What A Voice : An Ode to Barry White

If you have been having a look at our covers you may have noted the many words or adjectives usually used to describe a voice. Chuckled, you would have, when several of them were more than familiar and part of the regular vocab. And then comes this one called Barry White and the first thing you call out half shrieking and half choked, running out of the shower half-clothed - What a voice!
The romantic songs of Barry like “Just a Little Bit More” “Ecstasy (When You Lay down Next to me)”Your Sweetness Is My Weakness) among many others were the chosen ones of all those who once thought they were in love. His voice was rich, fresh and boom! Wickedly, he quite knew it, always-when very young.
Like most ambitious and self made talents he never wanted to be just a singer.”You get into trouble and the voice is not enough,” he had also always realized within and feared. He furthered his knowledge and skills of the studio by perfecting his writing and arranging skills and went on to become a successful producer. He learnt to play many instruments. Imagine him, yet, to be so vulnerable: the voice raved to be “thunder and silk”! People adored him; awards and recognition were too many to be remembered. So were his names from Dr Love to the Prince of Pillow Talk. He was the Lord of Discos in the 70’s to the Slow Jam king of 90’s with the deep- bass- velvet- feel voice of his.

Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata had swept him off his feet after the early lessons from the age of four he had received from his Mama and the phonograph, on sonatas, symphonies and melodies. He had begun to play the piano too and then as juvenile he went to jail. He came out as a man, as her Mama said and the school boy treble voice of Barry had changed forever to that of a heavy bass, male. His struggles took him to succeed finally with his group Love Unlimited. He had a way with women and knew a thing or two about sex though not very successful with marriages. Modesty was certainly not one of his strong points either.
You hear the Disco of Donna Summers or Abba or the Bee Gees. You dance. You hear Barry. You want to make love. His lyrics were direct: kind of face to face talking with another in a voice that seduced and made you swoon. Adrion Doovey was quoted in Jet thus “When he sings, strong men tremble and ladies are transported up the stairway of unparalled ecstasy,” and children “they say are often conceived that very night”. But the seventies Disco was to wither away and Barry knew it and through the eighties he mastered technology and getting ready to create a new sound. The drum should not sound like one. And so the piano, he had once famously prognosticated. He poured into synthesizers, computers, new fangled drum machines and programmers with piles of books. He mixed with and welcomed the new kids of the block filtered their anger and violence to produce a layered sound of slow raps over hip hop beats.R&B had found a new champion who was perhaps a shade bit ahead of the prevailing culture of the time. He was corpulent and huge, yet a highly sexualized figure in the age of disco,who just as easily morphed to become the god of Soul !

Sue Caroll gushed once upon seeing a man seated Buddha-like in a black velvet track suit… then the voice.”It starts as a rumble in his chest, it growls at the back of his throat, and then erupts like a volcano. It’s deep. It is dark. It is “Come to bed honey. Turn off the lights. It’s why this man-no oil painting- was called ,the King of Seduction “ Using his vocal chords, like instruments of sexual pleasure he does not so much sing as groan and moan his way through lyrics until finally, he explodes into a frenzy of passion and ooh..Lurve “

https://youtu.be/Fcd3XuQwDQQ

As she said of Her !

The night flower Nishi Padma or Brahma kamal, the sacred plant has bloomed.The mother is pleased. 

Excerpted..

“If I should have a daughter…“Instead of “Mom”, she’s gonna call me “Point B.” Because that way, she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me. And I’m going to paint the solar system on the back of her hands so that she has to learn the entire universe before she can say “Oh, I know that like the back of my hand.”


She’s gonna learn that this life will hit you, hard, in the face, wait for you to get back up so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air. There is hurt, here, that cannot be fixed by band-aids or poetry, so the first time she realizes that Wonder-woman isn’t coming, I’ll make sure she knows she doesn’t have to wear the cape all by herself. Because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me, I’ve tried.

Maa at the presiding deity of Cuttack : Cuttack Chandi.

Kataka Chandi where all devouts offer prayers and Lamps in respectful homage.

And “Baby,” I’ll tell her “don’t keep your nose up in the air like that, I know that trick, you’re just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire to see if you can save him. Or else, find the boy who lit the fire in the first place to see if you can change him.”

A fullfilled mother walks out of Cuttack Chandi after paying her obeisances.

