The whole of yesterday afternoon I was glued to my grandpa’s rose-wood armed chair till late in the evening watching the grandiose, spectacular, colourful and elaborate funeral ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. Yes, Great Britain not just Britain. It denotes political union of England, Scotland and Wales. Then what is United Kingdom?…
Mr. Bhakta visits a temple in Kodagu
September 11, 2022A few months back I went to my ancestral house in Kodagu and also availed the opportunity to go to the nearby Igguthappa Temple — dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is the most famous temple in Kodagu located at the foothills of Thadiyandamol near Kakkabe. This deity is considered the God of rain and grain…
A tale of two scandalous news items: Stray thoughts
September 2, 2022Once upon a time there was a wandering monk, obviously in the ancient land of Bharath. Just as the Hindu holy scripture Veda has no name of its author or authors, this monk, the Holy Man, too did not have a personal name but had fame. As a wandering monk, he was moving from place…
Welcome to “Grand” Dasara
August 28, 2022Are we well braced for a “Grand” Dasara that our Government has declared, in great aplomb and confidence, to celebrate this year’s Dasara beginning from Sept. 26 to Oct. 5 in a “grand way”? Can we expect the vainglorious Dasara zing to be back after a gap of two years caused by COVID-19 pandemic? I…
Lokayukta gets Punarjanma: What next?
August 14, 2022Ayn Rand did warn us in 1957!: “When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – When you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favours – When you see that men get richer by graft and by…
Prof. P.R. Mukund – Teacher of Vedic Sciences & Spirituality!
August 10, 2022Hindu religion seems to be a religion for all people for all reasons and for all seasons. Some times I wonder whether it is a religion, like other religions, with a Godhead for the followers to pray. But then there are so many Godheads in Hindu religion and the follower can believe in any, make…
Swami Vivekananda’s vision for future of India, as I understand -2
August 6, 2022[Continued from yesterday] Swami Vivekananda said: “Let New India arise….. Let her arise out of the peasant’s cottage….., out of the huts of the fisherman, the cobbler and the sweeper. Let her emanate from the factory, from marts and from the markets and from groves and forests, from hills and mountains.” Can we not interpret…
Swami Vivekananda’s vision for future of India, as I understand -1
August 5, 2022Recently I was invited by Swami Muktidanandaji, head of Ramakrishna Ashram, Mysuru, to speak on Swami Vivekananda’s vision for India at the Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education (RIMSE), Yadavagiri. Produced below is an extract of that talk I thought of sharing with ‘Star of Mysore’ readers: The subject of my talk is indeed…
Yes, Prime Minister at Mysuru Literature Festival
August 2, 2022Like raindrops that keep falling through the foliage hours after the rain has stopped, I am coming back to an episode in the recently held (July 23-24) Mysuru Literature Festival. That was about the conversation that Ravi Joshi moderated with two journalists in their avatar as authors, nay biographers. They were Sagarika Ghose who wrote…
Jai Ho, Mysuru Literature Festival and Manoranjan!-2
July 26, 2022[Continued from yesterday] Later during the tea break I met Geetan- jali Shree at the writers’ lounge. I asked her what exactly the title of the book meant or suggested. Yes, she was queried about the title at the session and she had answered in English but interspersing it with Hindi. I did not really…
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