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Book Review: On Philosophising, Philosophers, Philosophy and New Vistas in Applied Philosophy, by Dr. Sharmila Jayant Virkar

A little bit of context before you begin reading this book review. I have recently enrolled for an MA in Philosophy at the University of Mumbai. Philosophy is something I have been getting interested in, over the past few years, as those of you who have been reading my blogs and Instagram posts would know. During the pandemic, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do next, and this is what I eventually came up with. It has been a challenge, getting back into academics as a student at this age, especially in a subject I have no academic background in. However, it has also been very exciting, especially thanks to my wonderful classmates (who, surprisingly, are of all age-groups, including some quite near my own) and my teachers, who have been very supportive and understanding. How well I will do is something that remains to be seen, but so far, I am enjoying this new journey and look forward to where it leads. Now that you know the background , you probably get an idea of how
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Faces in the Crowd - Some unusual sellers of wares for Diwali

Happy Diwali everyone!!!! The roads are filled with people selling earthen lamps, kandeels, and firecrackers. But here are some traders selling some unusual wares for Diwali....

Brooms are considered to be a part of Lakshmi, since she only enters clean homes. There are some who pray to brooms at this time of the year, a sort of prelude to cleaning their homes! Gives a different thought to the festival, doesnt it?


These holy threads are part of the festival too, a part of the Lakshmi Puja. Sort of like what we do during Varalakshmi puja, people tie these threads to their wrist after performing their puja. Different names, similar rituals! 

Which festival is complete without sweets? Here is one selling sweets made of sugar

I clicked these images at a village on the way to Lonar last year, which is where we spent our last Diwali. This year, it a different kind of celebration for us.. Different, but no less interesting!

Once again, wish you all a very happy Diwali!!

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