Sparkling water

 Posted on February 18, 2012  |  4 minutes  |  767 words  |  Janani Dhinakaran

Water used to be free. In some parts of the world it still is but with all the pollution and diseases, it is becoming increasingly difficult to safely drink straight from a river, and in many parts of the world, from the tap. [Read More]
Aquafina  carbonated water  coca cola  Desani  energy intensive  environment  fizzy drinks  health  hiking  Kerala  Kerala's boiled herbal water  leaking taps  littering  long showers  Pepsi  picnics  plastic  plastic bottles  pollution  privatised water  sanctity of nature  save water  soda  sparkling water  still water  water 

"And who, in God's name, is He?" A Book Review on 'Ka'

 Posted on February 11, 2012  |  14 minutes  |  2920 words  |  Janani Dhinakaran

_By _****N.S.Jagannathan Ka: Roberto Calasso. Translated from original Italian by Tim Parks. Vintage Paperback 1999 Pages 448. Price $ 3. . Amidst the deafening din of post-Colonial chatter on the dark designs of Orientalists “colonising the source texts”, of the colonised, I am all the time nagged by a niggling doubt: how literate are these critics in Sanskrit and other native Indian languages? [Read More]
agni  Book reviews  ka  literary texts  myth  N.S.Jagannathan  native minds  orientalists  philosophy  rig veda  rishi  roberto calasso  source texts  veda  vedas  Vintage paperback 

Dreaming Through ´Ka´

 Posted on February 9, 2012  |  1 minutes  |  149 words  |  Janani Dhinakaran

The author seems to be trying to achieve the effect of time all being one moment. The effect of this hits the reader in full force in the end when it goes back to Garuda, who was last mentioned in the first chapter reading the Rg Veda, waking up from a light doze on the word ‘Ka’. [Read More]
agni  buddha  dreaming  garuda  idols  ka  krishna  many arms  myth  mythical interpretation  rig veda  rishi  roberto calasso  timless  veda  vedas 

A Study of Communalism and Identity

 Posted on December 11, 2011  |  10 minutes  |  2069 words  |  Janani Dhinakaran

A Study of Communalism and Identity (First published in May 2008) I Identities Preferences and Behaviour Where does the self come from? Identity and our definitions of our ‘self’ are a result of what we’ve been taught from the beginning of our lives. [Read More]
Bombay  Communalism  environment  hinduism  identity  islam  mixed identity  movies  philosophy  reason for conflict  riots  social issues  world issues 

City Streets

 Posted on November 20, 2011  |  2 minutes  |  237 words  |  Janani Dhinakaran

From October 2007 Vehicle fumes bathe me as I walk the city streets. The roars of blue and white paid concentration cells, and lorries carrying rough blocks of granite vibrate my stomach. [Read More]
artist  beedi  broom cricket  buses  cement  chalk  cigarettes  clear voice  dead trees  drunk  dung  faded clothes  fruits  granite  highway  holes  horns  noise  pollution  red eyes  slabs  spit  strong smells  traffic  trees  urine  vegetable vendor  vehicle fumes 

This Pebble

 Posted on November 15, 2011  |  1 minutes  |  69 words  |  Janani Dhinakaran

First published on 24th October, 2006 This Pebble; Pure while at heart but a tinge of brown outside. Smooth, but for a few cracks through which the blankness [Read More]
nature poetry  philosophical poetry  poetry