Think Tank

(Travelogue) Durga Puja at Tembi Naka, Thane West The picture attached with this article is one of the most vibrant images of Durga Ma I have ever seen. Recently when a friend sent this picture to me as Durgapuja greetings, I asked her if she could find out where this Durga idol was situated at. She said [...]

(Hinduism / Sanatan Dharma) Someone asked me to refer to Yajurveda 13.42. It meant 42nd Mantra in 13th Adhyay / chapter.  I tried searching for the same. I found the verse as this:  Vatasya jutim varunasya nabhimashwam jagyanam sarirasya madhye.shishum nadinaam harim-adribudhnam agne ma hinsih parame vyoman. (Sorry if some spelling is wrong; I copied this from [...]

(Stories V2) Kittu Ne Sunayi Kahani “Ye galat baat hai!” “Kya galat hai? Woh mera kuchh nahi bigad sakta!” “Aise nahi chalta. Hame aisa nahi karna chahiye.” Kittu ne pareshan ho kar kaha. “Tumne woh kahani nahi suni kya? Papa ne mujhe sunayi thi” Kahani ki baat sunte hi sare bachche Kittu ke paas ikatthe ho gaye.  “Tumhe aisa lagta [...]

(Open letters) Meaning of Cattle Class Travel for Holy Cows in Kerala Shashi Tharoor may have got a pay cheque from Twitter for giving them such an unprecedented free publicity, and may be Sonia Gandhi was inspired by her Roman Catholic inquisitions when she reprimanded Mr. Tharoor for his Twitter comments, but I wonder why no aam [...]

(Hinduism / Sanatan Dharma) Shashi Tharoor on Hinduism Above all, as a Hindu I belong to the only major religion in the world that does not claim to be the only true religion. I find it immensely congenial to be able to face my fellow human beings of other faiths without being burdened by the conviction that [...]

(Life V3) (Personal)  Learning curve is not a straight line!  I think I am still growing up. And who can really grow up without going through the best and the worst of it? Somewhere on the line, I developed a very scary image of two sets of people: Keralites and Christians. And for me, these [...]

(Life V3) (Personal) Lessons from the lost Egg My new roommate had a weird habit. While sleeping or while awake, he would make certain kinds of noises. His most favourite was also one of the most basic ones: he would keep saying “Ma” or “Mago” aloud. And it was a nuisance for my sleep to be broken [...]

(Life V3) (Personal) Want to be like them? Last evening it had rained abruptly and most of us came back home a little wet. Some of us who lived nearby got fully drenched because we took the chance of walking in the rains. Those who lived a far away were luckier. But not all of them…  Today [...]

(Life V3) (Personal) Wave like a kid does!  The bus had stopped at a traffic signal. I gave a casual glance outside the window. There was something special in that black car! A young kid of around 2 was waving at the bus! I tried to read him and found he was looking at someone in [...]

I watched Dil Bole Hadippa yesterday, and found it very entertaining. It’s a hilarious movie which makes us laugh all along and Rani Mukherjee has given a brilliant comic performance :) I was never a great admirer for hers, but her role as a male Sardar ji is simply superb. And a bonus: India wins [...]

(Life V3) Accidental Findings….  Yesterday I witnessed an accident.  I was walking back to home along with another colleague. It was an after-office rush on the road and the road had become in bad condition after the rains. Suddenly we heard a huge sound of a crash. A motorbike rider had fallen and he scratched on [...]

(India V2) Anything for Image Building?  “Austerity is good”; but this is not a universal truth. It depends on the time, place and the manner in which it is done. Remember: one man’s medicine is another man’s poison.  I think whatever the central government does has a tremendous impact on the nation’s economy. I am not [...]

(Mission Exposed) Christianity is Shaken and Out to Acquire New Grounds Are these in contradiction? The Gospel of Matthew is part of the New Testament, the second major division of Christian Bible. At one place it shares a great wisdom about keeping a non-judgmental attitude. It tells: (1) “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”  (2) “For [...]

(Stories V2) Kittu Baby and Her Baby Bird  It was still dark outside when Kittu woke up and slipped out of her bed. She struggled to open the door towards the balcony, and stepped out silently. She went on and looked behind the racks and the flower pots; there lied an empty cage. She picked it [...]