Everyone has a story to tell……
Thus, the young sanyasin left his village, nestled deep in the dakshinam, the southern part of the country which had for millennia been known as the Jambudwipam. He had said goodbye to his mortal mother, his village Kaladi and the holy river Periyar, and had started his travels towards the heart of the jambudwipam, in the direction of the ancient kingdom of Mahishmati. Towards the east of Mahishmati, he knew,... Continue Reading →
The young Shankara, just a little over eight years old now, but not yet nine, stood in front of his former dwelling; the humble quarters he used to call home. He was dressed in the saffron robes of a renunciant, his head shaved, his forehead marked with the horizontal ‘tilaka’ of Shiva. A small dot of vermilion marked the... Continue Reading →
It had been several years since Shivaguru’s death, and Aryamba was finding it difficult to make ends meet. She could not go out for work in the village, it was forbidden, and Shankara was only eight years old. Besides, all he had time for was his scriptures, and contemplation. He performed his daily religious activities well, which is all that Aryamba expected from... Continue Reading →
The young child with skin like molten copper stood still, holding a bunch of straws in his hands, his forehead marked with sandalwood paste. An unstitched loincloth was the only covering upon his body. For a child as young as he was, he stood strangely still and composed, considering the occasion. His face was tranquil,... Continue Reading →
The tall ascetic stood erect, a trident in his right hand, his matted locks reaching his waist. His hair was wet with the waters of the divine stream that trickled from his head, and washed his feet before making its way earthwards. The ferocious serpent that he wore like an ornament in his neck, hissed... Continue Reading →
A feather flutters in the wind close to me, as I walk towards the well. It is white, and blue, and indigo, and iridescent blue. It is a peacock’s feather, shiny, magical, like the one which the dark-skinned God, Krishna wears in his hair. It flutters and shimmers and entices me. I run towards it... Continue Reading →
The wind blows across the open ground, howling, creating small eddies of dust. I kick the stones on the ground, then run after them, barely avoiding slipping on the scales of mica that lie littered across the field. They shine, like scales of fish, and are as slippery, a thing of wonder to a child’s... Continue Reading →
Sleep, wake. Sleep, wake. Sleep, wake. That is how life goes, from day to day, day to night, night to day. Life exists in binary; sleep-wake, happy-sad, alive-dead, yin-yang. Sometimes we are asleep even when we are awake, and sometimes we wakeup when we sleep. Both the worlds are real – sleep world and waking... Continue Reading →
(Continued)..... The color of the sky, which had turned from orange to crimson some time back, is indigo now, the color of the ink I have seen my father use in his fountain pen. The ink spills, spreading across the sky, darkening it, blotting out the light, the crimson glow. The chirping of the birds... Continue Reading →
I am young again, very, very young, a child. It’s an open field, and darkness descends. Birds are returning to their nests in the surrounding trees, making a lot of noise, happy noise. They are happy to be back home after the day, safe, without having been eaten by any predator. Safe with their loved... Continue Reading →
What does it take to love? A look? A smile? A touch, the bat of an eyelid, the careless flick of hair? The fabric of her cloth which flutters in the wind? The way her lips curl when she smiles? That one tooth of hers which is crooked and stands out when she laughs, throwing... Continue Reading →
By the time everyone finished lunch, it was already early dusk. The sun was nearly gone, and a cold darkness crept in from all sides, even like the fog that had congealed into a dense curtain over the warm waters of the Ganga. I pulled my cap tightly over my ears and made sure the... Continue Reading →
Insanity! Such a small word, and yet so powerful. So lightly used by those who do not realize its import, and so devastating for those who live it. What is insanity? A different point of view can be insanity. A different outlook? Inability to adapt to the society at large, is that insanity too? Maybe... Continue Reading →
I looked at Vaishali as if waking up from sleep, my eyes blank, my mind still faraway. ‘Come, lunch is served,’ she said. I was still in a daze. My heart thudded loudly in my chest, as if I had just run a few miles. Few miles? I had been to the eternity and back.... Continue Reading →
By the time our boats hit the banks at Ganesh Ghat near Goleria Kothi, it was early evening and we were really late for our lunch. A cold wind had started to blow, and a soft mist had descended on the opposite bank of the river making it difficult for the eye to see very... Continue Reading →
The next stop in our itinerary was Goleria Kothi, a heritage property on the ghats of the Ganga, where we would have our lunch and witness Ganga Aarti, a time-honored tradition of worshipping Mother Ganga every evening with fire lamps. It was a sort of fire worship offered to the deity by the priests on... Continue Reading →
A lot had changed in the vicinity of the temple since we were here last. The temple area was being renovated, encroachments being demolished, and a pilgrimage corridor was being built for beautification of the Gyanvapi area. The area of construction, or rather demolition, had been cordoned off but it was still possible to peek... Continue Reading →
#Review #blog #wordpress Book- The Battle of Panchavati and other stories from India scriptures AUTHOR- Divya Narayan Upadhaya This book is a collection of Indian mythology stories. The book consists of seven stories . I pick this book couse of it’s cover page . I thought I’ll go through some unknown fact of mythology but […]Review:... Continue Reading →
I just loved this collection of short stories . They are : 1. The Eighth Son 2. The Cosmic Dance 3. The Battle of Panchavati 4. The Killing of Keechak 5. The Curse of Draupadi 6. Gautam 7. Gangadhar The best one was the fourth one. I have always a fan of mythology. And this […]Battle... Continue Reading →
Book name: The Battle of Panchavati and Other Stories from Indian Scriptures Page count: 131 pages Author: Divya Narain Upadhyaya Publisher: Leadstart publishing pvt Ltd About Book: The Battle of Panchavati and Other Stories from Indian Scriptures is a collection of some well-known stories from Indian Scriptures drawn from a variety of sources. These are […]The... Continue Reading →
