June 2016
N Rangantha Sharma speaks about his past (in Sanskrit)
One of the favorite pastimes of people interested in Indian epics – Ramayana and Mahabharata, is to compare Rama with Krishna, specially to take actions performed by Rama and speculate on how Krishna would have handled the situation. On all delicate situations faced by Rama, specially where his actions seem unpalatable, Krishna is brought in and a statement is usually made – "If it were Krishna, he wouldn’t have let this happen; he would have...
Bangalore Nagarathnamma hailed from Mysore.
She is different from Kolar Nagarathnamma. Kolar Nagarathnamma's mother was Nanjundasani, a renowned scholar and artist both in classical music and Bharatanatyam. She had won numerous accolades among both the laymen and pundits alike. She was more famous as a classical singer, known for her melodious voice. Her brother Puttaswamayya was an acclaimed violinist who unfortunately passed away at a young...
Somnath is an ancient city on the West coast of India. Somnath has a history of at least 1,500 years that is well documented and there have been many references to this port city in the Mahabharata and the Puranas. The story of Somnath has to be looked at from different perspectives for the city has contributed to various different aspects of Indian life, most importantly to the soul of Indian civilizational values.
References in the...
Claude Alvares speaks on farming in India.
ಈಚಿನ ವರ್ಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ 'ಫಿಲಾಸಫಿ' ಎ೦ಬುದಕ್ಕೆ ಸ೦ವಾದಿಯಾಗಿ ತತ್ತ್ವಶಾಸ್ತ್ರವೆ೦ಬ ಪದವನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವುದೇ ರೂಢಿಯಾದರೂ ಅಪ್ಪಟ ಭಾರತೀಯವಿದ್ಯಾಪರ೦ಪರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರಪವಾದವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧವಾಗಿರುವ 'ದರ್ಶನ' ಎ೦ಬ ಶಬ್ದವೇ ಯುಕ್ತವೆ೦ದು ಭಾವಿಸಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅ೦ತೆಯೇ ವ್ಯವಹರಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ.
"ವೃತ್ತಿಯಿ೦ದ ನಾನು ತತ್ತ್ವಶಾಸ್ತ್ರದ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ, ಇಚ್ಛೆಯಿ೦ದ ಸೃಜನಾತ್ಮಕ ಲೇಖಕ. ಚಿಕ್ಕ೦ದಿನಿ೦ದಲೂ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದಿ೦ದ ಆಕರ್ಷಿತನಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಯೌವನದ ಕಷ್ಟದ ದಿನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅದು ಒ೦ದು ಬಗೆಯ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿ, ಒ೦ದು ವಿಮೋಚನೆ ಕೂಡ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ತತ್ತ್ವಶಾಸ್ತ್ರವು ಬದುಕಿಗೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ಉತ್ತಮವಾದ...
Any sensible mind exploring the Sundarakanda ('the beautiful section') of the Ramayana invariably feels that it has been aptly named so. Not surprisingly, there have been innumerable explanations of the explicit and implicit beauty of the Sundarakanda, all of which are very endearing. It would perhaps not be deemed superfluous, if yet another attempt is made at explicating one of the numerous beauties of this lovable episode.
Preamble
The...
The rigorous training that a Carnatic musician undergoes for several years teaches him/her lessons that are worth applying to other areas as well. An outsider might find it hard to make sense of the repetitive practice but over the years an insider realizes the benefit of the long, lonely hours of playing the same line till it becomes a part of the consciousness.
I have been a student of music for as long as I can remember and my music education...
In many ways, the Bhagavad-Gita is a unifying text. Krishna cuts across class distinctions, mocks at social prejudices, abhors outdated traditional practices, and finds convergence for divergent thoughts and beliefs. And in the process, he rattles the cage on several occasions.
No unification is possible without loss of individual identity – and this is not taken lightly by the various factions. Unification calls for not just revolutionary...
Illustrious personages are the flowers of the tree of civilization. They represent the loftiest ideals of a culture and a people. By understanding their lives, readers can imbibe the essence of an era and a country. It is with this intention that we have set out to document the biographies of some of the finest individuals that lived and worked in this great country of ours.
This effort reminds me of a verse fragment from Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsha...