Author’s Note: The quotation discussed here in this essay below appears in Vedanta Desikan’s Rahasya Traya Saram, where a Mahabharata episode is re-read within a later Sri Vaishnava interpretive framework. The essay is merely an observation — neutral , non-judgmental and wholly academic. The writer’s purpose in penning the essay is solely to invite religiousContinue reading “Vidura, Birth, and Bhakti: A Tension in Reading and interpreting the Mahabharata”
Category Archives: Literature and Criticism
Why “Bahubali” and “Dhurandhar,” but No Mudrārākṣasa (मुद्राराक्षसम्)? Is Chanakya Less Cinematic Than the CIA?
Mudrārākṣasa (मुद्राराक्षसम्): The Classical Indian Drama of Intrigue, Intelligence, and Statecraft A Sanskrit political thriller Viśākhadatta’s Mudrārākṣasa is one of the most arresting works in the Sanskrit dramatic tradition. Unlike many classical plays that dwell on love, courtly sentiment, or aesthetic refinement, this drama is driven by politics, strategy, deception, and the struggle to consolidateContinue reading “Why “Bahubali” and “Dhurandhar,” but No Mudrārākṣasa (मुद्राराक्षसम्)? Is Chanakya Less Cinematic Than the CIA?”
The CIA: An Empire of the Literary Imagination
Hugh Wilford’s The CIA: An Imperial History shows that the Agency’s most dangerous weapon was never a gadget but a story: an imperial literary imagination — Kipling, Lawrence, Greene, Hollywood — that taught America how to see, intervene in, and narrate the world. I’ve just finished reading the book and I now understand the CIAContinue reading “The CIA: An Empire of the Literary Imagination”
WhatsApp conversation with “Eepa”(Sri Indira Parthasarathy) on Samuel Beckett’s famous stage-play, “Waiting for Godot”
On the intriguing subject of “finding meaning in life”, last week on a WhatsApp exchange of messages, back and forth, with Sri Eepa (Indira Parthasarathy, now 96 years old, who lives alone in Athulya Assisted Living Home), we had a very interesting conversation which I take the liberty of sharing here with you . Eepa, the doyen of Tamil literature,Continue reading “WhatsApp conversation with “Eepa”(Sri Indira Parthasarathy) on Samuel Beckett’s famous stage-play, “Waiting for Godot””
“Brahmins as secret Muslims”: Devdutt Pattnaik’s hodge-podge he tries selling as exotic delicacy
Devdutt Pattanaik’s recent framing of “Brahmins as secret Muslims” and his analogy between Brahminical and Islamic ways of life rests on several contestable historical, textual, and sociological assumptions that can be systematically challenged. The “secret Muslims” thesis collapses very different histories and concepts into a single polemical frame. A counter‑narrative can be built by takingContinue reading ““Brahmins as secret Muslims”: Devdutt Pattnaik’s hodge-podge he tries selling as exotic delicacy”
சுஜாதாதனது 70ஆவதுபிறந்ததினத்தைப் (2005) பற்றிக்கூறியது…
இன்னொரு வருஷம் இந்தநாள்… நான் 70 கடக்கப் போறேன். இருப்பேன் இல்லையா? சொல்ல முடியாது. அதான் சுஜாதாவோட 70-யோசனை வாட்ஸ்அப்ப்ல வந்ததை இப்பவே சாப்பிட்டு, எழுபது வயசு கிண்டி ஜெலிப்ரேட் (celebrate) பண்ணிட்டேன். சுகம்! அவர் டாப்-10 லிஸ்ட்: பேஸிங்ஸ் சில, பயம் சில, விஷ்கள் சில – எல்லாம் கலந்து. எனக்கு? அதே லிஸ்ட்! 70-திசை சூழ்ந்திருக்கே. ப்ளஸ் ஒன்னு: இறப்ப வரை Nithya Sandhyavandanam-உம் Bhagavath Tiruvaaradanam-உம் தொடரணும். 🙏எம் கே சுதர்ஶன் **********Continue reading “சுஜாதாதனது 70ஆவதுபிறந்ததினத்தைப் (2005) பற்றிக்கூறியது…”
சம்ஸ்கிருதம் – சில கேள்விகள்: A Few Questions about the Sanskrit language
சம்ஸ்கிருதம் – சில கேள்விகள் https://tamilhindu.com/2009/07/sanskrit-few-questions/ The above article written in Tamil contains many detailed historical, cultural, and political arguments supporting the philosophical, linguistic, and cultural integration of Sanskrit and Tamil, refuting claims of Sanskrit as an exclusively Brahmin language or a threat to Tamil. It highlights the coexistence and mutual enrichment of these languages inContinue reading “சம்ஸ்கிருதம் – சில கேள்விகள்: A Few Questions about the Sanskrit language”
Shashi Tharoor, “Eepa”“Iddly” and “Iddly Kadai”…
The renowned, now nonagenarian author, novelist , playwright (winner of Sahitya Akademi and Sangeeth Nataka Awards and Padmashree), and a doyen of classical Tamil literature, Sri. Indira Parthasarathy ( pen name “Eepa”) lives in quiet retirement in his comfortable retreat and Athulya Home for Seniors (they call it “Assisted Living Residence” these days) in aContinue reading “Shashi Tharoor, “Eepa”“Iddly” and “Iddly Kadai”…”
An interesting exchange of views with “Eepa” on which language Hanuman spoke to Sri Rama when they met for the very first time – (Part 2 of 2) CONCLUDED
Eepa’s unique perspective still did not stop me from persisting in the other more pedestrian question for which too I pressed him for an answer: What could have been the language in which Hanuman spoke so impressively that it absolutely captivated Sri Rama ? “யார் கொலோ இச்சொல்வின் செல்வன்?” (“Who is this prince of words?”) InContinue reading “An interesting exchange of views with “Eepa” on which language Hanuman spoke to Sri Rama when they met for the very first time – (Part 2 of 2) CONCLUDED”
An interesting exchange of views with “Eepa” on which language Hanuman spoke to Sri Rama when they met for the very first time
The Tamil literary doyen Sri Indira Parthasarathy — popularly known as Eepa the novelist and playwright who is the only one who won both the Sahitya and Sangitha Nataka Akademi Awards — suddenly asked me this question via a WhatsApp message the following intriguing question. It momentarily baffled me . When Hanuman meets Ram inContinue reading “An interesting exchange of views with “Eepa” on which language Hanuman spoke to Sri Rama when they met for the very first time”