Did you know that Diwali is special not just for Hindus but also for Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists? Mahavira, the last Jain Tirthankar attained Nirvana on this day in 527 BC, over 2,500 years ago. It is said that the following night was pitch black and therefore several kings illuminated their doors with lamps to [...]
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Just 30 KM from the city of Mysore is the man-made Tonnur Lake. Set amidst hills and boulders, with clear waters fed by tributaries of the Cauvery, it is a picturesque sight. Holding in the waters is an ancient dam, now seeming almost one with the hills that surround it. The area is important from [...]
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I am surprised by how much the passing of Steve Jobs has affected me. I didn’t expect it to, really. Like most of my generation, I’m hardened and jaded and cynical, my senses trained through a lifetime to tune out mass media messages of all kinds. And yet I shed a tear for Steve Jobs. [...]
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Ganesha or Ganapati is one of the most widely worshipped deities in the pantheon of Hindu gods. Indians have loved and revered this deity as a remover of all obstacles (Vighna-Vinashaka), irrespective of their religious or geographic affiliations for centuries. But how did this deity come to be? Was Lord Ganesha a Vedic god, at [...]
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A good map is priceless. It’s a traveller’s best friend, helping them safely reach your destination without getting lost! But did you know that a map could – and did – actually transcend geography and find its place in history? Fooling Alexander Alexander of Macedon did not start his military career looking for Immortal Glory. [...]
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Even before Vasco da Gama set foot in India, he had probably unknowingly experienced a bit of it in his own country in the form of a wandering tribe of exotic nomads, the Romani, popularly known as Gypsies. With their unintelligible language, wild music and dance forms, colourful attire and conspicuous ornaments, this group of [...]
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