But I know that she will anyway, so instead I’ll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boats nearby, ‘cause there is no heartbreak that chocolate can’t fix. Okay, there’s a few heartbreaks chocolate can’t fix. But that’s what the rain boots are for, because rain will wash away everything if you let it.

I want her to see the world through the underside of a glass bottom boat, to look through a magnifying glass at the galaxies that exist on the pin point of a human mind. Because that’s how my mom taught me.

On 5th of september she celebrates her birthday each year.She has been doing it for over 90 years.

That there’ll be days like this, “There’ll be days like this my momma said” when you open your hands to catch and wind up with only blisters and bruises. When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you wanna save are the ones standing on your cape. When your boots will fill with rain

the rains evoke a sense of the child in all of us 

and you’ll be up to your knees in disappointment and those are the very days you have all the more reason to say “thank you,” ‘cause there is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it’s sent away.

You will put the “wind” in win some lose some, you will put the “star” in starting over and over, and no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.

And yes, on a scale from one to over-trusting I am pretty damn naive but I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar. It can crumble so easily but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.

“Baby,” I’ll tell her “remember your mama is a worrier but your papa is a warrior and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more.”

Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things and always apologize when you’ve done something wrong but don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.

Your voice is small but don’t ever stop singing and when they finally hand you heartbreak, slip hatred and war under your doorstep and hand you hand-outs on street corners of cynicism and defeat, you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother.”
― Sarah Kay

The verdict on Ayodhya: a historian's perspective - The Hindu

What happened in history, happened. It cannot be changed. But we can learn to understand what happened in its fuller context and strive to look at it on the basis of reliable evidence. We cannot change the past to justify the politics of the present. The verdict has annulled respect for history and seeks to replace history with religious faith. True reconciliation can only come when there is confidence that the law in this country bases itself not just on faith and belief, but on evidence.

The verdict on Ayodhya: a historian's perspective - The Hindu

Ambanis : All about Gas?

That Caravan has done a yeoman's service for the public in this very detailed expose on the murky goings on in the Petroleum Industry is undeniable. One is naturally tempted to see an unholy thread stitching the recent accusations of Kejriwal, the strange silence on the book Gas Wars, take over of various written and audio-visual media channels by the Ambanis, the recent record-making electoral victory of Modi and the BJP together, the otherwise pugnacious media removing their gloves on hearing a Reliance owned Aston Martin crashing against two cars in Peddar Road, Mumbai. The scale and depth of the research would interest many, invite the professional to delve deeper and evaluate its veracity and most importantly to instill hope in flagging hearts for there are still honest and bold commentators and researchers who keep the thin fig-leaf of freedom of expression and investigative journalism alive and fluttering. That social, political and economic activism has been pushed to the mountains and tribal areas with no takers are common knowledge, too.They exist outside of the constitution. In this light and context, alone these articles border the revolutionary and heroic.

It shall be not my purpose here to comment or opine on the contents of the detailed article for it is better left to those who quite understand the subject and are professionals, (which I am not, surely). As a public spirited citizen however, it shall be my chosen course to bring to attention of many to be not easily impressed by the Antilla’s that the insanely rich and successful reside in and to endeavour to find credence in the prescient sense of Balzac for having said that behind all wealth lurks a crime.

I can only recall with a great degree of sadness at the clout exercised by both the brothers and their ilk of which first a vitriolic Arundhati Roy and then a, more conservative Gopal Gandhi went on to elaborate. "Wealth has been concentrated in fewer and fewer hands," Roy

tells the Georgia Straight by phone from New York. "And these few corporations now run the country and, in some ways, run the political parties. They run the media."The Delhi-based novelist and nonfiction writer argues that this is having devastating consequences for hundreds of millions of the poorest people in India, not to mention the middle class.

You only confirm what they had already alleged.BJP does by day what Congress does by night. And the 60-40 argument of Arundhati Roy is the cherry on the cake.Ambani's the shrewd businessmen that they are pay in that ratio to the parties in power or in opposition-i.e. by turns, Congress or the BJP. Rockefeller Foundation controlled, penetrated and funded many times the State and Intelligence Departments of America. She says Tatas have been aping these strategies for long.Ambani’s are just carrying on with the dirty ways. "Slowly, they decide the curriculum," Roy maintains. "They control the public imagination. As public money gets pulled out of health care and education and all of this, NGOs funded by these major financial corporations and other kinds of financial instruments move in, doing the work that missionaries used to do during colonialism—giving the impression of being charitable organizations, but actually preparing the world for the free markets of corporate capital."A kind of ‘perception management’.

