As Libyan dictatorship falls, and the people of Yemen, Morocco, Bahrain and Jordan gather together in a quest to free themselves from dictators or dictatorial Monarchy, this article I had published before becomes more important. Especially because the West had earlier aligned themselves to so many of these Monarchies or Dictatorships that are now (hopefully) [...]
The Alien and Me
Suddenly my view of myself and the universe, would , in that instant be changed, re -evaluated, all the questions I asked from that moment on would be different. Context would be different, If I came across an Alien today. What would I say if there were words. Would I shake hands if there were [...]
Kids and Commercials
AJ has brought up a point that I wonder about often and am concerned at the emotional pressure on children to consume food stuffs that are really bad for them. Not only that, what about selling Chocolate as ‘the gift mothers will give you if they really love you" or " as the gift you [...]
America sneezes and Asia hands it a tissue : Why Davos is losing value
As there seems to be no end to the Western financial crisis, any number of conferences like Davos will not bring up answers. I say Western deliberately. It is a crisis of the Western economies caused by Western financial imprudence. Gone are the days when ‘When America sneezed and the world caught flu’. Now Asian [...]
Bandit Queen filming and the caste system
The village where I shot much of Bandit Queen was physically divided into the Lower and the Higher castes. You could tell. The low caste dwellings were not only on the lower part of the gentle hill, but built of mud and bits of trees, shrubs and any other material you could lay your hands [...]
Brides of the Well : a short story
On this morning Saraswati struggled to get out of bed. Well, I say morning because the birds had begun their morning raga’s. Long before the beautiful hues of blue streaked the sky across the dry land. It was the one time that the land felt magical and mystical. A land claimed over the years by [...]
Change in India comes from bottom of pyramid ( ‘Caste Busters’ from NY times Mag)
Hope NY times forgives me for reproducing this article without prior permission, but it is such a great article and important for those interested in India, By ANAND GIRIDHARADAS Published: December 30, 2010 New York Times Magazine I came to Umred to write about a riot. A few months earlier, power blackouts that rural Indians [...]
A spiritual connection to the food we eat ?
Does food respond to our emotions ? Science will one day tell us why ‘mothers cooking’ is better for you. Till then we all just believe it anyway. Not only because of it’s nutritional quality measurable in vitamins, minerals and enzymes, but because it is cooked with the most vital ingredient of all. Love. As [...]
“If doing something makes you worried, then it must be a wrong thing. If it makes you happy, then you must have done the right thing.”
An inspiring and motivational true story of a Taiwanese woman who sells vegetables......and donates generously to help the poor...... Wed, Dec 01, 2010 Reader's Digest The generous vegetable seller by Esther Liang After the morning hustle and bustle, the atmosphere at Taitung county's Central Market quietens as every stall shuts for the day and their [...]
Sleep
teasing me with your presence brushing past me like the breath of an angel and then flying away with that smile the receding promise of coming back like the gentle lapping wave touching my toes and then flowing away you stare into my eyes with teasing smile the promise of the embrace that you keep [...]