By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist The term Chandala, referring to the “lowest of the low” in Brahmin lore, appears a few times in the Vedic literature itself. It is essentially absent from the Rigveda Samhita and emerges only in the later strata of the corpus — the later Samhitas, Brahmanas and…
Boxing needs a bigger push in South India, says Indian men’s boxing head coach C.A. Kuttappa Hailing from Kokeri village in Napoklu, Kodagu, the land known for producing Olympians and brave hearts, Chenanda Achaiah Kuttappa (C.A. Kuttappa) is an internationally known boxing coach who has been credited with shaping some of the best Indian boxers,…
By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam There is a particular kind of democracy that flourishes in India without ever appearing in any political science textbook and I have had the privilege of observing it from two rather different vantage points over the years, first as a resident of an apartment complex governed by its own welfare association…
Every few years, Indian politics reminds us that misogyny is still alive and kicking in Indian politics. The latest controversy involves derogatory, double-meaning remarks allegedly directed at actor Trisha Krishnan, who is Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s partner. In Indian politics, when a man cannot defeat another man, he attacks the woman associated with him. Our…
By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Originally Brahmins were simply transmitters of the Veda. Later, as keepers of dharma-shastra, they offered administrative services to kings. From the 10th century AD, they faced enormous competition from a rival caste group offering scribal, accounting and advisory services — the Kayasthas. Brahmins had a ritually…
By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam There comes a moment in every man’s life when he realises that the world has quietly marched ahead and forgotten to leave him a note. Mine arrived the morning my old phone, a faithful companion of many years, decided it had laboured enough and began switching itself off in the middle…
The CJP (Cockroach Janta Party) protests and the Government’s response revealed something far bigger than a controversy over a leaked examination paper. They exposed a clash between two generations, each convinced that the other is fundamentally broken. Ask the older generations about Gen Z and you’ll hear familiar complaints such as, they are intellectually lazy, with…
By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist If you only consume today’s festival talk, you would think India’s calendar is a relay race between Ram and Krishna. That is a late narrowing. The older seasonal spine is goddess-centred and nature-driven. It was about paying attention to the weather, to the vegetation, to the…
By Dr. R. Balasubramaniam I attended a function the other day where the chief guest arrived twenty minutes late and the entire hall rose as though a great wind had passed through it. What struck me was not the man himself but the small army that preceded him. There was someone to carry his folder,…
By Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik – Author, Speaker, Illustrator, Mythologist Kambaramayanam is one of the most celebrated works of Tamil literature. Composed by the poet Kamban around the ninth century in Tamil Nadu, in the time of Chola kings, it is a lyrical retelling of the Ramayana filled with rich poetry, elaborate metaphors and deep moral…
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