A lot of ancient knowledge is codified in rituals. Some of it may have become obsolete over time or got embedded in new forms.

Have I made an effort to go to the source to understand it before retrofitting it in a contemporary framework? Is the critique pursued with integrity?

To see the grain of truth (or to disqualify it from being true), if one can deconstruct rituals, one must be willing to shed layers of one’s own self too.

Which is why this system of knowledge-seeking lays emphasis on intent.

The non-existent ‘Global Hindutva’ is being dismantled by American and Indian academics on the day the twin towers of WTC were brought down by existing global jihadis.

While,

one last Hindu remains in Afghanistan;

1/n more than a crore Hindus have had to leave Bangladesh due to persecution and discrimination (acc to a study by Prof. Abul Barkat, Dhaka univ);

Hindu women are being raped and converted in Pakistan;

2/n

There is a prayer in the book of seven hundred verses dedicated to Maa Durga (Durga Saptshati) - the 'Kshama Prarthana', the payer that seeks forgiveness. This prayer often concludes a ‘havan’ or a ‘paath’. I don’t remember when it became a part of my everyday set of prayers. The practice began with aping the elders during the family or community prayers. It was encouraged too, "Look, how beautifully she recites the verses at this age!"

I was in a dilemma whether to share a personal experience or not, but if it helps someone who is considering this profession, it will be worth it.

Some of us who are branded as one show/film wonders or ‘failed’ actors, voluntarily choose to disengage with this industry. Or, we choose to engage with it completely on our terms. Some of us find spaces other than acting to still work here. Spaces which allow us our dignity.

This is not a comment on the hard work that actors put to reach where they are.

The monopolisation of ‘empathy’ in the Liberal Arts discourse leads to some observations. It’s good to repeat them even if they are ubiquitous.

The stream uses empathy to legitimise a discourse and a narrative which is selective and not liberal. A majority of the stream’s practitioners find themselves ill-equipped to believe that the rest of the world can be empathetic too. So, fundamentally this liberal discipline actually makes you illiberal.

Over the years, I have realised that some of what I have known as idealism is actually avidya. My notions of war and peace have been simplistic. A slow and steady quest for truth has shown the way. Ahimsa is a lofty goal. But if we see, Ashtanga Yoga talks about ahimsa at the level both, the thought and the action. As long as there is maya, there will be many pravrittis. There will be forces to destabilise the world and there will have to forces to quell that disruption.

I really believe empathy to be the highest virtue. I have wanted to believe that there is a way for faiths to live together amicably. But, I think I have been living in a fool’s paradise. While the rest of the country is following the orders of the government, do we have to be at the mercy of the religious leaders of one community to ask their people to behave responsibly?
Is the onus of following rules only on other communities?

There is an entire repertoire Awadhi folk songs - Sohar, Biraha, Chaiti, Mandap, Gaari, Vidaayi - on Shri Rama's life.

The following song is sung by the womenfolk on the second day of a wedding in Awadh. The women are checking out and teasing the bridegroom and his friend/s.
1/3 फुलवरिया में आयी बहार भंवरवा रस लूटे
राम लखन फुलवरिया में पहुंचे
मलिया लगावे गोहार भंवरवा रस लूटे

These lines allude to the episode when Shri Rama and Lakshman visit the garden in Janakpur for Sita-Swayamvara. The entire town including Sita and her friends are enchanted.