Thoughts in HD

A mother gives birth to us. All our life, with the blessings of Goddess Saraswati we yearn to get the blessings of Goddess Lakshmi so that Goddess Annapurna favours us. The beauty of ‘Mother’ nature always appeals more than the best of technological comfort. A woman is the vehicle for humans from heaven to earth. Sadly, forgetting the debt of the umbilical chord, a man starts overpowering women as he grows. This is akin to a child playing langadi. While the child balances and hops on one leg, the other leg is comfortably forgotten. But after some distance, both legs are necessary for comfortable walking. Similarly, the role of women is conveniently ignored in society thereby losing an imperative balance. What may have started as a sign of respect to the so called ‘fairer sex’, many actions soon assumed an authoritarian aspect and slowly graduated to superstitions. The easing of strenuous activities like climbing long innumerable stairs of temples or cooking in unventilated hot kitc...

I have lived in a hostel since childhood. When I was younger, I would often hear my peers and hostel mates blame the administration for some failure - bad rooms, intermittent water, power cuts, mismanagement, etc. The administration consisted of some from the school administration and some elected members - who were elected by the students from amongst themselves. It was a belief that the administration has a responsibility to provide our needs, and since we have voted them to and pay our fees regularly (well, then only about 4% of the students would have the right to complain - the others were exempted from paying the fees for various reasons, or some who manipulated their financial condition to fit within the exemptions, and some who simply did not pay the fees), they have to be our caretakers. Hence, speaking against the hostel administration was normal, and widely acceptable. The administration, on the other hand, would not act against everyone who speaks against it. Maybe, dissen...

Mythology is a collection of myths and fictional stories that has been generated throughout time. They may have religious or cultural connotations. Relevance for children The first stories that children hear are mostly sourced from mythology. These time tested stories, passed on through centuries by word of mouth, are a great way to have animated conversations with babies who rely more on the non-verbal cues. This helps create a familial bond between the storyteller (usually a family member) and the baby. As the child begins to understand words, mythological stories are a gateway to imagination. Inanimate objects like trees, celestial objects, etc come to life, animals - both domestic and wild - seem friends of humans in mythological stories. This helps create a bond between the baby and nature. The stories that have developed through the ages, have filtered out the negatives and magnified the positives. Thus, the morally and ethically good actions are glorified and bad vili...