My 6-year-old son and I were sitting in a quiet corner under an A/C vent in a supermarket, while my wife went around shopping. We had found two small stools and were talking about something that fascinates me — how packaging plays a major role in selling products. I was pointing at different biscuit packets, explaining how colors,Continue reading “A Supermarket Lesson in Idiocy”
Category Archives: BLOGS
The Rise of the Angry Indian: A Post-2014 Reflection
Somewhere around 2014, a subtle but undeniable shift occurred in the Indian psyche. Indians, once known for endurance and adaptability, began to display a new kind of aggression — not just within the country, but across the world. The diaspora too began echoing the same tone: louder, angrier, more reactive. What changed? The transformation wasContinue reading “The Rise of the Angry Indian: A Post-2014 Reflection”
Why India Needs Both Gods and Periyar
I have always considered myself an omnitheist — one who believes in all Gods. I find as much divinity in Krishna and Shiva as I do in Jesus and Allah. To me, every faith is an interpretation of the same cosmic intelligence expressed through different languages of devotion. Limiting the Infinite to one form, one name, orContinue reading “Why India Needs Both Gods and Periyar”
Why We Are Born: A Civilizational Reflection
Across civilizations, birth has never been seen as a mere biological event. It has always carried a deeper moral, spiritual, or cosmic meaning. Every religion, in its own way, tries to answer a single human ache — what brought me here, and for what purpose? In the Indian Mind In the Indian traditions, birth is notContinue reading “Why We Are Born: A Civilizational Reflection”
The Sacred Grammar of Union: Marriage as the Axis of Dharma
In the Vedic imagination, marriage (vivāha) was never a contract between two individuals; it was the fusion of two flames into a single yajña. It marked the entry of a man and woman into the gṛhastha āśrama—the householder’s stage of life—considered the very pivot of dharma. For it is in this āśrama that one sustains all others: the student, theContinue reading “The Sacred Grammar of Union: Marriage as the Axis of Dharma”
How Indian Muslims Rekindled Hindu Religiosity
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Indian Hindus were embracing modern education, rational thought, and scientific reasoning. A growing number even took pride in identifying as atheists, seeing faith as something to outgrow in the march toward progress. Yet, paradoxically, it was the unwavering religious fervor of Indian Muslims that rekindled a spiritualContinue reading “How Indian Muslims Rekindled Hindu Religiosity”
Temples: Sacred Spaces or Political Tools?
Walk into any grand temple in India, and you’re struck by the beauty, the rituals, the devotion. But look closer, and a subtler reality emerges: temples have long served not just God, but rulers—and sometimes, the rulers’ agendas. Across centuries, religious devotion and political strategy have walked hand in hand, and understanding this interplay revealsContinue reading “Temples: Sacred Spaces or Political Tools?”
Ram Devotees Are Vegetarians…But Ram Himself Was Not
It’s one of those ironies that can make you smile — and then think. The millions of devotees who bow to Lord Ram, who wear his image in their hearts, abstain from meat as a mark of devotion. Yet, if we go back to the oldest scriptures, Ram himself was not vegetarian. In Valmiki’s Ramayana, hunting wasContinue reading “Ram Devotees Are Vegetarians…But Ram Himself Was Not”
The Holy Cow and the Filthy Boar: India’s Selective Divinity
Isn’t it strange that cows, despite not being called “divine” or “holy” in any Hindu scripture, are treated like walking gods in India — free to block roads, interrupt traffic, and occasionally bless political campaigns — while the boar, one of Vishnu’s ten avatars, is seen as filthy and untouchable? So the animal that saved theContinue reading “The Holy Cow and the Filthy Boar: India’s Selective Divinity”
Thanks to the Northies
A Tamil, born to Tamil parents and having spent nearly 20 years in Bombay — I had never truly heard of Thanthai Periyar. Once, my mother mentioned him in passing: “He was a bad man — an atheist who broke idols of Hindu gods on roads.” That was all. Even during five years of hostel lifeContinue reading “Thanks to the Northies”