As the car sped past the Faculty of Sciences and the Faculty of Performing Arts, I went back in time and could envision myself walking along on those roads in the evenings or driving by on Appu’s scooter and, later, on my own. I knew, the temple was coming up soon, I could see the…… Continue reading The Reunion XIII: Birla Temple
Author: Divya Narain
Doting father, loving husband, newbie author, and Professor of Plastic Surgery. Love travel and literature. Love reading religion, politics and history!
The Reunion XII: Inside BHU
Later, as we collected our shoes from the shoe stall, Shubhi asked me, ‘Papa, do we have to pay the person who takes care of our shoes?’ ‘No beta,’ I said, ‘The service is free of cost and is rendered voluntarily by the people residing in the temple premises. But as a gesture of good…… Continue reading The Reunion XII: Inside BHU
The Reunion XI: Sankat Mochan Temple
The cavalcade moved on to the next destination on our itinerary – the Sankat Mochan temple. The temple is dedicated to the Vaanara deity or Monkey God from Ramayana, the immortal Hindu epic. He is popular across India as Hanuman or Maruti. His other, lesser known name is Sankat Mochan or ‘trouble shooter’, as Maruti…… Continue reading The Reunion XI: Sankat Mochan Temple
The Reunion X: Durga Kund Temple
We passed Bhelupur and I recognized an old theatre which had now been converted into a shopping arcade. ‘Vijaya was the name,’ I thought. The car sped along the congested roads with the chaotic traffic which had always been so characteristic of Banaras. But no, there was a difference now. The roads were wider, well…… Continue reading The Reunion X: Durga Kund Temple
The Reunion IX: 26th December 2019
I woke up early next morning, and all of us got ready quickly. We were excited. Today we were going on a tour of the city temples. The temples which we had been visiting frequently all the time that we were in Banaras – Durga Kund, Sankat Mochan and VT, or Vishwanath Temple, otherwise known…… Continue reading The Reunion IX: 26th December 2019
The Reunion VIII: Dinner and drinks
The evening had turned to night now, cold and young. Liveried waiters moved around with delicious snacks and drinks. The women sat together on sofas around glass-topped tables and chatted. Children ran around the hall, not paying attention to the stares from concerned parents. We, the men, stood within serving distance of the bar and…… Continue reading The Reunion VIII: Dinner and drinks
The Reunion VII: Hotel Surya Kaiser Palace
Hotel Surya Kaiser Palace, the board announced the name as our destination came in sight after the bus turned into a side road. From the road, the hotel looked rather disappointing for we had seen some great pictures of the hotel on the internet and Avinash, our batchmate who had been doing all the local…… Continue reading The Reunion VII: Hotel Surya Kaiser Palace
The Reunion VI: Varanasi, At last!
The long corridor was dark at places and illuminated with naked tube lights at others. The floor was mosaic, sometimes Kota stone, and had been wiped clean with a disinfectant solution. A few cobwebs hung from the roof, in the corners, and the few shuttered window frames which lined the corridor. A strange smell, putrid…… Continue reading The Reunion VI: Varanasi, At last!
The Reunion V: In Jaunpur
The bumpy ride and the horns blaring from all sides signaled that we were inside Jaunpur. Appu was constantly on the phone, talking to Teju and conveying the directions to our driver. Presently, the bus coughed to a stop by the side of a road with huge potholes. As I scanned the area from inside…… Continue reading The Reunion V: In Jaunpur
The Reunion IV: On our way!
Couple of hours later, the sun was up and shining through the windows of the bus and the ambient temperature had climbed within the range of comfort. The cabin of the bus was cozy now, and filled with happiness and laughter, helped, no doubt, to some extent by the beer which we had opened up…… Continue reading The Reunion IV: On our way!
The Reunion III: The journey begins!
We filed out, wrapped and packed, lugging our luggage along. It was bitterly cold, and the sun was still not completely out. We stood there near the gate of our house, watching the Traveler sputter to a stop, as the driver, Pappu, opened his door and jumped out. A ‘gamcha’, or cotton towel, was wrapped…… Continue reading The Reunion III: The journey begins!
The Reunion II: Getting ready!
Oh No! What have I done? The story I started telling has now started telling itself. By some divine intervention, life has stirred within it, like it stirred on the barren earth billions of years ago, and the vitality, the life force is growing with each passing hour. Words keep forming, emotions that had lain…… Continue reading The Reunion II: Getting ready!
The Reunion I: The beginning
Twenty-five years! That’s how long it had been, twenty-five years, since we had first set foot upon the campus of Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University. When we went to join the medical school, we were young men and women, little more than kids, fresh out of schools, still wet behind the ears and…… Continue reading The Reunion I: The beginning
Taking Chance
https://anchor.fm/divya-narain-upadhyaya/episodes/Taking-Chance-e12a27h A beneficial spinoff of the Corona pandemic induced lockdown has been that I have been able to catch up on some great movies in the free time that most of us have been forced to endure. Although there were several remarkable movies I saw recently, the most memorable one that comes to my mind…… Continue reading Taking Chance
Life in the times of the Corona Pandemic – II
Continued from ‘Life in the Times of the Corona Pandemic – I’. The engine purred into life as I turned the ignition key of my car. After a sumptuous breakfast of last night’s leftovers, I was ready for the day. Though we were not directly involved in the care of patients afflicted with the Corona…… Continue reading Life in the times of the Corona Pandemic – II
Life in the times of the Corona Pandemic – I
That day I woke up to the chirping of birds. I had not heard so many birds singing outside my house since I don’t know when. And then there was another sound which made the morning very pleasant…….silence. No cars honking, no screeching of tires, no cacophony of people fighting with each other. Ever since…… Continue reading Life in the times of the Corona Pandemic – I
Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – VIII (Gautama)
Sujata was bewildered, and a little afraid. She was passing through the forest to reach her village on the other side, returning from her relatives’ place, when she saw him. Lying face down near the mountain stream, it looked like this ‘person’ was trying to reach the water. She had never seen anyone so emaciated,…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – VIII (Gautama)
Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – VII (The Curse of Draupadi)
The royal assembly had slowly fallen silent. The unthinkable was happening. Silence and the weight of the events about to unfold hung heavy in the air, stilling the drunken chatter in the hall. The perfumes wafting through the assembly of Hastinapur seemed to wither and die down. The Pandavas had lost the gambling match, and…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – VII (The Curse of Draupadi)
Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – VI (Gangadhar)
The eight cardinal directions resonated with the sound of Namah Shivay, high in the cold environs of Mount Kailash, the land of the gods, the Devbhumi. No one sang it, no singing was necessary; nature herself sang praises to her lord, the Mahadev, the master of all realms. Near the very top of the mountain,…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – VI (Gangadhar)
Book Launch Event
Happy to announce the book launch event of ‘The Battle of Panchavati and Other Stories from Indian Scriptures’ at the Oxford Bookstore, Connaught Place, New Delhi on the 6th of July, 2019. The event is being hosted by Jashn Event Managers and the Chief Guest is My Sushil Bharti, Director, Broadcasting, Marwah Studios, Film City…… Continue reading Book Launch Event
Random Musings 