A single mustard-and-maroon saree becomes the thread weaving together generations of memory. As a mother recounts its journey - from saree to half-saree, curtain, cushion cover, and album cover—her daughter discovers how fabric can carry family history. Each transformation holds laughter, sisterly love, and the ingenuity of making do with what one has. In the end, the saree becomes more than clothing - it becomes a living archive of relationships, creativity, and continuity.
Latest Posts

Inventing the Oppressor: Social Theory and the Logic of the UGC Regulations
Aryan Anand argues that the debate around the recent UGC guidelines has remained confined to immediate political reactions, ignoring the deeper intellectual frameworks shaping such policies. Drawing on strands of critical social theory, he contends that contemporary policy increasingly operates through rigid oppressor–oppressed binaries. Applied mechanically to the Indian context, this framework risks misreading the complex realities of caste and society. Anand suggests that policies built on such assumptions may ultimately deepen social divisions rather than address them.

Gaffe or Gambit – Did A R Rahman Cross a Line While Keeping Within Others?
Was A.R. Rahman’s reference to a “communal thing” in Bollywood a careless gaffe—or a calibrated signal within a larger minority-progressive discourse? Situating his remarks within a broader pattern of celebrity secularism, this essay argues that selective invocations of intolerance often coexist with studied evasions on questions of history, identity, and civilizational memory. Rahman’s diplomatic silences—on Aurangzeb, on cultural politics, on ideological alignments—appear less accidental than strategic. The result is a familiar cycle: grievance, outrage, clarification, and international amplification. At stake is not merely celebrity speech, but the narrative framing of Hindu-majority India itself.

Inside the Temple Crisis: Governance and Preservation Challenges
Across India’s temple towns, rising tourist footfall, evolving governance structures, and new revenue models are reshaping how sacred sites are administered and preserved. Temples, once self-sustaining civilizational institutions, are increasingly treated as revenue-generating assets, with properties sold, offerings monetized, and darshan commodified. Rema Raghavan writes that this commercialization displaces local communities, erodes ritual continuity, and weakens the organic moral oversight once provided by resident devotees. As temples transform from living centers of worship into tourist spectacles, the intimate bond between deity, devotee, and community frays. Restoring temples as civilizational epicenters, she argues, requires accountable governance, empowered local participation, and an uncompromising commitment to ritual and heritage preservation.