On April 14th 2014the erstwhile Petroleum Secretary T N R Rao’s prophetic question on why up till now the book on Gas Wars: Crony Capitalism and the Ambanis by Prananjoy Guha Thakurta had not been dumped was answered on 15th April 2014, the following day when a legal notice was served on the authors, various distributors and the Publishers by the legal reps. Of the Ambanis. Interestingly, most of the media stayed away from commenting while conversely, their enthusiasm in discussing Batra on Wendy Doniger's book on Hinduism,Sanjay Baru's The Accidental Prime Minister and PCParakh’s Crusade or Conspirator was obsequious and servile to say the least and went on to confirm the unwritten writ of the Ambanis. In 1998 Hamish Macdonald’s book on ‘Dhirubhai Ambani-the Polyester Prince’ was not sold in India and later reappeared after some years minus a few key chapters: the result of the Ambanis being chary of any kind of criticism. It is against this background also that the media incarceration of Arvind Kejriwal and subsequent failure at the hustings needs to be seen.

http://thehoot.org/web/The-Ambanis-and-the-freedom-of-expression/7456-1-1-9-true.html









Readers must be intrigued, nay bemused what calls to script and make this kind of laundry list on the Ambanis .Quite simply, all these events have been in the news and out of it. The public still need to be told by whatever means possible to see the connects between the stories, the power of the deceit and fraud of the corporate against public interests that are committed regularly with the knowledge, sanction and active collusion of political parties, ministers like Moily, Satish Sharma and Deora and pliant senior bureaucrats and technical officials. The case for conscientious objectors in politics and authority would rightfully go to also former ministers such as Mani Shanker Aiyer and Jaipal Reddy in this regard. Exploring oil is a costly enterprise. But it is a national resource. How much of it is available today, what should be its rightful price both for exploration and selling, who should be doing it as a private player are all questions that the Indian public have a right to know. And in that if a certain Ambani, gold plated the prices, bought and poached away talent from pristine governmental institutions to cause their ruin and manipulate prices for unfair advantage through compromised people in authority, then matters are grave that call for the highest scrutiny and convictions as the case might be.It is for the public therefore, to determine the real patriots and heroes and call to book the new-traitors who pass off as nation builders instead.


For all those who want to dig deep.Read

http://www.caravanmagazine.in/reportage/rigged

Of Home and the World

As I read through the post below a strong sense of deja vu seemed to trap me. I reminisced a film Ghare Baire (Home and the world) based on a eponymous story written by Tagore..In that film of Satyajit Ray, Nikhilesh is the suave intellectual and an aristocrat who gives refuge to a friend and fugitive, Sandip a fire spouting revolutionary during the Pre-Independence days.He however, disagrees with his ideology and politics.Both friends were a study in contrasts.One rich and well spoken but mature.No rebel, but genuinely a lover of the poor peasants.No fighter of causes either ! Essentially a just, human being.The other, Sandip,a proverbial rabble rouser, gifted in public speaking, eloquent, rakishly handsome but deep within, loves all things good .Foreign cigarettes,stylish homes, good food and an attractive woman friend being some.I am referring to Bimala, here (Nikhilesh's wife).


This interesting read is full of personal anecdotes that most feelingly and sometimes reverently recalls some icons who held or hold the red-coloured-flag of politics in the past or presently.Like Nikhilesh,Gopal Gandhi the author appears to have a soft place for all of them in particular the Karat-kind.(Does he resemble Sandip?).Most certainly not.Obviously there is no Bimala around, too.This is where the resemblance gets skewed.Both the players seem to have integrity and love of the people in common.Karat has stepped into the wide world of action with courage and altruism as his faithful soldiers.Failure maybe does not daunt him and surely he is no part of avarice.He has struggled to keep his flock together. The author on the contrary is the liberal aristocrat who too espouses causes for the laity.But without having to forsake much of his own.He is an enlightened bureaucrat and when the friends crossed paths in the line of duty they found each other on opposite sides.As a rebel Sandip (read Karat and Bimala? maybe) chose the non-violent road to social transformation in the fanciful belief that they would take the citadel from within.In that Nikhilesh preferred his strengths in remaining firmly inside the citadel and on chosen thrones, howsoever dignified or fair.Does the author then reflect on his own past with a touch of self- applause.Albeit,with subtlety and panache worthy of the twice-born ! But what is with intellectuals and good men who choose to spit fire with their magical pens ? Alas, they seldom soil their hands or faces with sweat or blood maybe, to do what they need to do !

