Rodevra Republic

Sankhya is one of the oldest systems of Indian philosophy, and its purpose is not merely abstract speculation but clarity about the nature of reality. It asks a simple yet profound question: what in our experience is changing, and what is unchanging? By learning to distinguish between these two, Sankhya offers a practical key to inner freedom. The following dialogue explores how this ancient insight applies to everyday life and how it connects with the broader teachings of the Bhagavad Gita . Q1. From what I understand, Sankhya is not abstract speculation but a system of philosophy that gives a “working knowledge” of reality. The question then is: is it just a conceptual framework given at the start of the Bhagavad Gita? Ans.1: Sankhya helps one clearly distinguish between what is transient (Prakriti) and what is permanent (Purusha). In daily life, this means not becoming completely entangled in the constant flux of emotions, possessions, or circumstances, knowing that they belong ...

A simple plea that echoed far beyond the workhouse walls Enactment of the line, "Please sir, I want some more." from the Broadway musical  "Oliver!" Think some of of you may have found this solitary line quite unusual. I had been working on the "Saturday Art" post, where I was this time giving how a piece of celebrated literature is the result of an author's artistry with words. The particular reference is to Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist.  Oliver Twist's famous request for more food, “Please, sir, I want some more." , is one of the most iconic moments in Charles Dickens' novel. This scene occurs early in the book when Oliver, an orphan in a workhouse, dares to ask for an extra portion of porridge, shocking the authorities. From a literary perspective, Dickens uses this moment to highlight the cruelty and neglect of the Victorian-era workhouse system, which was meant to provide for the poor but instead subjected them to near-starvation...

Frank Hurley's actual photograph capturing the defining moment of the expedition Today's story is about Ernest Shackleton, being one of the most famous survival and leadership tales in history and the advertisement he placed for his mission. Shackleton was a British explorer who led the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914, aiming to cross Antarctica via the South Pole. However, his ship, the Endurance, became trapped in the ice and was eventually crushed, forcing Shackleton and his crew into a desperate struggle for survival. The story is often quoted in corporate and leadership programmes as it provides excellent examples of crisis management, resilience, and people-first leadership. In fact in our company, one of our top group managers had told his story and ever since it has remained in memory.  Most of you may be knowing about Shackleton’s survival story, as a lot has been said and written about it. What I give here as part of my Sunday Story, is one other aspect re...

“Spring" by John Lavery (1856 – 1941) Looking at the title of the painting, ‘Spring’, one would have expected the warm and vibrant colours associated with spring such as yellow, green or pink, however the painting here is predominant white. Even the walls and floor are almost colourless in grey. The only and perhaps the strongest association with spring is the bouquet of “baby’s breath” flowers held by the girl. These tiny white flowers on thin, wispy stems are typically spring time flowers, flowering from early spring to summer on the European continent. The question remains on why Lavery, who was known for rural naturalism and his sophisticated landscape paintings, painted this supposedly ‘Spring’ picture that has almost a monochrome tone to it.  The answer could be the period in which he painted it.  The year was 1904 and it was the gradual decline of Realism and emergence of Impressionism/ Post Impressionism. A group of artists led by Claude Monet, Renoir, Edgar Degas revo...

In mist and memory, love lingers as a feeling, not a possession   🌸 Shadows of Love 🌸 There is a subtle expression, behind a curly fern. Calm in her eyes and poise in her looks... ...she swirls like the opening of a fern, to spread her locks and bring some shade. She is rich in her warmth, with a hug ... ... like the fern, tender and soothing in form. Little murmurs spread, like the freshness of her breath and tempt me like the fragrance, of a beautiful bud, spreading its scent. She strides away in the mist, of a newly lit dawn. Away but leaving behind a dream, that gives me life to sketch... ... her image with my pen! – SM ✍🏻📚 – Writers desk Sunil (SM), a dear friend send the above poem on our school Whatsapp group and in fact sends thought provoking and inspirational daily posts. I don't usually comment on them, but this one was striking and prompted me to review as below: Don't know how many of you have noticed what a wonderful poem Suni...

The immense transformative power of good company is often undervalued, but for one who desires to raise himself to his potential, one automatically gravitates to the right people in whose company one can further his progress. The important thing is intention and if it is there, the forces within and around us, will place us in the right company. After all, we are naturally disposed towards reaching out to our higher Self, but our predispositions and forgetfulness divert us.  In this context there is a remarkable and true story which was picturised in the movie, 'Do Ankhen Barah Haath'.  Six hard-core convicts were brought together in a farm in an 'open prison' experiment where the jailor wishes to transform them. He trusted them, treating them as humans capable of rising beyond their base nature to their higher self. He knew with the right environment and by instilling humane values, people can be transformed. The six convicts were eventually transformed to become produ...

Celebrating Womanhood through Sarojini Naidu Today's edition of Saturday Art features a poem. One may wonder how poetry fits into art, but poetry is very much an art form. Through words arranged in verse, a poet can express ideas, emotions, and experiences directly, much like a painting or a piece of music does. Poetry becomes artistic not only because of what it says, but also because of how it says it. The sounds of words, their rhythm, and their arrangement create a musical quality that can stir emotions in the reader or listener. To illustrate this, I am sharing the beautiful poem “The Bangle Sellers” by Sarojini Naidu . There is another reason for selecting this poem. Just a few days ago, on 13 February, we marked her 146th birth anniversary. Sarojini Naidu was not only a poet, but also an activist, freedom fighter, and one of the early voices speaking for women's dignity and identity in India. Below is a rare video that captures the personality of this remarkable woman....

