The post explores the concept of "mythoscopy," which examines how traditional stories evolve over time, using the tales of Rāma and Krishna as focal points. It highlights Shabari's story within the Rāmāyana, showcasing its transformation from simple devotion to a powerful symbol of equality. This adaptability is crucial for enduring narratives.
The village clearing buzzed with murmurs as Bhaskar, the farmer, arrived, hefting his worn hoe over his shoulder. Thick-set and sun-darkened, he looked every bit the weathered laborer, whose strength and weariness were born of the soil. He was already tired of what he expected tonight—a ritual of tales and chants too fantastic for his … Continue reading Of Desire and the Ordinary: Tale of Vena and Prithu
Beneath the vast canopy of the banyan tree, Ratnakar stood with a grin, his friends crowding around him. They had watched him recast history as he saw fit, now catching a glimpse of the grandiose story he envisioned. “So, let me get this right,” said Arjun, chuckling. “Rama’s campaign across the Dakshina Desha will be … Continue reading The Making of a Legend
In the bustling courtyard of the Vishwanath Temple in Kashi, pilgrims and scholars gathered, their voices mixing in a vibrant cacophony. Aniruddha, a young monk in ochre robes, stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with conviction. “Shankaracharya teaches us that the world is an illusion!” he proclaimed. “Our true nature is one with Brahman!” Vidyadhar, a … Continue reading The Discourse at Kashi: Heretic or Saint
In the dimly lit scriptorium, a hush fell over a group of scribes gathered around palm leaves and pots of ink. The head scribe, Kumaraswami, held up his quill, his gaze drifting thoughtfully as he prepared to lead the transcription of Valmiki’s Ramayana. Yet tonight’s work held an unusual burden: recent orders from the court … Continue reading This May Not Be True
A quick piece on partisanship with an extremely opinionated and shallowly researched hypothesis, informed by reading comic books, history books and WhatsApp messages of smarter, surer batchmates of mine | Do read, comment and discuss. Share but beware! | Word Count: 1503 | Flesch Kincaid Grade Level: 5.7 |
Is mythology only about gods, goddesses, kings, queens and monsters? Ok... elves, dwarves, unicorns and fairies? What about textbooks? An experiment in academic mythoscopy. | Do read, comment and discuss. Share but beware! | Word Count: 1251 | Flesch Kincaid Grade Level: 4.3 |
After a few days of stalking the inter-web, a middle-aged person decided to speak up about a phenomenon. The phenomenon of "militant" methods of convincing. The phenomenon of increasing sightings of logical fallacy examples, in the wild. An arbitrarily long list of fallacies was drawn up with some dense language pasted for company. Under the able guidance of a more culturally clued-in friend examples were teased out of Bollywood. Click links for off-sever multi-media experience (Google and Youtube - Content not owned by us!) | Do read, comment and discuss. Share but beware! | Word Count: 5202 | Flesch Kincaid Grade Level: 7.1 |
In this fourth and final post of the No-Disrespect-Meant series, we finish (for now) the ill-advised adventure in perspective which started from the insidious chromatic racism of the Indian sub-continent. Do read up the others, if you could please. This works independently in a way, as it is much more direct than its elder siblings! We complete this unscientific and academically suspect analysis of the current forms of a few of the deities heading the Indian pantheon,especially the splendorous calendar art versions. At the end we leave you with an altered look at some well-known feats of skill which may or may not be memories of (not so improbable) genocide. Please note the weasel words used in the excerpt, to assuage any hurt feelings. In case you came for the song referenced in the title, link to the same available as a link within (Youtube – Content not owned by us!) | Do read, comment and discuss. Share but beware! | Word Count: 2523 | Flesch Kincaid Grade Level: 5.9 |
The adventure continues, in this third installment in a series of four posts. Do read up the others, if you could please. This works as a standalone as well, though the least "standalone-ish" of the four! We try to analyze the amalgamation of leading deities of one culture into the pantheon of another. This is supported by an ill-advised, and most probably erroneous, interpretation of the names and words. These may still be true in a particular iteration of the "multiverse". May be even in the one we are currently inhabiting! Oh. and we look into the extant calendar art forms of the Indian sub-continent. Just a teaser for the next post! In case you came for the song referenced in the title, link to the same available as a link within (Youtube – Content not owned by us!) | Do read, comment and discuss. Share but beware! | Word Count: 1719 | Flesch Kincaid Grade Level: 6.7 |
Random Mythoscopy 