My Random Essays

When the warm sun of autumn Turns leaves yellow, red and orange And the shadow of the sun Brings cool breeze The festival of dancing, The festival of Navratri Comes to the earth As the evening sun goes down And the night sky glows Young boys and girls Moms, Dads and aunts Neighbors, and strangers Come out in the streets Their beautiful pallu of saris Flutter in the wind While their feet move To the rhythm of drums Clap, clap, clap Round and round they go Swirling in their ghaghra Dripping with vibrant colors Yellow and red, Orange and pink. Blue, and green Rainbow of colors Splashing the shining light In the dark night Dots of lights Spike from the clay pot Sat in the middle Flickering in the wind Dancing in steps Tap tap tap tap Hands clap in harmony Khanak khanak, khanak Glass bangles jingle Red, yellow, blue, purple Violet, pink, marigold Plop, plop, plop Feet move in steps Silver bells of Jhanjhar Rattle on their feet Flick, flick, flick, the lantern shines in t...

Published in Boston Globe. Here is the link. http://www.boston.co m/news/local/article s/2006/11/30/communi ty_disorientation/ SUBURBAN DIARY Community disorientation By Meenal Pandya  |   November 30, 2006 For the last four years, I had dreaded the day when my youngest would leave the nest. I knew how much it would hurt not to have any child at home in my children-centric life of the last 20 years. I knew that I would miss them immensely, but I also knew that it came with the territory of being a parent. So when my youngest finally left the nest, I was somewhat prepared. But what surprised me was how much I missed the connection with the community around me. I had no idea to what degree my suburban life had revolved around my children's school and activities. But in retrospect, I should have known and expected this all along. When we moved into this house on a semi quiet street in a nice, tree-lined Wellesley neighborhood about 20 years ago, we did not kn...

If owning a home is  an American dream, why do we live most of it outside? Life happens. Just not at home anymore. Home, once an integral part of all the family activities, celebrations, reunions, and even major milestones such as birth and death is now more or less reduced to a place to sleep at night and a place to keep all of our belongings. Significant events of our lives seems to have moved out of our homes and into commercial buildings. Ironically just as our homes, by any measure, are getting bigger and our families are getting smaller, we seem to be sucking life out of our homes. Last week, our neighbors had a small party outside which went on till mid-night. We heard a lot of happy voices and as much as I enjoyed that happiness being spread around the neighborhood, I was concerned that some neighbor might complain that the neighborhood peace was disturbed. That reminded me how much I miss not having all the celebrations around me right where I live. ...

"Narayan, Narayan," said Narad as he entered the heavenly palace of Vishnu, perched on a serene sea resort. It was a beautiful day. The sun shone brightly, and a fragrant breeze carried a divine calmness through the air. Vishnu reclined gracefully on the Sheshnaag, while Laxmiji sat near his feet, exuding her usual serenity. "Narayan, Narayan," Narad repeated, his voice tinged with urgency. Vishnu smiled warmly at the sight of Narad and gestured for him to sit. He could see from Narad’s expression that something was troubling him. Knowing Narad well, Vishnu guessed it must be a matter concerning humanity—a recurring theme in their discussions. Over the ages, Narad had often arrived bearing news of earthly struggles. Yet, this time, Narad appeared even more worried—perhaps even confused. Vishnu waited patiently. He exchanged a knowing glance with Laxmiji, who rose gracefully to fetch fruits and sweets for their guest. After partaking of the divine hospitality, ...

Sita 2023 " Enough is enough", Sita said to Ram. He had just come from spending the night listening to his subjects and had heard a comment made by a dhobi - a washerman - which made him visibly upset.  Sensing his state of mind, Sita asked what was wrong. But when she found out the source of his disturbed mood, she was furious. She lamented,  "Enough is enough. I have been your wife of many years, I have traveled with you to the forest, I have dealt with the wrath of Ravana, and I have slept in Ashok Vatika - a public park- for months. I even went through a burning fire to prove my purity and love for you. Tell me what have I not done for you?" "Even in our palace in Ayodhya, I have three mothers-in-law to keep happy. Life is challenging. And now when you just hear a random comment by a dhobi, a common man, you are willing to let all of my sacrifices go and are thinking of sending me to a forest -especially when I am pregnant with the future king of this ki...

It is the college admission time in Hastinapur! Everyone in Hastinapur is nervous. It is well known that the College of Archery, taught by Dronacharya, is the top in the country, and admission into that college guarantees success in warfare. But getting admitted there is no easy task. Among many other students - including Kuru princes, Dronacharya's own son Ashwathama, and a young boy Eklavya - Soot Putra Karna was desirous to learn archery from the celebrated and well-regarded Guru Dronacharya. Karna's adopted parents - Adhiratha and Radha - were keenly aware of their son's ambitions, but they also knew that there were many huge hurdles in his way. Not only was there a steep competition to get into the school, but they also feared that they could not afford the high fees even if he got in. (And they sure did not have money to pay for that "extra weight" to their application). Karna, the ambitious, highly virtuous, and talented young boy, wanted to hear none o...

Modern Krishna's Bad Day Today, Krishna was under a great amount of stress. He had just opened the registered letter that arrived in the mail. It was from Radha - his childhood friend. His joy to see the letter from Radha after such a long time was short lived when he found out that the letter was really from her lawyer who had filed a harassment case. He had not seen Radha for over twenty years by now, he realized. Between his demanding job as the head of Dwarka and other responsibilities of his family, he rarely thought of Radha or his Gokul days. But of course, whenever he did think of either, his heart was filled with warm, nostalgic thoughts. He knew that he missed those days. But now everything about Gokul was rushing back into his memory. Thanks to Radha and her letter - well, actually her lawyer friend who had helped her draft the letter. All the details of those days were brought back into his memory. The letter clearly mentioned that Krishna had harassed her by steal...