An Air of Social Doom: Political Propaganda Passed off as Moral Messaging
This article by Sriram Chellapilla, the fifth in a series of essays on the subject, argues that celebrity anguish over press freedom, NGOs, and society functions less as moral concern and more as selective political signaling. Using Naseeruddin Shah’s statements as a framing device, the author exposes how unelected NGOs, opaque media ownership, and celebrity activism often mask ideological agendas behind the language of freedom. Chellapilla contends that scrutiny of NGOs and media is neither new nor authoritarian, having been pursued by successive governments. What is troubling, he argues, is the hypocrisy of invoking free speech only when aligned with preferred politics, while remaining silent on censorship and intimidation by “secular” regimes.
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Uttiramerur – Democratic tenets inscribed on stone
The practice of stone inscriptions by the Pallavas and Cholas at Uttiramerur is one of the great legacies of that era.
Epitaph for the Ayodhya affair
Professor Meenakshi Jain's new book, 'The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya', is a definitive and scholarly guide to the biggest controversy of the early nineties, which totally changed the dynamics of Indian politics.
Decolonising the Indian Education System – Why Our Approach is Flawed
Recent efforts to decolonise the Indian education system, particularly through rewriting NCERT textbooks, focus on reclaiming India's intellectual heritage by infusing indigenous knowledge into the curriculum. However, merely altering content without changing the deeper intellectual foundations upon which it rests will only result in superficial change. True decolonisation demands a shift from western frameworks of how we teach, learn and evaluate knowledge, to genuinely embrace India's philosophical and cultural traditions at every level of education.
Madhya Pradesh – A History
A region which has been overlooked in modern India; Madhya Pradesh has a rich history that deserves to be explored.
The hunchbacked goddess
Kubjikā̄ Mata, whose sadhana has nearly vanished from the popular Shakta practice owing to the secretive nature of the path, is a powerful form of the Devi whose grace greatly accelerates the progress of the serious sadhaka.
Dharmic Knowledge: Essence and significance in the modern age
The lack of understanding of Dharmic knowledge and its gradual dilution has left a void in our society which has been filled by self-proclaimed experts who act as scholars.
The Divine Tree of Bharat – A Review
Dr. Pingali Gopal writes a summary-review of Achanta Nagarjun's recent book "The Divine Tree of Bharat". In the book, the author delves into the timeless values of Sanatana Dharma such as interrelatedness and harmony that permeate the land of Bharat. Drawing from ancient texts and metaphors, Nagarjun counters Western narratives of a "primitive ancient India", highlighting the enduring achievements of Indian civilisation in arts, science, and spirituality. While critiquing the impact of colonial and Marxist distortions, the author calls for a revival of cultural pride and knowledge, essential to preserving the essence of Bharatiya identity amidst modern threats.
The Real Cost of Leather: Chamars, Cow, and Colonialism
The blame for the poverty and hardships faced by communities like Chamars and Mahars in present-day India is placed at the door of the 'caste system' and more specifically, the moral failings of so-called upper-castes (savarnas). A deeper and sincere investigation into the past and present of the global leather industry destroys the carefully crafted myth.
Ayodhya - Strategic Short-sightedness
The Ram Mandir project can only be deemed successful if it brings about a movement to reclaim, revive and restore all the temples that were destroyed by the invaders.
The problem of evil – A Vedantic perspective
The problem of good and evil stems from a dualistic view of the Universe that sees the creator as a separate benevolent being personally dispensing justice from the heavens.
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Meditation, Yoga and Science
A modern scientific understanding may help people understand the 'Singularity' which Indian yogic masters have been talking about for centuries.
Recollecting a near forgotten Exodus
The exodus of Indians from Burma was a grave human tragedy whose story deserves to be told.
Dharmic view on Interfaith Dialogue and Coexistence
**Disclaimer: Neither this piece, nor its author feigns possession of any insight whatsoever into the realm of the mystic, where...
Why are the French angry?
The French hold liberal views about most things in life including religion, are secular and love to discuss Sartre and Camus. This time when I spoke to them, it was different. The mood, the tone was not what I had experienced in a long time
On The Classification Of Indic Languages
Several theories have been proposed to understand the evolution of languages but most fall short due to their Eurocentric bias as well as the false notion of comparing it with genetic evolution.
How science meets spirituality to co-create the New Age
The possibilities are endless as modern science and spirituality come together to usher in a New Age.
Hinduism in a Postmodern World – III
The need to deconstruct Indian thought has led it to be defined in silos which goes against its essential nature.
Gaffe or Gambit – Did A R Rahman Cross a Line While Keeping Within Others?
Was A.R. Rahman’s reference to a “communal thing” in Bollywood a careless gaffe—or a calibrated signal within a larger minority-progressive discourse? Situating his remarks within a broader pattern of celebrity secularism, this essay argues that selective invocations of intolerance often coexist with studied evasions on questions of history, identity, and civilizational memory. Rahman’s diplomatic silences—on Aurangzeb, on cultural politics, on ideological alignments—appear less accidental than strategic. The result is a familiar cycle: grievance, outrage, clarification, and international amplification. At stake is not merely celebrity speech, but the narrative framing of Hindu-majority India itself.
The Sword of Kali by Chittaranjan Naik: Part 1
Dr Pingali Gopal encapsulates an old debate about the nature of Hinduism.
The Beautiful Tree and Putana’s milk
A brief view of the history of education in India, the impact of Christian education and the attitudes that it inculcates.
Kashi Corridor – From Spirituality to Materialism
Treating temples as just another structure that can be replaced is to give in to the adharma of disregarding and offending the divinity that resides within them.
‘The Curse of Gandhari’ by Aditi Banerjee: A Review
Rohan Raghav Sharma reviews Aditi Banerjee's book titled: "The Curse of Gandhari"; and takes us on a journey through the plot, while analysing the construction of the narrative alongwith his understanding of the author's thoughts and approach.
