Rodevra Republic

In Zen teaching, a single gesture may convey what words cannot In the 13th century there lived a Zen master, Mumon Ekai , who compiled forty-eight koans, or lessons, which he presented to his students during their training. One such lesson is “Gutei’s Finger,” and it goes as follows. Whenever he was asked a question about Zen, the master Gutei would simply raise one finger. A young attendant boy began to imitate him. When visitors asked the boy what his master had taught about Zen, he too would raise his finger in the same way. When Gutei heard of the boy’s mischief, he seized him and cut off his finger with a knife. As the boy screamed and ran out of the room, Gutei called out to him. When the boy turned his head back toward the master, Gutei raised his own finger. In that instant, the boy was enlightened. The question then arises: what was the significance of Gutei raising his finger every time he was asked a question about Zen? And more importantly, how did the boy suddenly attain ...

Astronauts returning from lunar walks reported that moon dust carried a distinctive smell—like burnt gunpowder Now that a rover from a lunar lander has begun exploring the Moon, a natural question arises: what does the place smell like? When we enter a new environment, one of our first sensory contacts is often through smell. It sends subtle signals that tell us we are truly present in that place. The scent becomes part of memory, anchoring the experience in a deeply personal way. Nothing is more primordial or deeply rooted than the sense of smell. Some scientists believe this is because smell is one of our most ancient senses. It reaches back to the earliest stages of evolution, when single-celled organisms interacted with the chemicals in their environment. In that sense, smell has the longest evolutionary history of all our senses. Astronauts who walked on the Moon reported that lunar dust smelled like spent gunpowder , as though someone had just fired a carbine. Yet this is puzzlin...

Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron It is one of the most unusual and unlikely modern romantic stories that prove the power of love. They are one of the world’s most intriguing political couples. The taboo-breaking, generation-spanning romance between Emmanuel Macron, President of France and his wife, Brigitte, 24 years his senior and his former drama teacher, has captivated people across the globe. The fascination with the woman, who left her first husband, father of her three children, for one of her students who would one day become the president of France, is endless. When they got married in 2007, Brigitte was 54 and Emmanuel 29, then a financial whizkid whose name was starting to appear in newspapers. They got married in the same town hall in the seaside resort of Le Touquet where she had married Andre-Louis Auziere, a banker, 33 years earlier. She was just 21 that time. When Brigitte met Macron, her son, Sebastien, was slightly older than him and Laurence the same age. But he has m...

Girish Chandra Ghosh, the colourful playwright who became one of Sri Ramakrishna’s most devoted followers Here is a story that tells us that a spiritual life goes far beyond outward appearances and conventions. This is the story of Girish Chandra Ghosh, the legendary playwright, actor, impresario and bohemian, whose colourful life and unconventional ways shattered the societal norms of his time. But Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa saw something very different in him. He said to Girish, "You see only your outer life and what you are doing outwardly, but inside you there is so much divinity and love for God." Girish was astonished. He replied, "I am living such an undivine life and you see so much purity and divinity in me! And love for God! If I had even an iota of love for God, would I be leading this kind of unspiritual life? Absolutely not!" Sri Ramakrishna insisted, "No, no, I am seeing it! I am seeing it!" Girish’s role in life, it seems, was to demonstrate...

Two men, two kinds of love, one unforgettable life We all know of Amrita Pritam ’s tumultuous but unrequited love for Sahir Ludhianvi . Far fewer people, however, know of her long and deeply moving relationship with Imroz , with whom she spent the last forty years of her life. Their only commitment was an unspoken, unsaid and unconditional love for each other. “She lives her life like a flame — a dance of purposeful chaos. A weak man will try to dim her luminescence, but her soul mate will take pleasure in fanning the blaze.” That soul mate in Amrita’s life was Imroz. Amrita meant the world to Imroz. His acceptance of her was complete. When they met, Amrita was already married, a mother of two, and passionately in love with Sahir Ludhianvi. Imroz never insisted on marriage with Amrita, knowing that her earlier experience had been unhappy. Her children became “ours” for him. Imroz loved her intensely. According to him, “A person in love never asks why. A lover accepts everything abo...