For all lovers of humanity, justice and a plural India a sober tribute and call for action from a man who knows what it is to be strong and to fail...
read on

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150503/jsp/opinion/story_17877.jsp#.VUcR9Y6qqkp

Hare Krishna and Western Music : Dope of spiritual Angst ?

Lennon and Ono (lying in bed in the middle of the picture) surrounded by devotees, Lennon reading Back to Godhead no. 23. Left to right: Rukmini devi dasi, Melvani the Muslim, Jayapataka das brahmacari, Baradvaja das, Himavati-Hana Kalbert, Himavati devi dasi, Yoko Ono, Sripati das, John Lennon, Hansadutta Das, Dayal Nitai das

From sixties on to the eighties and nineties in music jazz was quickly being left behind and sometimes overrun by rock, punk, disco,R&B, fusion and metal. And from among these genres another sub-genre of Krishna core seemed to have enjoyed a short, albeit exciting times at the intersection of punk and Krishna consciousness.

Srila Prabhupada

The fascination with India had never quite ended in the West. Whether it was the Rajahs, snakes or sadhus (ascetics) and religion, famous names had visited including the Beatles, André Malraux, Aldous Huxley, Jean Renoir to return home with different stories of satisfaction and fulfillment. They on their part added to the many myths, lies and fantasy about the country called India. Alongside, its famous savant abroad, Ravi Shanker had succeeded in making the Western World take notice of something equally compelling in its Classical music. Many travelled to India for that, too. The flower generation had become passé and instead, even more harmless saffron clothed white men and women with shaven heads and chotis and big tikkas had taken to the wide public roads happily singing and chanting hymns in praise of the glory and greatness of Krishna, serving prasadam, and playing on ancient Indian instruments like harmonium, bells and cymbals. This group mostly identified themselves with International Society for Krishna Consciousness Movement (ISKCON) founded by Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada .It had some illustrious musical patrons like Allen Ginsberg, George Harrison, and Chrissie Hynde, Boy George, KRS-One, and members of X-Ray Spex. In fact, truth to tell, many honest, simple Americans seeking mental peace were its many devotees too. Not to forget that the famous of the punk generation Ian MacKaye articulated this coming together and the birth of a new fascination.

Without being cynical or conceited I believe It would not be too far wrong to believe the fables of many loves, secret trysts, salacious adulterous escapades of the most colorful Hindu gods and goddesses, incredible sex, moksha, tantra and yoga, the supposed magical mantras of sadhus, still was at the bottom of the attraction to Krishna Lila, supposedly the god of Free Love. Around this time, the Bhagwan Rajneesh phenomenon also in no small measure, introduced a most modern and contemporary liberating and licentious mood of sex to super consciousness through the many fascinating philosophical stories in the Upanishads and Hindu texts told ever so hypnotically as only he could? Or was it the wandering bard Chaitanya and his rootlessness and propagation of other worldly love that fascinated the restless Western drifters seeking salvation through Prabhupada's ISKCON? We shall never quite know.

The Musicologists believe that in its initial years there was some great music produced despite almost the fatal combination of an agro Punk style combining with monk like niche demands of the spiritual lifestyle, no meat, all vegetarian, no sex and alcohol. This sub-genre was in that sense destined to die early, just like any other obsessive fad gone awry. Notwithstanding, it would be fair to record and recognize the contributions of Ray Cappo, perhaps ,in the lead, along with the likes of John Joseph and Harley Flanagan, John “Porcell” Porcelly, and Vic DiCara, for this short-lived sub-genre of Krishna core.

Nate Rabe made me sit up to listen to the many voices and tributes of some the very famous who had perhaps, their own reasons to be enamored of the “Black God.” I go searching and this is what I find. (Not in any particular order)

Stevie Wonder:

“Pastime Paradise” (1976)

The lyrics and the Song talk of the bad times of materialism and love of the transient and in the end the black gospel choir singing we shall Overcome and the chanting of Hare Rama Hare Krishna with Kartalas (hand held small cymbals) from 2:37 onwards come together in a soulful celebration of the True Spirit. Pastime Paradise is from the double album “Songs in the key of life” of September 76 vintage which though was very fuzzy in its lyrics was still considered innovative and ahead of its time, though very self-conscious and to be his signature album in pop history. The album won three Grammy Awards, one for the Album of the Year and ranks 56th On Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of all time.

