RIFLE RANGE BOY

Fair dues warning: This is a spiritual post. Please leave if you are easily offended.  Krishna demolishing Kansa I heard a talk from a Hindu scholar recently. He was narrating the story of Krishna and the troubling times he was born into. Rather, the Protector of the Universe, Vishnu, manifested himself as Krishna to maintain law and order. Too many influential people were abusing their positions to create chaos, which needed to be curbed. Krishna 's immediate duty was to defeat Kansa, his uncle, a demonic King. Trouble started when Kansa married off his sister, Devaki, to Vasudeva. Deep inside, Kansa intended to usurp Vasudeva's land. At the wedding, a prophecy was heard that Devaki's eighth child would be the reason for Kansa's defeat. Kansa imprisoned the couple, and Devaki's seven children were all killed at birth. Why all the other births, too, not just the eighth? Somebody alerted Kansa that the seven siblings could rally behind the eighth to attack him. When ...

Ram Setu (2022) Director: Abhishek Sharma If I tell you today is Thursday, how do you really know that today is indeed Thursday? It is not good enough because yesterday was Wednesday, and tomorrow is Friday, as today is no different from any day. As we know, during the era of Pope Gregory, the Church realised it was missing a few days. It had overlooked the leap years and had to erase 10 days in 1752. So, for all you know, Thursday today could be a Monday. Well, the Hindus have the bragging rights to say their calendar says we are in the year 12,000, and they did not have to correct for errors and had had remarkable ways of calculating events. Even when the world was scared of venturing too far off on sea as they thought they would slip off at the edge of a flat earth, Hindu scriptures knew the planets were spherical structures. Scriptures say that Varaha, Vishnu's avatar, saved Earth from massive floods by placing the spherical planet on its snout. When it comes to stating events ...

Sampoorna Ramayanam (Complete Ramayana, Tamil;1956) (சம்பூர்ண ராமாயணம்) The epic of Ramayana has fascinated people for ages. It has been narrated for generations via oral traditions, print media, stage performances and the silver screen. As early as 1922, a silent film on Ramayana came out in cinemas. Before this 1956 Tamil version, Hindi and Telegu versions of Ramayana can be found. Many other editions since then, and now, at the time of cable TV, Ramayana has permeated into households regularly. There are many versions of Ramayana. Valmiki wrote the earliest one. Even Hanuman was concurrently writing his view on the occurrences of the day. With time, it evolved to Buddhist, Jain and South East Asian adaptations.  Valmiki's Ramayana is said to be the authentic text of Rama's life, but it ends with his coronation at the throne after his banishment to the jungles for 14 years and capturing Sita from Ravana. Other additions of vilification of Ravana as the classical ev...

Lost Loves  (Arshia Sattar; 2011) Exploring Rama's Anguish The question is whether the so-called divine scriptures are indeed infallible sacred decree or just mere guides for humanity to use as a precursor the complete the building block of life. Is it really God's orders or is it the human interpretation of what is best for mankind? I f the holy texts are indeed supreme, can it be deliberated or argued? We, the human race, used to live at a time when avenues were open for debates. Paradoxically, at this time and age when literacy is at its highest peak since the beginning of history, these doors are precariously shut. No place for questioning! Are the powers that be hiding something? I had always been under the impression t hat a King by the name of Rama as a human in flesh and blood, did actually walk on Earth. His subjects were have been awed by the dramas that revolved around the royal family. Their actions and decisions must have been closely watched by his cit...

Sita Sings the Blues (2008) Director: Nina Paley Since its first narration as way back as 7th century BCE and its additions over the centuries, it has fascinated many. The epic poem has been analysed, reanalysed and re-interpreted from so many angles. Ramayana continues to be a source of inspiration for many on Rama, the obedient son, the brother, the King, the husband, the warrior and the avatar of Vishnu Himself. This time around, this animated production looks for the epic from Sita's viewpoint, as a wife yearning for Rama's trust and acceptance. Using 1929 catchy blues songs by Annette Hanshaw as the main background score, the movie depicts a miserable Sita who yearns for Rama's love. Through no fault of her, she is accused of infidelity. Rama, the stoic king, is depicted as the cold-hearted husband who is more interested in reputation and living up the citizen's approval rather than standing up for his wife. Running parallel to the main storyline is the conte...

Hanuman and Suvarchala Credit: Pinterest I used to frequent temples quite a bit in my younger days. My mother probably thought that by loitering God's home, maybe He would take pity and throw a bone to us to chew. She must have put her trust in God believing that He would not disappoint. Be it, Thaipusam, fire-walking ceremony or billy-goat slaughtering ceremony, she would be there, and I would be passively taken along. It was her sincere belief that through divine intervention, her children would live a better life than her and that God would peel open the inner eye of Consciousness. We still await but hope, but we cannot say we did not get in abundance. But what is too much and when is it enough, anyway? As a child, my mind used to wonder a lot. Rather than doing the things I was supposed to do, I found pleasure as an observer of things and people around me. Sometimes, I ask myself what they thought and why they did the things that they did. Occasionally, Amma gives exp...