Language is the base of civilization, and India has a lion’s share of the world’s languages and dialects. We have 22 official languages, and we speak the world’s third (Hindi), sixth (Bengali), thirteenth (Punjabi) and seventeenth (Tamil) most spoken languages in the world, besides two of the world’s oldest languages – Sanskrit and Tamil. Yet, …
I’m currently reading three books. Two related to history, and one contemporary – ‘The Chaos Machine’ by Max Fisher. The book is a detailed study on how big tech used seemingly innocent techniques to hook all of us onto a dopamine-generating machine that we don’t see a way out of. He writes on how this …
Giving – easy in theory, quite difficult in reality. We have been so conditioned to take, that giving doesn’t come easily to us. Yes, we are able to give what we have “far in excess” of what we need, but true giving is being able to part with what you need, for the benefit of …
Countless stars in the sky, all looking down at me what is it that you desire, they seem to say you have everything that you wished for, and beyond… why then, are you looking upwards, and asking for more? Countless stars in the sky, all looking down at me So many opportunities, they seem to …
And I have run out of book space in my study – or as Keshav calls it – the bookshop. So two things to do now – add more shelves in my room, and expand to the guest room. A couple of bookshelves in the offing, that should be enough for my current collection and …
I saw Shiva again this week. The OG cult classic that introduced Ram Gopal Varma to the world, and made the humble cycle chain an iconic weapon of the masses (teens). I had one too – everyone did. And it was as enjoyable as the multiple times that I had seen it before. On thing …
We underestimate our own capabilities. And by we, I mean everyone. Without exception. I have seen this in various fields – be it martial arts, studies or work. We think that we aim high, but we aim a lot lower than we are capable of. No, I don’t want to sound like one of those hyper …
Read the prologue here… रोहते सायकैर् विद्धं छिन्नं रोहति चासिना ।वचो दुरुक्तं बीभत्सं न प्ररोहति वाक्-क्षतम् ॥ १११ ॥ rohate sāyakair viddhaṃ chinnaṃ rohati cāsinā |vaco duruktaṃ bībhatsaṃ na prarohati vāk-kṣatam || 111 || Wounds caused by arrows can heal. Cuts made by sharp swords can heal. But wounds caused by harsh words never ever heal. The owl …
भोगा न भुक्ता वयमेव भुक्ताः, तपो न तप्तं वयमेव तप्ताः । कालो न यातो वयमेव याताः तृष्णा न जीर्णा वयमेव जीर्णाः ॥ bhogā na bhuktā vayameva bhuktāḥ, tapo na taptaṃ vayameva taptāḥ ।kālo na yāto vayameva yātāḥ, tṛṣṇā na jīrṇā vayameva jīrṇāḥ ॥ Vairagya Shatakam by Bhartṛhari Pleasures aren’t satisfied, only we are consumed by our …
Better late than never, they say. And so, after a long and frankly inexplicable delay, I started to read ‘Poor Richards Almanac’, a yearly almanac published by THE Benjamin Franklin, whose passing mention in our school history books had something to do with electricity. Of course, if I had schooled in the USA, this would …
