose a writeup on people who have influenced my life, and with due respect to my parents and friends, I would like to start off with the most acclaimed Indian author of all time, RK Narayan , the man for whom simplicity meant everything. RK Narayan has had a great influence in my life, thanks to my father, who imbibed in me the virtues of reading anything and everything. RK Narayan had this uncanny ability to observe people, and come up with stirring short stories that left an indelible mark on the minds of the readers. It is not easy to interweave plots and connect people through day to day situations. This is what makes RK Narayan get close to people. He would never juxtapose his writings with complex vocabulary and sentences. It was plain and easy going, as if two people are having a daily conversation. The "common man" found it easy to identify with the characters created by the great man. He brought Malgudi , a town created by him to the...
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Religious Conversion

Innumerable controversies seem to hound the topic when it comes to conversion. Is it a state of mind or is it something more complex? I have often wondered and reflected upon the merits and de-merits of religious conversion. Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and other religions are beset with issues of conversion. It also creates a topic for further conversation with fellow friends and beings, when someone takes the step of conversion. The gossip mills work overtime to find the exact cause and reason for this step. I have often wondered how knowledgible are we to judge a religion. Take the instance of a person who converts from Hinduism to Christianity. On what basis does this transformation take place? Has he gone through all the vedic scriptures? Has he mastered the Bhagavad Gita? Has he studied the Upanishads and the other sacred verses? On the other hand, how much of the Bible is he comfortable with? The obvious answer to all these questions would be a...
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The Train Journey

The downpour was making life difficult for the people at the Bangalore railway station to find their way through the crowded platforms. The station was immersed with people clustered at all points. The reservation counter bore a resemblance of a first day first show movie, with people clamouring frantically for tickets. Every platform had its share of a sizeable population waiting for some train or the other. It was all the more difficult for the station master to find platform ticket violators. On ordinary days, he used to catch about two hundred people not buying the platform tickets, but on a day like this, if he could get even half that number, he could consider himself to be lucky. He was sweating profusely and the beads of perspiration from his forehead fell on the tickets as he examined each one of them. The hawkers and vendors were having a rough time too, as in this confusion, the last thing on the minds of the people was to eat. The Higginbothams stall was like any ot...
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The Beggar

He smacked his lips at the sight of the bisi-bisi bondas piled up on the huge plate with a curvature that was perfect for storing these items. Vadas, bondas, bajjis, boondi and other extravagant oily stuff filled the shop. Everyday, Ramu sold about 500 rupees of the crispy and oily stuff in the four hours of his business. He came at 5 in the evening and left at 9, but by that time he made sure that he did not have to dispose off any left overs, for such a situation never arose. The beggar turned in to the store everyday and he got his share of some bondas and bajjis, and as with such items, he was never contented with his share of the booty. He always stuck around after he got his share hoping that Ramu was gripped with an overwhelming sense of generousity to part with more items. The oil sizzlers were generally distributed based on who wanted to eat where. The question to the customer was normal - illa parcela ? (Here or parcel), which meant whether he wanted to taste his ware...
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Generalization

It is not uncommon to generalize certain things when they follow a pattern. When things tend to fall on expected lines, there is no point in raising our eyebrows. So, what is the general criteria of generalizing? Where is it that we can draw a line and say confidently that such and such a thing strikes a certain cord? There are certain things that can be determined easily from experience, and others from careful reasoning. Each of them should have a reasonable logic in justifying your conclusion. Consider the example of our cricket team in the late nineties. The Indian team could never win its matches when Sachin Tendulkar was stiffled. It was a one man army breathing life into the team. The victories and defeats were by and large determined by the way he played the game. It was easy for us to generalize Indians cannot win without Sachin Tendulkar . Consider a movie in which Shahrukh Khan is the actor and the Johar/Chopra family member directs the movie. Most of them were roman...
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