Finding Nemo

We celebrated the coveted festival of Karwa Chauth a few days ago. My wife has always been very enthusiastic for this one day and does everything to make the day special for both of us. Over the years we have got connected with the world through the social media and many other means. Interestingly, the social media has opened us to a wider horizon and scads of ideas and opinions. One such opinion (and quite popular one0 piqued our interest – “Karwa Chauth has become regressive, and is still being used to bind women in a golden cage!” Both of us brainstormed, discussed and debated at many a points to understand the meaning of the opinion and the festival itself. And then we realized that we need to understand a bit more prior to passing our own opinion on the subject. Per my understanding, opinions cloud your ability to see clearly. We must try to stay away from them. It is on my wife's insistence that I chose to write on this topic. Please allow me to present my not so contig

क्षितिज की ओर  चल पड़ा था मैं , छोड़ कर सब कुछ, जो मेरा था  और जो पाना था - वह सब  जो मेरा होता।  राह पर निकला मैं, अपनी मंजिल पाने , चला जा रहा था, क्षितिज की ओर।  मेरे गांव और शहर, नदी - नाले, जंगल - जानवर, सब छूटे जा रहे थे।  सूरज और मेघ ही  संग संग चल रहे थे।  तारे भी चाँद को , कभी छुपा लेते थे।  और मैं  चला जा रहा था  क्षितिज की ओर।  नंगे पैर, फटे वस्त्र, हाथ में डंडे पर पोटली लिए, चंचलता का उपदेश देता मैं, चला जा रहा था।  राह में लोग और भी थे, मेरे जैसे, वैसी ही आँखें, हाथ और पैर लिए।  पर, नहीं जा रहे थे वे, क्षितिज की ओर।  एक चौराहा, और मैं अनजाना, घबराया सहमा सा, सोचता था जाऊं कहाँ? पूछता था तो उत्तर नहीं, चलता था तो साथ नहीं, राही मुझे छोड़ चल दिए कहीं, और मेरी मंजिल दूर वहीँ, जाना था मुझे जिस ओर, क्षितिज की ओर।  साहस था, हौसला था, मन में एक जोश था, की चलते रहना हैं, और क्षितिज को पाना है।  पर डर गया  हूँ मैं, अपने अकेलेपन से, एकाकी जीवन से, और अंतहीन राहों से, अब

Lately my wife and myself have started to observe the Buddha statues in houses and how people have been using those. While this piqued my interest, it also gave way too many questions – some of which we had read in the history books and possibly forgotten by now. Buddhism as we know today is mainly a religion followed in the Eastern Asia, though originated in India. Today there are approx. 500+ Million Buddhist followers across the globe – thus making it one of the major religions of the day. As most of us know, Buddhism is following the teachings of Gautam Buddha, who was born as Prince Siddhartha of Kaushambi. When Siddhartha was born to his parents Mahamaya and King Shudhodhana, Mahamaya had a dream of a white elephant. The elephant gave her a flower and circumambulated her three times before entering her womb. The learned scholars of the time explained the dream as the mark of the birth of a great prince who shall be very wise and very powerful. However, the prince shall

Mahabharata is a great collection of short stories. The stories are all connected with each other to display a central theme. Yet the stories convey a powerful message in themselves. They showcase the thought process and the behavior of people subjected to various scenarios. Many of the scenarios have never outdated themselves, in fact, have turned around and presented themselves before us many a times. A good understanding of the stories helps us brace ourselves to deal with our situations better.  I would like to talk about one such story that has always evoked emotions of awe and despair everytime I read it. It’s the story of Karna. The story of Karna has moved many. It was unjust for him to have been brought up in a charioteer’s home. It was unjust for his teachers to have abandoned him in the moments he needed them most. It was unjust of Bhishma to have kept Karna outside of the war till he was the general. His own charioteer – King Shalya, disobeyed him and caused his death