I AND MY WORDS

मोहे नैनन प्यास बुझायो रे तू बरसाना रंग आयो रे तेरे श्याम रंग से धुला आकास मुझे हरि रंग नहलायो रे तेरे प्रेम की आस में भटक रही बन कान्हा पग पग बिलक रही तू मिलन भक्त से आयो रे मुझे हरि रंग नहलायो रे हैं पीत वस्त्र और मोर मुकुट नथ में कुण्डल तू डारियो रे कर में कंकण सोने के झलक कस्तूरी तिलक तू धारयो रे कुण्डल मोती और केश घने अंखियन जोति और ब्रह्मतेज बेणु तू मुख से लगायो रे मुझे हरि रंग नहलायो रे बाजे ताशे और ढोल मृदंग पखवाज की लय, मचे हुड़दंग टोली बृंदावनी आयो रे मुझे हरि रंग नहलायो रे है अमिट प्रीत, अनंत प्रसंग राधा-रमणा हो हरि का रंग मुझ गोपी को तू सतायो रे मुझे हरि रंग नहलायो रे बरसे हैं पुष्प के अनंत रंग स्वर्णिम श्याम, जमुना तरंग धीमी गति बह वो देख प्रसंग कजरी नैना में समायो रे गोकुल संग न रही अब सुध बुद्ग और रास रचाय वो मंत्रमुग्ध जन्मों की प्यास बुझायो रे मुझे हरि रंग नहलायो रे

courtesy: WIkimedia Commons   उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् । वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।। "The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata." —Vishnu Purana A lot of energy has been expended of late to understand what nationalism means to various people. The problem however has been addressed in a narrow, restricted manner. The definitions employed in the whole debate thus far are of a western construct. As Rabindranath Tagore wonderfully explained it in his pamphlet Nationalism, the construct used rests entirely on a concept of nation that is dominated by economy and polity only. It is a social contract amongst people based on these two pillars, and is validated by the principle of symbols representing this contract. Much of these contracts are a result of reactionary movements that seek to react to the actions of the Church that has long interfe...

Two steps have been taken One more to take Bringing down the empire There lies the big stake Hints are strewn across the board What the next step may be Few clues come up repeatedly Discerned those who be Will the leader's scribbles come alive Will it cause mayhem Will it reveal the Moriarty That controls the white piece? Will it be the King's checkmate That shall be the downfall The players and pawns get exposed Will the empire's fractures come to fore? Will it be the scribe's musings Which shall swallow its creators And draw them in a maelstrom That sucks in like a blackhole? The answer is in the hands of the player Sitting quietly on the other side Stay, observe, chat, pray tell me What the next move could be

Kandhariya Mahadev Temple at Khajuraho - Little Known Wonder Within India (Rohit Pathania (c)) I am writing this post because I found people I respect immensely being offended by s video that I had shared wherein Jawaharlal Nehru University and its social sciences department, among others, was being joked about. If anyone was offended by the video, I apologize; the intentions were not to hurt anyone. It was shared in good humour. However, that has made me wonder why I have problems with India's social sciences and the way it is studied and taught in India. It has nothing to do with teachers that I necessarily encountered; rather, my problems are related to what I never got to encounter, know and interact with. Let me quote some examples on the same from the history lessons that I can recall immediately to assert my case. It is not an exhaustive list but only a small sample, and I encourage readers to go further on their own. The subject of history has grave necessity for any...

The tyranny of distance is an easy excuse that editors based out of metropolitan cities cite when asked why they neglect the North Eastern states. Fact of the matter is that they are not willing to learn and understand a region that has a rich history, a rich cultural heritage and a complex socio-political structure. With its rich human resource base, the North East contributes to a significant chunk of the service sector work force in the rest of mainland India; however, within the North-East, they fail to secure economic opportunities unless it is a government job for which they bribe through their noses or join an insurgent group that is an extortion gang in reality. This is a layer of a complex problem with many more layers in a state that is recognized either by its atheletes like M C Mary Kom, The Devendro brother-sister duo, or only by that state at the corner with an exotic dance and a terrible insurgency form. When one picks up the book "Mother, Where's My Countr...

It was dark, and it was getting colder with each passing moment. Must light the kangri now, thought Tejmohan, as he struggled to find it under the clouded skies, which indicated that it might just snow tonight. The matchsticks! he recalled, as he pulled them out of his pocket, and struck one which briefly revealed the secrecy of the kangri ’s location. Tejmohan quickly scrambled towards it, and in a few moments, managed to light the remaining coal in it, while felt secure - cold, but secure under the part of the roof that was still intact. The snow had begun to fall, and he winds picked up speed. The chill was getting into his bones; the pheran proved no good tonight. His blankets were kept in the prayer room, which was at the other end of the house. But it would prove to be dangerous, as parts of the house were already broken, and he might fall through. What then? Who would help him in the entire village of ghosts and lost souls? The winds were howling and screaming loudly; sometime...

Rivers of Garbage Swamping Every Corner of Delhi (Courtesy: Dailymail UK) In the midst of the usual political mud-slinging that India's jestful democracy entails, we have seen a major problem burst out on the national capital's Swaraj scene. No, it is not Mr Arvind Kejriwal launching another odd-even scheme; rather is the alacrity with which a court battle is being fought in Delhi to determine just who is responsible for the garbage wars round III in Delhi (it happened twice last year for those who remain blissfully unaware). A distraught Delhi watches on, stunned into silence by a horde of sanitation workers who are hell-bent into pushing Delhi administration and Municipal Corporations towards a permanent resolution of their problems through their trashy behavior (refer the garbage toss into Delhi's Tourism Minister's house and outside the Deputy Chief Minister's residence). Even Central Government Ministers have not been spared. Meanwhile, all poltiical ...