The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
As weekends go , this last one was probably among the most hectic ever. What with the Earth Mela and a school reunion on Saturday and a birding walk early on Sunday followed by a visit to an exhibition, this weekend gave us no time to relax, and I am facing a sleepy week ahead! Earth Mela We had been looking forward to the Earth Mela , but were able to start only after lunch. We reached late in the afternoon, and spent some time wandering around the different stall with eco-friendly stuff and admiring the Warli art put up by a group called 'Matsya'. The BNHS and the Sprouts' stalls also had some very interesting stuff, and we returned with our arms full! Samhith especially enjoyed just running around the place, and I must say, the Maharashtra Nature Park is indeed a great effort by the authorities… to convert a garbage dump into a nature park, the nearest one can come to a forest in a place like Bombay, is a fantastic effort. I must also commend the efforts of Sprouts E...