Month: April 2022

Of language and potential…

अमन्त्रमक्षरं नास्ति नास्ति मूलमनौषधम् ।अयोग्यः पुरुषो नास्ति योजकस्तत्र दुर्लभः ॥ amantramakṣaraṃ nāsti nāsti mūlamanauṣadham ।ayogyaḥ puruṣo nāsti yojakastatra durlabhaḥ ॥ Samayocitapadyamālikā There is not a syllable which is not a mantra; there is not a root that is not a medicine. There is no person who is not able, but rare is the person who knows how to apply …

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Leading by example…

Work, work and more work. Work is good. But when it is Ramadan, it gets tough, given the reduced timings. Am thankful that my team is braving it out in spite of this. It gives me strength to work even harder, for leadership has to always be by example. कर्मणैव हि संसिद्धिमास्थिता जनकादय: |लोकसंग्रहमेवापि सम्पश्यन्कर्तुमर्हसि …

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Of mirrors and identities…

आत्मौपम्येन सर्वत्र समं पश्यति योऽर्जुन | सुखं वा यदि वा दु:खं स योगी परमो मत: || ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṁ paśhyati yo ’rjuna sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ sa yogī paramo mataḥ Bhagavad Gīta 6.32  I regard them to be perfect yogis who see the true equality of all living beings and respond to the joys …

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Of knowledge and intelligence…

विद्या ददाति विनयं विनयाद्याति पात्रताम् । पात्रत्वाद्धनमाप्नोति धनाद्धर्मं ततः सुखम् ॥ vidyā dadāti vinayam, vinayādyāti pātratām | pātratvāddhanamāpnoti, dhanāddharmam tatah sukham || Hitopadeśa Knowledge makes one humble, humility leads to worthiness,worthiness creates wealth and enrichment,enrichment leads to right conduct, right conduct brings joy and contentment. Vidya – this term loosely translates into knowledge. The issue with …

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Flower samjhe kya? Fire hu main…

Main jhukega nahi! Sher ko pakadne ke liye shikari chahiye… I hate violence…but violence likes me! Three movies have changed the game. Actually four. The first was Bāhubali, that showed the power of Telugu cinema to India and the world. Then came Pushpa – a low-key affair in the North but ended up shattering many …

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Of drops and drops and oceans…

क्षणशः कणशश्चैव  विद्यामर्थं च  साधयेत्  |क्षणत्यागे कुतो विद्या कणत्यागे कुतो धनम् || kṣaṇaśaḥ kaṇaśaḥ ca eva vidyām arthaṃ ca sādhayet । kṣaṇa-tyāge kutaḥ vidyā kaṇa-tyāge kutaḥ dhanam ॥ Subhashita Knowledge and wealth are procured with every moment and grain (respectively). If a moment is wasted, how can knowledge be accrued? If a grain is wasted, how can wealth …

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Fifty years and counting…

50 years. That’s how long my parents have been married to each other. We sometimes cannot wrap our heads around such numbers. You know, when you realize that some actors have been in the profession since six decades, or when you realize that Warren Buffet is 91 years old and still going strong – that …

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Food for thought…

Today is Ekādashi – the 11th day of a fortnight in a lunar month, as per the Hindu calendar. Since there are two fortnights, Ekādashi is celebrated twice a month. It is typically characterized by observance of a fast. And the fast can be of many types. From Nirjala Ekādashi – where one does not …

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Of treasures that measure eight…

The Germans call it milchreis, the Spaniards call it arroz con leche, Malaysians pulut hitam and the Greeks call it rizogalo…any guesses? How about ‘eight treasures’? or Shola-e-zard ? Still no? Kheer, payesh, phirini, payasam? The first mentions of payasam were recorded in the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana, as ksheer or kshirika in Sanskrit, which translated to a dish made …

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