https://youtu.be/ot2Cx-1sgo0

John Lennon and Yoko Ono:

“Give Peace a Chance” (1969)

This was that famous number that put him on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of 500 songs that signified Rock and Roll. He had already met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and now he along with George Harrison was introduced to Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who stayed at his British home at Tittenhurst Estate for over 3 months. This song was recorded in the hotel room at Montreal, Canada where John and Yoko had their honeymoon, a famous bed-in demonstration for world peace with very famous friends like Allen Ginsberg, Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, Timothy Leary, and Tom Smothers among others, journalists included. It went on to become the signature song of protest against the Vietnam War and over 50,000 demonstrators sang this at Washington Square the same year on October, the 15th. Tamborines, acoustic guitars, beating on suitcases had the Krishna devotees singing in the background chanting Hare Rama Hare Krishna at (2:01 to 2:13 and at 2:56).

The song was used sometime or the other by icons such as Paul Macartney,Aerosmith, Louis Armstrong,U2,Peter Gabriel and a host of others.

https://youtu.be/5fTIrj8YSsQ

Marc Bolan and T Rex

“Frowning Attahulpa “(My Inca Love) 1968

Marc Bolan was, Flower Child, rock guitarist and glam rock pioneer of the hippy underground scene with other world poetry, mascara on his eyes and plugged in guitar, the original stylist who transformed psychedelic rock to glam. The track ends with Hare Krishna being sung and reaching a frenzied crescendo at (2:23:2:59).Wild and free.

https://youtu.be/vC_71sI30Dk

Pretenders

“Boots of Plastic” (2008)

A great rock and roll song with the cool Bo Diddley beat, that the other-worldly inclined Chrissie Hynde sang to her heart’s content thinking of Jesus in the four-line rock and roll format thus:

Hare Krishna Hare Rama too,

Govinda I am still in love with you,

I see you in the birds and in the trees,

That’s why they call me Krishna Mayi

The image of Krishna flits by at (1:03, 2:09, and 2:18)

https://youtu.be/30kYGpvnCMY

George Harrison 

“My Sweet Lord” (1970)

A lifelong Krishna devotee, he joined the Gaudiya Vaishnava sect, donated huge sums to the Krishna Consciousness Movement including his house the Bhaktivedanta Manor in London. He wrote “My Sweet Lord “as a dedication to the unity of faiths and not its divisiveness while cross matching “Hallelujah” with Maha Mantra and other Vedic words. The inimitable Beatles touch is also evident. It went on to be a No 1 hit single for a long time and was honored by being considered to be on the best 500 Rolling Stone Magazine’s songs of all time. The gospel choir ends with the chant of Hare Rama Hare Krishna from (2:54).Pure Harrison with the slide guitar!

https://youtu.be/bMCNevG5KoI 

Harrison at Vrindavan

A Death valiant as any other ?

The death of “ men in uniform”, in the face of the enemy or otherwise have stirred different emotions amongst different people .The loss, manner of death, cause of it and the rewards thereof have engaged our mind and passions for some time. The inadequacies of/and pension-related debate surrounding theSeventh Pay Commission the One Rank One Pay (OROP) debate, the indecent haste , callousness and politicisation of the Republic Day Gallantry Awards ,the Mumbai Terror Drama,Floods and Disaster Management in Aid to Civil Power by the Armed Forces have all in little or great measure rekindled these” never-say-die” issues.


Mostly, all the better and larger minds(emphasis mine) have sung paeans to the heroism, courage, valour, pride and sacrifice, patriotism and sterling values et all displayed by these great sons of the soil. This so called “ martyrdom” has albeit, come with its rewards - pecuniary benefits, gallantry awards, decorations, ,accolades of all kinds ,naming of streets, parks ,immortalising through stories , novels, songs, films etc.Notwithstanding,there is a widespread dissatisfaction with the ubiquitous manner the recognition stands provided at the end of it all. It is supposedly, little and often, too late.
However, that Soldiers or men in uniform by their very definition derived from an Old French word, itself a derivation of Solidarius, Latin for someone who served in the armed forces for pay, as opposed to warriors in tribal society where every grown man is automatically a member of his clan's fighting force. Solidare in Latin means "to pay". This etymological antecedent has been sourced primarily to support my argument that soldiering is, yet, another job with a specific job description. In the line of duty, you may, well die.Possible, but not probable!!!Notwithstanding,viewed against the general degeneration seen in all other walks of life in terms of values,commitment and selflessness and an utter surrender to success as the central virtue has further highlighted the singular worth of the institution of the Armed Forces.Particularly, when one loses life in the line of duty !

