Oct
28

Diwali Sunshine – Greetings!

  Diwali always comes with a new message of hope and gaiety. It also brings with it an opportunity to introspect on what it means to lead a life of Dharma. This word is often found incorrectly translated as religion. It has many other meanings with subtle differences, but ‘religion’ is not one of them. […]

Sep
30

Kanyadaan – Donating Your Daughter?

Outfits like Maanyavar do not care about our traditions. They know their customers well. Their recent ad, featuring Ms Alia Bhatt, which interprets Kanyadaan as a regressive custom treating women as objects of donation, is not a mere aberration.  At an earlier wedding, a pundit ji derided the custom with impunity and called for its […]

Jul
09
May
20

Can Hindus Ever RIP?

With each passing away of an Indian celebrity, the social media gets flooded with shorthand RIP messages. What does one make of these – just short-hand expressions of condolence or a prayer for the departed soul?  Can Hindus ever RIP? Let’s decode what a RIP prayer would mean for a dead Hindu. RIP is a […]