Culture

Typically if you ask a middle-aged person—or even someone in their thirties—who is a connoisseur and from a middle-class family, to describe a few sweet memories from his childhood, among the many things he would mention, without fail, you will hear the name of the periodical Chandamama, isn’t it? My tender and unforgettable sweet memories were formed by reading Chandamama. It is true that like me, billions of Indians have experienced joy from reading it. Personally speaking, Chandamama was among the cultural media that shaped my artistic taste.

ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಆಟವೆಂಬುದನ್ನು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೇ ಮೀಸಲಾಗಿಸುವುದುಂಟು. ದೊಡ್ಡವರು ಆಟವಾಡಬಾರದೆಂದೇನೂ ನಿಯಮವಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ದೊಡ್ಡವರ “ಆಟ”ಗಳೂ ಬಲುಬಗೆಯಾಗಿರುತ್ತವೆಂಬುದು ಬೇರೆಯ ಮಾತು! ಸದ್ಯಕ್ಕದು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ, ಅಸ್ತುತವೂ ಹೌದು. ಏನೇ ಆಗಲಿ, “ಬಾಲಸ್ತಾವತ್ ಕ್ರೀಡಾಸಕ್ತಃ” ಎಂದು ಚರ್ಪಟಪಂಜರಿಕಾಸ್ತೋತ್ರವು ಹೇಳುವಂತೆ ಬಾಲ್ಯವನ್ನು ಬಗೆಬಗೆಯ ಖೇಲನವಿನೋದಗಳಿಂದಲೇ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸುವುದು ಸಹಜ, ಯುಕ್ತ.

On the arrival of the spring, trees shed their old leaves and sprout all over and the extreme climate gives way to a pleasant one. Trees grow prosperous with fragrant flowers and attract flocks of excited birds and insects. Spring implies ‘love is in the air’ for all. Many animals and birds flock and breed at this time. Spring is most suitable for travel, outings and outdoor celebrations.

[This paper was submitted to the Swadeshi Indology Conference held in Chennai (December 2017)]

Dr. B G L Swamy

[This paper was submitted to the Swadeshi Indology Conference held in Chennai (December 2017)]

It was this enduring, prosperous and robust temple ecosystem that the first wave of alien Muslim armies encountered when they knocked on the doors of Bharatavarsha. The incisive historian and scholar, Sita Ram Goel describes[i] this encounter vividly:

Introduction

The conception, origin, evolution, and development of temples as physical, architectural structures is perhaps as old as the dawn of human civilisation as we know it. Temples represent one of the finest, deepest, grandest, and most profound expressions of the Human Spirit of awe, wonderment, and a timeless yearning for spirituality, philosophy, art and creativity etched in stone, wood, and other mediums.

The author wrote this open letter as part of a recent assignment. The letter summarises and adds to his earlier essays on related topics. The assignment was to “Imagine that the Prime Minister has sought your advice for institutionalising Ayurveda in India and abroad. He wants you to tell him the current challenges and solutions to overcome them.” – Editors

Dear Prime Minister,

In 1957, the Central Government constituted a commission under the leadership of renowned linguist Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji. Great scholars like Dr. V Raghavan, Panditaraja V S Ramachandra Shastri, and Prof. S K De were its members. The findings of mega report – comprising more than three hundred pages prepared by the committee after travelling to the nooks and corners of the country for a year, consulting hundreds of institutions and thousands of scholars, and researching the data – would surprise even a hater of Sanskrit, and he would melt.

Having borne the title of Śatāvadhāni, I’m often referred to as having a ‘computer mind.’ Whether this is done out of affection or ignorance, it causes me a great deal of embarrassment. It’s true that the art of avadhāna is a special one and gaining any level of mastery over it, is remarkable. Perhaps devoid of nuanced understanding based on analysis of its internal and external facets, it is branded as a gigantic memory feat; this is an injustice to the art form.