Finding Nemo

Now that the days have become shorter and the darkness prevails most part of the day, I was remembering the dark stories heard in the childhood. I remember my parents telling me Diwali as a festival of lights where brightness wins over darkness. It was then that I started to read Ramayana once again, only to realize how little did I knew of the great epic. I am sure that when asked the question “Do you know Ramayana?” you shall promptly raise your head and would probably term me as a lunatic for having such a doubt! But trust me, many of us do not know or understand Ramayana! And yes, I shall go to the extremes and say that those who ask of “Ram Rajya” or the “Perfect Ideal Administration” also do not understand Ramayana. Ramayana was written by Valmiki in Sanskrit and has been adopted in many languages and has spread to countries other than India itself. In fact, there are more than 300 variants of the Ramayana known today. Valmiki composed Ramayana into 2400 verses over 7 s...

Just a few days ago, we all worshipped the Goddess as Maa Durga and her other forms. Almost every different community in Indian subcontinent paid their regards to the Goddess in one form or the other. Many were busy feeding young girls and washing their feet – praying for their well being. The young girls are manifestation of the Goddess herself. A few days later, the wives observed fast for their husband’s long life. A wife is a representation of the power of the Goddess working solely for the husband. She represents Sita (in her submissive form) and Lakshmi (by the prosperity she brings). However, last month a news article from Delhi depicted a shameful act being committed to two-year and five-year old girls. Apart from this highlighted news article, there were many others smaller ones that said the stories of innumerable crimes against women – Domestic violence or public violence. Why is that we worship the Goddess as the supreme being, yet consider her human form as infer...

Call it destiny or design, I have been having the same cab driver for the last couple of trips. Few weeks ago, I caught him listening to Osho while waiting for me. When asked, he said he finds it entertaining. Ever since then, we have converted our 45-minute ride a way into quite a confounding discussion oriented ride. The cabbie comes from a meager background and has never been exposed to the fun of high levels of education. Hence calling his ideas, as intellectual orgasmic explosions would be exuberance for the sophisticated. I find his talks to be fundamendalistic. He has raised the points that many of us would have shied away from – why isn’t India rising? In the last few years, we have heard many slogans – “India shining”, “Aam Aadmi ko kya mila”, “Acche din aane waley hain”, or “Aam aadmi”. Yet, the commona man in India is still waiting the better days, wondering what did they get or when would they be able to shine? The situation has worsened for the females in India. The ...