Tides of Thoughts

Forests and Faeries by Srivalli Rekha My rating: 5 of 5 stars It is a nice collection of stories for mid-graders interested in thrillers. The stories bring back memories of the folklore we heard as kids. The choice of words by Srivalli makes the reading more interesting. When I read this for my niece who is in her third grade, she was fascinated with the characters and their narrations. View all my reviews

We all know about the famous incident of the liberation of Ahalya from the curse of Gautama by Rama in Ramayana. Right? When I asked what Sage Gautama's curse was to Ahalya in Valmiki Ramayana, I was not surprised by the answers.  It went with the popular belief that Sage Gautama cursed his wife Ahalya to become a rock. Most of us might know the background of the curse, but let me refresh the memory once before dwelling on whether the curse of becoming a rock is a myth or true as per Valmiki Ramayana. Sage Gautama was a great sage who did a lot of penance and was full of knowledge and wisdom. Ahalya was the wife of Sage Gautama. Ahalya was referred to as "Ayonijasambhava" in Valmiki Ramayana meaning that she was not born out of a mother's womb. It was mentioned that Brahma created Ahalya with all his artistic creativity making her the most beautiful woman. Having said that, Indra had a lust for Ahalya. One day, Sage Gautama went to bathe at a nearby creek. When Gauta

కోరికల చెరలోనున్న కైకేయి మాటలకు కానలకు పోయినాడు... వాడినేది అడిగేది...  తరుణి అని ఘోర తాటకిని చంప వెనుకంజ వేసినాడు... వాడినేది కోరేది... విశృంఖల వాలికి వరములిచ్చి వరియించినాడు... వాడినేది అడిగేది.  తాగుబోతు మాటలకు తనను నమ్మిన ఆలినీ విడిచినాడు... వాడినేది కోరేది... వర గర్వమున విర్రవీగిన రావణుడికి మోక్షమిచ్చినాడు... వాడినేది అడిగేది... జానకిని రక్షింప జూసిన జటాయువుని రక్షించలేనివాడు... వాడినేది కోరేది...  దీనిని "నిందాస్తుతి" అంటారు. ఇదేమి కొత్త ప్రక్రియ కాదు. రామదాసు కీర్తనల్లో "ఇక్ష్వాకుకుల తిలకా..." అనే పాట, సిరివెన్నెల సీతారామశాస్త్రి గారు రాసిన "ఆది భిక్షువు వాడినేది అడిగేది..." పాట ఇదే కోవలోకి వస్తాయి.  వాళ్లంతా మహానుభావులు. వాళ్లంత పరిజ్ఞానం లేకపోయినా నాకు తెలిసిన రామాయణంలోని కొన్ని ఘటనల ఆధారంగా రాసింది ఈ నిందాస్తుతి.  ఈ నిందా స్తుతి ఒక విచిత్రమైన ప్రక్రియ. పైకి నిందిస్తున్నట్టు ఉన్నా, నిందించే సమయంలో కూడా దైవ నామ స్మరణ చేసుకోవడం దీని లక్షణం. ఇక్కడ దేవుడ్ని నిందించడం ఉద్దేశం కాదు. ఈ రోజు ఉదయం ఏదో మాటల మధ్యలో సిరివెన్నెల గారి "ఆది భిక్షువు వాడినేద

Read Time: 5 mins 16 secs Inheritance tax - A tax name new to many Indians has taken a front seat as it was mentioned by the opposition party alliance during their election campaigning for general elections. It garnered attention as some people viewed it as a revenue source for the government and others looked at it as an additional tax burden for common citizens. So, let's look at what is it? Are there any countries implementing it? what are the benefits and drawbacks they are facing? and what it means to India?  Globally, 27 countries are implementing inheritance tax and the tax rates vary between 0-80%, the highest being in Belgium.  Continent-wise break up of countries having inheritance tax is as below Now coming to the definition, the definition of inheritance tax varies slightly based on the country we are referring to, but if we have to generalize, inheritance tax is a tax levied on a person when they inherit properties and assets in a territory governed by a country impos

Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence by Anna Lembke My rating: 3 of 5 stars The book gives some insights into the modern ways of being addicted to several thoughts, substances, and things. But it is just a study of a few subjects from the US and generalising it based on the author's observations. However, it is a good read to get introduced to some interesting scientific terms related to psychology. View all my reviews

   SABARI is one of the popular characters from the epic Ramayana. But have you ever considered whether the character of Sabari was mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana or not?  Here is an interesting Twitter post with the same question.  Out of 83 votes polled, 72.3% (60 out of 83) voted YES and 27.7% (23 out of 83) voted NO.  This question got very less traction. So, posting again. I request to those who come across this post to RT for maximum reach.🙏 Was Sabari mentioned in Valmiki Ramayana or not? — The Phoenix🐦 (@3011_ajit) January 3, 2024 Now, we will see whether there is a mention of Sabari in Valmiki Ramayana or not. Balakanda Sarga-1 of Ramayana starts with Sage Narada narrating the characteristics of Lord Rama to Valmiki and in the process of explaining the characteristics, Sage Narada mentions all the important events in Lord Rama's life.  One such event was the killing of Kabanda,  मार्गमाणो वने सीतां राक्षसं सन्ददर्श ह । कबन्धन्नाम रूपेण विकृतं घोरदर्शनम् ।।1.1.55।। Me