BS Murthy

      In the nature’s scheme of things, all men are shaped to husband any maiden, who in turn is endowed to become the wife of every man there is biologically speaking that is. But the marital selection by restriction, based on race, caste, creed etc. brought about a homogenous order for possible matrimonial harmony. Nonetheless, it put paid to the free leanings of the young hearts across those man-made boundaries (Sarat’s tragic tale of Devdas and Parvathi comes to mind) but despite its insensitivities towards the lovers, this social imposition, by and large, had been serving its marital cause rather well. But now, as the newly erected astrological hurdle, relatively speaking that is, in the form of matching the horoscopes for compatibility of the prospective couples in the Telugu marital course, I am familiar with (more or less same may be the case in the Indian panorama), is proving to be debilitating, its review seems overdue. As a teen privy to the matchmaking in t...

  Bhagvad-Gita : Treatise of self-help (Audio Book) The spiritual ethos and the philosophical outlook that the Bhagvad - Gita postulates paves the way for the liberation of man, who, as Rousseau said, ‘being born free, is everywhere in chains’. But equally it is a mirror of human psychology, which enables man to discern his debilities for appropriate redressal. All the same, the boon of an oral tradition that kept it alive for over two millennia became its bane with the proliferation of interpolations therein. Besides muddying its pristine philosophy, these insertions affect the sequential conformity and structural economy of the grand discourse. What is worse, to the chagrin of the majority of the Hindus, some of these legitimize the inimical caste system while upholding the priestly perks and prejudices. This rendition seeks to restore to the Gita, its original character by ridding it of hundred and nine interpolations, which tend to keep the skeptics away from it. And iron...

   Ravan's encounter with Seetha (An excerpt from  Sundara Kãnda: Hanuman’s Odyssey) Whereas Mahabharata's Bhagvad-Gita is taken as a philosophical guide, Ramayana's Sundara Kãnda is sought for spiritual solace; many believe that reading it or hearing it recited would remove all hurdles and usher in good tidings! Miracles apart, it's in the nature of this great epic to inculcate fortitude and generate hope in man for it’s a depiction of how Hanuman goes about his errand against all odds.          Besides, it portrays how Seetha, on the verge of self-immolation, overcomes despair to see life in a new light? With rhythm of its verse and the flow of the narrative this  sloka  to  sloka  transcreation of the canto beautiful of Valmiki's  adi kavya  - the foremost poetical composition in the world, Hanuman's Odyssey that paves the way for Rama to rescue his kidnapped wife is bound to charm the re...