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori is a line from the Roman lyrical poet Horace's Odes (iii 2.13). The line can be rendered in English as: "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country.", Historically, thus ,legends, folklore literature etc have provided the groundwork, for a larger than life image or meaning to the profession being synonymous with heroism, sacrifice and martyrdom. Simply because, the security, health and safety of men and material of a country are best served by them!! It is honorary (despite being paid for the services rendered) hence, honourable. Similar sentiments prevail about teaching, nursing and medicine, too. All this is quite contrary to a secularisation/temporal process wherein the jobs in question have become as attractive and popular, competitive, remunerative and secure as any other.


In fact, a rough count of the number of dead/wounded/maimed in the wars since Independence would confirm that a large percentage of the Armed Forces have actually met this terrible fate i.e. die. Specifically, the Indian Air Force or the Indian Navy may have very little to show on this count. It is this last attribute of “security and safety “of the military profession that mystifies the (misplaced) fear and awe of Death to be concurrent with the profession of soldiering and hence the “nobility”. A similar statistical survey around the world would I ‘m afraid reveal the universality of the fact and that in present days of ‘Stand –off ‘operations body bags have been encouragingly few. The loss of number of lives of ordinary civilians against combatants, however, has been frightfully high and unprecedented yet, uncompensated or considered fait accompli during wars. That the value and number of ordinary lives lost due to accidents or otherwise during similar time frames is quite another matter They are, in a manner of speaking , be argued, to be no mothers sons or daughters really.Cynically speaking, post the Great Wars the overall rate and trend of deaths of the “men in uniform” have become definitely lesser.

Hero (male) and heroine (female) or Heroism came to refer to characters (fictional or historical) that, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice – that is, heroism – for some greater good, originally of martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence. It is my understanding, that contrary to the general belief, this virtue is not unique to the Armed Forces. In the common and existential state many, if not all, from different walks of life get to show it, is true, but sadly, does not get the attention or fanfare that it deserves Ergo, heroism in the line of duty is no longer or ever the exclusive preserve of the “uniform.

Death, in or without uniform, is and was of equal value and honour .To put, therefore a premium on death of a particular kind would be a travesty. Blasphemous, to say the least!! And in parting, I would much rather say, "It is sweet to die for the homeland, but it is sweeter to live for the homeland, and the sweetest to drink for it. Therefore, let us drink to the health of the homeland."

Linking the past and the present: Interview with the historian Romila Thapar (by Ranabir Chakravarti)

Linking the past and the present: Interview with the historian Romila Thapar (by Ranabir Chakravarti)

http://www.caravanmagazine.in/vantage/discipline-notion-particular-government-interview-romila-thapar

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/history-should-be-a-ground-of-contestation-david-washbrook/article6694849.ece

India: The Past Cannot be Righted by Inflicting Wrongs on History (Harbans Mukhia)

Folk and Fakir: The Heart Swells

The MusicofAbdulKarim

Idolaters or iconoclasts ? : The Butchers of History

The ancient site of Nimrud, one of Iraq’s cultural treasures, is shown being destroyed by explosives in a video recently released by ISIS.

It is indeed unfortunate to witness and passively preside over the horrible desecration and systematic demolition of ancient icons, statues,forts, art treasures and archaeological history in our own lifetime.We are already aware of our hoary pasts and the related raging controversies.The verity of most records is hotly contested, denied or accepted as per our poltical affiliations or religious preferences..Somnath,pagodas, mosques and temples,Bamiyaan Buddha of Afghanistan among others, all stand testimony to this.Religious persecution,motivated division of perfectly healthy pluralistic societies,riot and arson, bloody deaths have been engineered as a result.


One of the oldest civilisations and maybe the entire Middle Arab and Muslim world are being subjected to this mindless assault once again.There is a story being told below.Whether it is to believed and are 'the facts are what- is- as- seen' is quite another question.But all lovers of humanity I am sure will be bemused to say the very least.And the disbelievers would be, perhaps, right here to say that the 'hunters' (in this case, the West) are writing the story of the losers (the lions) for us to read !

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150414-why-islamic-state-destroyed-assyrian-palace-nimrud-iraq-video-isis-isil-archaeology/#.VS39hZyNfcQ.facebook