Culture

Sumerian antiquities at the Louvre – 11

Votive offerings Little models of homes/temples were offered to Sumerian gods and goddesses as part of worship rituals, asking the deity to protect the supplicant. What struck me immediately I saw these were the similarities with certain Hindu ritual offerings. On Diwali in Northern India, Hindus create a small temple of sorts at home and … Continue reading →

Chandigarh Carnival, six months ago – 3

These Rajasthani folk dancers are a recurring gig at the carnival. Whirling away…. A pinata come to life…? or a centaur…..? Either way you look at it, it’s a colorful, joyful celebration of life. The musicians..    

Colorful rides

Though the rickshaw (pedicab) is a common sight on Indian roads, the humble transport gets decked up pretty well for the Chandigarh Carnival. College students go crazy on papier mache – the results are thre for you to see. Characters from a Hindi cartoon show (Motu-Patlu I believe) Minions…..(I don’t recognize the fat guy riding … Continue reading →

Vintage – 3

A curious mix of British and Indian motifs for an emblem. I don’t know which maharaja it belongs to, but I found it uniquely Indian still….

Vintage – 1

There was a vintage car show in Chandigarh some months ago (if you can call 25 odd cars a “show”). I loved these old beauties and these are 2 of those. I hope you like them too.

The First Spring – my (very long) review

It is difficult, when writing history, to stay distant from one’s own prejudices, our pet ideas, our personal viewpoints. This, of course, makes history organic and imbues it with a life that the sciences do not have. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why history never can become a science (which is a little ironic, … Continue reading →

Mundane Mondays #29

From another angle..

Ode to humanity (anon)

हम अंधेरी गुफाओं से निकले मगर रौशनी अपने सीनों से फूटी नहीं हमने जंगल तो शहरों में बदले मगर हमसे जंगल की तहज़ीब छूटी नहीं अपनी बदनाम इंसानियत की कसम अपनी हैवानियत आज तक साथ है तुम भी मजबूर हो हम भी मजबूर हैं क्या करें ये बुज़ुर्गों की सौगात है We left the darkened … Continue reading →

Mundane Mondays #26

Monotypes

I could never understand assumptions. I know, or have an idea about, why people make assumptions about everyone they meet. It’s an instinct. They want to categorize everything into neat little boxes. We have middling brains, for a middling life and middling intellect for a middling understanding of the world around us. Hence the need … Continue reading →