Faith
Two great sages of high penance who are ‘kavis,’ that is, poets endowed with excellent poetic vision, are seen in conversation in the first chapter of the Valmiki Ramayana. Valmiki of austere penance asks Narada to tell him about that person who is of the highest admirable nature and even lists 16 specific qualities and attributes. Narada then brilliantly summarises the entire original Ramayana, believed to comprise 100 crore verses, in a mere 90 verses in the first chapter, said Sri R.
Faith
The Thevaram hymns are songs of devotion that are the outcome of divine inspiration and hence remain relevant to sincere devotees who wish to seek God. Among these, it is held that Siva graced and granted that the songs of the saint devotee Karaikal Ammaiyar would spread the cause of Saivism and foster Siva devotion among people, pointed out Selvi Lemuria Manickam in a discourse. From Sekkizhar’s account of her story, she emerges as a woman devotee with extraordinary viveka that makes her fully
History & Culture
A campaign to save Visakhapatnam’s 2000-year-old Buddhist site of Thotlakonda
Nivedita Ganguly Historians and biologists campaign to protect the ancient Buddhist site of Thotlakonda in Visakhapatnam, which is home to an estimated 90 species of birds
Art
Framing the festive cheer of Bihu in Assam
Prabalika M. Borah Using nostalgia as their guide, illustrators in Assam recreate Bihu customs to strike a happy chord