Hello June

June By F. G. Sanders

While stumbling across the sea of pins, I found this baby. The one, which is above this text, June by F. G. Sanders. Though I didn't find anything about the poet, through which I can learn more about him (or maybe her). But I can say, he has captured the pleasing beauty of the month of June in very simplistic and heartfelt manner.

Jadav Payeng - The Forest Man of India

Jadav Payeng /Source: Forest Man/William D McMaster

At a moment, you are falling down, and at another moment, you want to move ahead. This is what happened to me for maybe one hundred sixty third time in these five months of this very year, already. But, today, I just panicked out of no reason, and this video helped me to restore my integrity.

Jadav Payeng, also known as the Forest Man of India, is not someone, you hear on daily basis. He is not someone who is arguing for the change sitting in air conditioned rooms. He is actually doing it, a bit by bit, a day by day.

Hunger By Jayanta Mahapatra [Analysis]

The Hands By Edvard Munch (Circa: 1893)

Hunger by Jayanta Mahapatra is one of the darkest, dreadful, and daring poems I have read in recent times. Originally published in 1976 as the part of the poem collection, A Rain of Rites, Hunger established Mahapatra as one of the superstar poets in the Indian English literature world. The poem explores the themes of the sex trade, poverty, and emotional vacuum. In Mahapatra's own word, "In “Hunger” I was writing from experience." But, he never commented, whether the protagonist was he, himself, or somebody else.

Hello May: 11 Interesting Facts About Month of May

Hello May/Source: Tumblr

There is a beautiful thing about May that you only notice when you open your window and look at the tree standing tall in your garden (or you can go to a public park, if you don't have a tree and meanwhile you should plant a tree), how new leaves fill the gaps left by the old leaves, how a bud is becoming a flower, and how things are becoming new again. All in the month of May. There is a certain beauty about the month of May, which you might not witness yet. All I can say, go outside and explore. But meanwhile, you are on your computer, here are some interesting facts about the May.

What is the Significance of Nakula and Sahdeva in Mahabharata?

Nakula and Sahadeva (Source: Wikimedia)

Sometimes, we take certain things (or people) for granted such that we tend to forget their very importance (in our life). One such example is Nakula and Sahadeva. In the shadows of their elder Pandava brothers, Dharamraj Yudhisthira, Gadhadhari Bhima, and Falguni Arjuna, they are never seen important. Even when we compare them to other alike Mahabharata figures like Karna, Dhristidyumna, and Duryodhana, the Madri twins' role seems timid. So the question arises, what makes the Madri Twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, important?

13 Different Names of Karna And Stories Associated With Them

13 Different Names of Karna

He was unarguably the best among Pandavas and Kauravas, yet he struggled to prove his worthiness. He was Danveer. He was Karna.

According to one of the tales associated with the Mahabharata, Krishna asked Sahadeva, what should be done to stop the Kurukshetra war. On which, Sahadeva replied, Krishna and Shakuni must be tied down and all Pandavas along with Duryodhana must be sent to the forest while Karna must be made the emperor of the world.

9 Different Names of Draupadi

Draupadi and Pandavas by Raja Ravi Varma (Circa. 1910)

She is considered as the epitome of the womanhood, yet she is the cause of the great Kurukshetra war. She is said to be the binding force behind five Pandava brothers, yet she is the major fault line between their ideologies. She is regarded as the mind (mann) which controlled five senses (indriyas), yet she is the body controlled by the five senses. She is loving, caring and tender at one point of time, someone with full of life rasas and she is also a rebel, vengeful, and fiercesome at other times. She is known by many names and every name of her define one of her different qualities. She is Draupadi. She is Krishna.

16 Different Names of Arjuna And Stories Associated With Them

Krishna Instructs Arjuna (Gita Upadesh)/Source: Salagram

At one point of time, till I haven't read the Eklavya story, I did not know anything about Arjuna. For me, he was just a friend of Krishna, who is shown playing a secondary role to Krishna in B R Chopra's Mahabharat. But from that day, when I learned about Eklavya, I started hating him for no reason (as this was Dronacharya fault and because of his favoritism, Eklavya lost his thumb), and similarly, when I heard about Karna's story for the first time, I started hating him more (but this was more Kunti's fault, not his. More than her, it was society's fault, and Arjuna was part of that society, when he called Karna "Sutputra")

9 Different Names of Bhima

Bhimasena by Raja Ravi Varma (Source: Barodaart)

Recently, Malyalam actor Mohanlal has announced a two-part cinematic adaptation of M T Vasudevan Nair's Randamoozham, a retelling of the fifth Veda, Mahabharata, from the perspective of Bhima.

Bhima, indeed, is one of the unsung heroes of all times. He always played the secondary role to his weak elder brother Dharma (in terms of state affairs) and glorious younger brother Arjuna (in terms of warfare). But it was him, who slained a hundred Kauravas for Draupadi. It was him, who sacrificed his son to save his brother Arjuna. Yet, no one really reciprocated the love and respect to Bhima. They always saw him as a well-built, strong-headed, emotionless warrior, who just there to fulfill your wishes.

I, personally, fell in love with Bhima, when I first saw the play "Karambhumi" by Kshtij Theatre Group. It was on this play, I discovered the human side of Bhima, but even on this play, his character was not justified, maybe because he is also playing a secondary role there.

This blog post is dedicated to Bhima, in order to show my respect for his verities. Hope, this post will also help you to know more about him.

Samskara: A Rite For A Dead Man by U R Ananthamurthy [Review]

Girish Karnad As Praneshacharya 1970's Movie Adaptation of the Novella

U R Ananthamurthy's Samskara is one of the rare gems of Indian Literature and placed among the likes of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Originally written in Kannada, it was first published in 1965. And later, in 1976, was translated into English by A K Ramanujan. In 1970, the hundred pages long novella was adapted into a full-fledged film featuring Girish Karnad. Though it was banned initially, but goes on to win National Award for Feature Film.

What is Authenticity? And How To Be Authentic?

Be Authentic Quotes

Authenticity is a tricky thing. In a blink, one can tell you from your behavior and actions that you are authentic or not. And if you act inauthentically, it is not good for you in long run.

So, the question pops up, how to be authentic? And how authenticity is helpful?

But before that we need to understand if one acts authentic, isn’t it inauthentic? If yes, so, what is authenticity in reality?