Annie Ernaux, winner of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature, known for her stark and unsentimental style of writing The Nobel Prize for Literature in 2022 was awarded to Annie Ernaux. She is the first French woman to receive it and only the seventeenth woman since the prize was first awarded in 1901. The citation mentioned that the award was given “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.” You will notice the term used, “clinical acuity”, which is unusual. The reason lies in her style of writing, which she herself describes as “flat writing”. It is marked by a narration of facts, often hard-hitting, that make a statement against an oppressive society. In her work, Annie Ernaux consistently examines, from different angles, a life marked by strong disparities of gender, language and class. Her writing returns to her roots, where her father ran a small shop and the family struggled to manage with litt...

The colonial influence including the English sense of propriety, order, and social class, continues to haunt and bother us. All these become objects of gentle, minor satire in one of my favorite stories, "Rain" by Somerset Maugham. It is an incisive and even allegorical critique of the white man’s colonial impulse. The story begins off on simple terms. A ship headed to Apia is stranded near Pago Pago (Samoa) as a cholera epidemic is suspected and quarantine is enforced to prevent an outbreak. Most of the travelers are ordinary folks headed on business and personal trips. Our attention is drawn to two couples who are travelling First Class and feel that they are a cut above socially than the remaining junta. Robert Macphail is a good-natured doctor who prefers to take things quietly and not poke his nose in other people’s affairs. His wife tends to follow his lead. However the Davidsons are altogether different fish – they are missionaries who are on their way back to thei...

Freedom of expression — even when it takes a few extra words In some of the groups I am part of, there is a certain ease of interaction — a sense of camaraderie where conversation flows freely and humour finds its place naturally. In such an atmosphere, it is not unusual for members to gently poke fun at one another. On one such occasion, a few members took aim at my rather long messages. The intent, of course, was entirely light-hearted. Among the group were a few legal minds, including a judge. In the spirit of the moment, they suggested — somewhat mischievously — that I should pass a “judgement” on the matter. Taking up the suggestion, I responded in the only way that seemed appropriate. What follows is that “judgement”, shared here without revealing names. AAA v. XXX WhatsApp Group This is a case seeking enforcement of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. The petitioner challenges an arbitrary limit imposed on the length of posts in a WhatsApp group, co...

A traditional depiction of Krishna and Uddhava in conversation — a reminder that divine wisdom often hides within simple encounters A small parable from the Krishna–Uddhava tradition about attachment and spiritual evolution. One morning, Krishna and Uddhava went on a walk and came across a rich man's mansion. Krishna said he was thirsty and asked Uddhava to fetch him some water from the rich man's house. Uddhava went to the house and asked for water. The man of the house invited them in, received them with respect, and offered them cool refreshments. Krishna was pleased and, once they went out, he blessed the man with prosperity and even greater riches. They continued their walk and came across a small hut, with a cow grazing nearby. Krishna again said he was thirsty and asked Uddhava to request some water. Uddhava suspected that Krishna might be up to one of his usual tricks, but Krishna reassured him that there was nothing amiss. Uddhava went and knocked on the door. An old y...

Moushmi Chatterjee in her heydey Moushumi Chatterjee — then and now — whose natural smile remained unchanged through her career These two pictures of Moushumi Chatterjee — one from her heyday and one from recent times — teach us an important lesson. You may be aware that she had gajadanta — slightly prominent or misaligned canines. But as you can see in the pictures above, she was one heroine who did nothing about them throughout her acting career. Yet it made no difference to her popularity. She remained a darling of Bengali audiences and of filmgoers elsewhere as well. There is a certain beauty in imperfection or incompleteness. Moushumi, as well as audiences everywhere, accepted her slightly misaligned canines. And by accepting things as they are, we are also accepting a kind of flawed beauty. Normally there is a relentless pursuit of perfection. When we come across something flawed, natural or raw like this, we pause for a moment and open up space for acceptance. By finding be...