Thought Lantern

  Today, on the auspicious occasion of Mahalaya we would like to showcase a reflection written by heart and words equally poured inside this reflection by Anushree Bhattacharya so let's see what she has to say in her reflection.  Title - Mahalaya Reflection  By - Anushree Bhattacharya  There is a nostalgic feeling that awakens the arrival of autumn in every Bengali  heart, no matter where in the world they might be. Long before the dhak (traditional drums) resonates through the pandals & before streets drape  themselves in a tapestry of festive lights, the air undergoes a serene, divine  metamorphosis. It carries the crisp, damp chill of early morning dew intertwined  with the sweet, honeyed scent of shiuli phool (night-flowering jasmine) blossoms  carpeting the green grass. For every "Bong," across the globe, this sensory  awakening culminates in a single, deeply sacred event: Mahalaya . It is not merely  a date on the p anjik...

    In the month of September we got our winners of essay writing competition of Lessons they learnt from the epic Ramayana and they have beautifully displayed this through their essays and today we will display them in front of you.  3rd Place Winner -  Krithika Sudarsanam  Unlike Mahabharata, Ramayana has few characters and its unique feature is that man can have cordial relationship with other living beings too.  The first and foremost lessons is the medians towards parents (biological or fostered) ones; simultaneously according to me and excellent example of sibling bondage: to site a few ones are volunteering of Lakshmana ( the  sibling )to go to forest. Bharata's (the third younger one) dedication and maturity towards respecting the seniority.   Despite Lord himself l being incarnated as a human, the lord followed and obeyed all the earthly rules such as obedience to parents and reverence to the teachers and Gurus.   Lord Rama maintaine...

   In the month of September we got our winners of essay writing competition of Lessons they learnt from the epic Ramayana and they have beautifully displayed this through their essays and today we will display them in front of you.  2nd Place Winner -  Bala Saraswathy DS  Our country is famous for its two epics: The ‘Mahabharat’ and the ‘Ramayana’. While  both the epics stick on to the precious gem of dharma, the ‘Ramayana’ holds significant  importance in the life of ordinary people. Many citizens have not understood this concept; but  actually the ‘Ramayana’ holds the basic rights and laws which should be followed by the  people. Compared to the ‘Mahabharat’, the ‘Ramayana’ is short and quickly palatable. Also  being Rama’s ‘ayan’ or Rama’s story, it also emphasizes the essence of Bhakti or Devotion. In the epic, not only Lord Rama, but also his devotees are depicted. The main characters  include Hanumanji, Vibhishana, Sugriva, S...

  In the month of September we got our winners of essay writing competition of Lessons they learnt from the epic Ramayana and they have beautifully displayed this through their essays and today we will display them in front of you.  1st Place Winner -  Writa Bhattacharjee  My first encounter with the Ramayana was as a child listening to the audiocassette for Chhotoder Ramayan (Ramayana for Children), which tells the whole story of the Ramayana through songs. So many of the songs stayed with me as I grew up, though the songs were not the only elements of the epic that stuck. Over the last few decades, I have read several other versions of the Ramayana in more than one language—from a portion of Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsham in Sanskrit to Devdutt Patnaik’s Story of Ram in English. With every book and every read, I have found something new to admire and learn from this epic tale of dharma vs adharma . Here are a few of those lessons. The first lesson, to put it in modern...

 In the month of September we got our winners of essay writing competition of Lessons they learnt from the epic Ramayana and they have beautifully displayed this through their essays and today we will display them in front of you.  1st Place Winner - Shikha Gupta  Winning Essay -   Title - The Lessons I Learnt from the Ramayana  "Never think your enemy is small or powerless." A very stark lesson clearly taught by the demon king Ravana in the epic Ramayana. In today's world of competitions and abductions, fights, and captures, epic Ramayana 'teaches us sacrifice to its extreme.'  We learn to respect our parents, elders and gurus as weightier than earth and heaven. "Attachment leads to desire and from desire arises anger" - lesson learnt by the activities of Ravana throughout the epic.  We can learn nothing from anywhere be it our life or Ramayana if we think that we are the right ones.  Lord Ram says, "I am with you always. I am the supreme an...

  Meet Sarah Tabin -  A 22 years old author who runs on coffee, daydreams, and the belief that love always finds its way. She chose to write 22 poems because 22 feels like a magical age where you are old enough to believe in love its like it's a Bollywood climax. Let's see what the author has to say in this interview.  Q1. What was the exact moment or thought that inspired the title What Love Could Be ? Ans 1 -  Honestly, the title came to me on my drunk birthday-night party. I was thinking about all the different ways I imagined love could exist, and suddenly What Love Could Be just felt right. It became the question behind the entire book. Q2. You write about love being “gentle without being fragile.” What does that distinction look like in real life? Ans 2 - To me, it means being soft without losing your strength. Real love can be tender, patient and vulnerable while still having boundaries, honesty and the courage to stay through difficult moments. Q3. The blur...