A small word, often overlooked, yet powerful enough to shape how we think and speak When you are walking on the road, commuting, at a restaurant or in a public place, you hear random words and statements and while sometimes one gets useful snippets of information, the more entertaining part is getting to hear a rich mix of local speak. I was walking near Gowalia Tank yesterday when I heard two girls talking, where one of them put an unusual emphasis on the word 'and'. It was quite striking and made me think how loosely we use this simple little word, often taking it for granted. As it is, it is so overworked and we burden it more with our lazy approach in not finding the right alternative word. Its primary function is to act as a coordinating conjunction, meaning it joins two grammatically equal elements in a sentence, such as words, phrases, or clauses, to indicate that they are connected or should be considered together. However, do you know that one can actually do wit...

What we see may be only shadows—what we seek may be the truth beyond them I was sent this intriguing and fascinating picture with a request to throw some light on it. Here is my assesement of it: .  The dark and foreboding, even macabre picture instantly reminded me of Plato's Allegory of the Cave,  where prisoners are trapped and they know no life beyond the cave. A bright fire is burning in front which engages them in a way that they have no inclination to escape. They cast shadows and that becomes their reality because they have never seen anything else. As in the Plato's cave, there is the dog as well, as seen above.  To put it simply, it is an allegory of the world of illusion and perception, which does not always reflect the reality of truth.  If we relate it to our lives, we may be trapped in a world of narratives, which may be a false reality. Reality is but a construction and the world is only as big as we can imagine. Plato's Cave at its heart shows us this...

Swami Haridas sings in divine absorption as Tansen and Akbar witness the power of devotion in music We have seen many instances where disciples have risen to heights no less remarkable than their Gurus. A few examples come readily to mind: Nivruttinath and Dnyaneshwar Mauli, Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller, Guru Ravidas and Meera, Swami Haridas and Tansen. To reflect on this, there is a well-known story of Swami Haridas and his disciple Tansen. Swami Haridas, believed to be an incarnation of Lalita Sakhi, would sing devotional compositions to please Krishna, whom he lovingly called Shri Bihariji. As he played the vina and sang, he would become so deeply absorbed that he lost all awareness of the world around him. Tansen was his devoted disciple. When Emperor Akbar heard from Tansen about the extraordinary music of Swami Haridas, he wished to experience it himself. However, Swami Haridas had resolved to sing only for his deity, not for any worldly a...

Picasso’s Dove of Peace —a simple form carrying a timeless message It is a long way from the time when the dove represented the Holy Spirit, descending upon Jesus. Over time, it has come to embody peace and tranquillity—qualities that, when experienced deeply, tend to radiate outward. When an individual discovers peace within, they connect with a source that is both boundless and all-encompassing. Such peace is not contained; it expresses itself naturally, and those around can sense it. Peace finds expression in many forms—in art, music, dance, and literature. One of the most recognisable representations in modern art is the Dove of Peace , a lithograph created by Pablo Picasso in 1949. It has since become a universal symbol of peace. Picasso’s rendering is striking in its simplicity. With minimal lines and form, he captures the essence of the bird. The composition carries a quiet strength. While simple in appearance, it bears the imprint of his artistic language, with subtle echoes...

The thought does make one smile—perhaps a missed opportunity in naming. The word dentures comes from the Latin dens (tooth) and -ura (a set or result). A precise and functional construction, though not particularly imaginative. And yet, something as ordinary as dentures has found its way into history. George Washington, for instance, suffered from severe dental problems throughout his adult life. He endured constant discomfort—aching and missing teeth, inflamed gums, and ill-fitting dentures. His dentures were not wooden, as is often believed, but made from a combination of materials—human teeth, animal teeth, and carved ivory. Even then, they were far from comfortable. His altered jawline in portraits is often attributed to these dental challenges. He was known to be self-conscious about it and rarely smiled. One can only imagine the quiet endurance required to carry such discomfort while leading a young nation. It is curious how even the smallest and most personal aspects of...

There has been an old story doing the rounds on WhatsApp about Alfred Dunhill on how he came to be a leading tobacconist, with a moral in the end that states that whatever happens is for our good. My story is not to retell the story, as the story is itself apocryphal, but to give a literary perspective, and in the process derive a broader meaning than originally claimed. However, I need to first recount the original story that has been circulating: "A church in London had rules that it would not employ anyone, without formal high school education. The old pastor was benign and not a stickler of rules. He allowed Alfred Dunhill (who lacked formal education) as the caretaker to clean the pews, sweep the floor and keep the podium spick and span. Dunhill had put off taking his high school examination till it became too late. Once the old pastor retired, he was replaced by a younger person who followed the rule book. As he came to know about the caretaker’s education, he issued a notic...

The Abduction of Proserpina -  Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598-1680).  Carrara marble 225 cm (89 in) Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy. What you see here is a representation of the myth of Pluto, the God of the Underworld, abducting Proserpina and dragging her into his realm. In marble, Bernini captures the very instant of the abduction—the movement, the resistance, the struggle. Proserpina twists and writhes, her face contorted in anguish. There are tears on her cheeks. Pluto’s fingers press into her flesh with startling realism. It is not a pleasant story, but it is a brilliant rendering. What makes it even more remarkable is that Bernini was only twenty-three when he completed this work. We are accustomed to seeing intense emotion expressed in paintings. But here, perhaps for the first time, such raw emotion finds full expression in sculpture. Bernini’s style is dynamic, almost theatrical, and charged with feeling. This was a departure from what had come before. Take Miche...