Tag Archives: English

Who Broke Kanishka’s Head?

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Image source: Wikipedia

In a story published in Bengali magazine Anandamela, a child used to boast about the various precious items in his grandfather’s house. His friend remarked, ‘Who knows, if he searches carefully, he may even find Kanishka’s head!’

Kanishka’s head — one of the several unsolved problems in Indian history. I hesitate in calling it a ‘mystery’ because there is no mysterious element or secrecy as such. So if you are expecting something sensational, you might be disappointed. The problem is a very simple one, and is most probably due to missing links and lost history. Some day someone may find valuable information that would bring the missing pieces together and complete the picture. Till then, we would have to wait.

Continue reading

Is Reading Habit Really Declining?

27818904945_3d58104f28_nA well known publisher once expressed his concern about the declining reading habit these days. He seemed to be extremely worried and started a discussion on Facebook asking how to encourage reading habit. Some people gave very good input. The discussion was over in a few days — the usual lifetime of any Facebook post. However, couple of months later, the publisher posted the same query once again! This time nobody replied to him. Continue reading

When You Fight, The Whole World Watches

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Disputes, arguments, altercations are quite common in international cricket matches. As a child, I enjoyed such incidents even more than the matches! Even today, now and then I stop by YouTube and watch videos of such past fights. They are so funny! I also notice that such videos usually get more than 50-60 thousand views. Continue reading

Do Surnames Carry Signatures Of Migration?

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Surname is a very involved subject, which encompasses caste, profession, language and native place. For example, you need not be told where your colleague Bandyopadhyay hails from or why your neighbour Agarkar is not a Bihari. As long as surnames are unique — Rao, Gowda, Chaturvedi, Mukherjee or Kulkarni — everything is fine. However, whenever there is an overlap — obvious or apparent — new questions arise. An example could be Trivedi. Today we would discuss few such cases. Note that here our aim is not about the classification and nomenclature per se, nor do we attempt at understanding the logic behind surname and its distinction from Jati, Varna, or Gotra. Here we are only concerned with the migration or movement of people as reflected in their surnames. Continue reading

Tunneling Through The Language Barrier With Voice Over Artists

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P. Ravishankar gave voice to Sonu Sood to create Pasupathi, the epitome of terror, in the movie Arundhati. Photo source:- P. Ravishankar: Alchetron, Sonu Sood: Pinterest, Sonu Sood in Arundhati: YouTube.

After handing over the items to me, the shop assistant turned to his colleague and in a low voice said:

Dangerous Khiladi. That is the title. Watch it.

I was startled, and looking at him, asked –

— Have you seen it? Continue reading

I Know What Were You Doing In Office Today!

32192877336_c0f4bc60db_nRoutine annual inspection of our school went well and smoothly. After the education inspector left, the teacher asked our class –

— So, how was it?

Everybody said “Fine madam!”, but one girl remarked –

— Madam, I think they should have done a surprise inspection, then only they would have known the correct picture. Otherwise everything here is planned and prepared — questions, answers, reading, everything — how would he know the truth? Continue reading

How Modern Art Is Different From Traditional Art

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The Scream, by Edvard Munch, 1893. Image source: Wikimedia.

In an amusing short story, Satyajit Ray narrated a funny incident in the life of an artist. This artist had worked for several days on an oil painting that he titled ‘The Somnambulist’, and which he wanted to submit as his entry in a competition sponsored by the Academy of Fine Arts of the state government. On the last date of submission, instead of sending his painting, by mistake he dispatched the cloth that he had used to wipe and clean his brushes. However, the organizers considered that dirty cloth to be a modern art work and selected it for the first prize!

For most of us, this incomprehensibility is the underlying criterion for any work of art to be classified as ‘modern art’. It goes to an extreme that whenever we fail to understand any artwork, we label it as modern art! Continue reading

Book Review : ‘The White Marble Burzi And Other Stories’ By Sharat Kumar

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In the fast paced life of these days, it is getting more and more difficult to devote time for literature. Under such circumstances, short stories come to our rescue, and by their peculiar format, provide us means to stay in touch with literature, and satiate our aesthetic and intellectual needs. The advantages brought by short stories are two fold. First, there is a sense of achievement as we can complete reading each piece in whatever time is available to us. Secondly, just in case the work is not up to our expectations, the time and effort lost would be less as compared to that in the case of novels. These are some of the reasons why I am attracted towards short stories in different languages, and from different cultures. Continue reading

A ‘Small’ Word Leads To A Long History

11I have always wondered whether the English word ‘nano’ has its origin in the Gujarati word nanu (નાનું = small) — the similarity is indeed remarkable. To explore the idea further, I opened the Merriam Webster dictionary and found that it is not so. The English word ‘nano’ has its origin in the Greek word nanos, meaning ‘small’ or ‘dwarf’. Continue reading