Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – V (The Killing of Keechak)

The night was dark and tempestuous. Jet-black nimbus clouds had blotted out the moon and the stars, making the darkness overpowering. The winds howled through the kingdom of Matsya, uprooting trees, breaking branches, blowing dead leaves and foliage in the palace compound through the open windows and into the chambers of those who slept inside.…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – V (The Killing of Keechak)

Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – IV (The Battle of Panchavati)

In the peninsular part of the ancient land of Bharatvarsha, south of the Vindhya mountains, was located a territorial region known as Nashikya. Most of the land of Nashikya was covered with dense, impenetrable forests where light did not reach the ground, no vegetables grew and no flowers bloomed. This dense forest, akin to hell…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – IV (The Battle of Panchavati)

Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – III (The Eighth Son)

As the storm lashed the city of Mathura, the capital of the kingdom of Vrishni, a celestial event, foretold by the sages, was unfolding in a prison cell attached to the royal palace. Devaki and Vasudev, the royal prisoners and relatives to the cruel despot Kansa, were expecting their eighth child. As the day had…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – III (The Eighth Son)

Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – II (The Cosmic Dance)

As the color of the sky brightened in the east, Usha, the goddess of the morning colored the sky crimson. The sun rose languidly, full of guilt and shame, knowing the great horrors of the day before. Its first rays fell on the ash-smeared form of the yogi who wandered the lands of Bharata, the land…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – II (The Cosmic Dance)

Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – I (Prologue)

Over the next few days I shall share excerpts from my book ‘The Battle of Panchavati and Other Stories from Indian Scriptures’. The book is available in India as Paperback and ebook on Amazon and as Paperback on Flipkart. Outside India the book is currently available as an ebook on Amazon country/region specific sites and…… Continue reading Excerpts from ‘The Battle of Panchavati’ – I (Prologue)

Heart of the Matter

Spending time with children is a rejuvenating experience; a course correction of sorts. It helps one remember, with help from the innocent clarity of a child’s vision, what is wrong, what is right and what one should be thankful to God for. I often try to steal some time away from my daily schedule to…… Continue reading Heart of the Matter

Motorcycle Nation

The diversity of transportation in India. An auto-ricksahw, ox cart, car, and motorcycles share the road near the Delhi Railway Station, Delhi, India.

I have a peculiar aversion to motorcycles, the reasons of which are not particularly difficult to fathom. It is not only the sheer numbers of these ‘hell horses’ and the way people drive them,  but also the noise they create and the number of road traffic accidents they cause and the death and disability that…… Continue reading Motorcycle Nation

The National Medical Commission Bill: Right Diagnosis, Wrong Medicine

The recent, token, 12-hour strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on 2ndJanuary 2018, brought to the fore a confrontation which had been slowly building up for some time now. The medical fraternity, beleaguered as it already is with several anti-doctor media campaigns running presently, finds itself pitted against the central government which, the…… Continue reading The National Medical Commission Bill: Right Diagnosis, Wrong Medicine

Sec 377, LGBTQ Rights and Lessons from Indian History

The Honorable Supreme Court’s recent admission that it may have erred in 2013 when it reversed a Delhi High Court order from 2009 decriminalizing homosexuality is a shot in the arm for all LGBTQ activists. It is also an honest confession by India’s top court that archaic laws, dating back to 1861, which are not…… Continue reading Sec 377, LGBTQ Rights and Lessons from Indian History