Author Archives: udaykumarvarma9834

Part II The tradition to relate to the dead and departed has been part of most civilizations. Halloween sanctifies it in a far more interesting and engaging manner. Therein lies the reason for its continued popularity.The Celtic end- of- summer festivals were marked by a sense of connect with the deceased friends and relatives, and for thoseContinue reading “HalloweenThe Festival of Superstitions”

How does a country that scoffs at superstition and boasts of a progressive temperament, celebrate a festival that commemorates the dead, the ghosts, the witches, the goblins and the evil spirits? Wearing costumes of the most weird, scary and terrifying varieties that disguise, scare, spook and thrill, Halloween is arguably the most popular festival second in importance andContinue reading “Halloween-A Festival That celebrates Superstition”

Indian Diaspora- Be Part of the Place, not VisitorThere is a sense of elation on Rishi Sunak becoming UK’s first Prime Minister of colour. His ancestors belong to India, though he is from Kenya. There was also a short-lived elation when Kamala Harris became the Vice-President of US. This sense of pride is not illegitimate but weContinue reading

John Keats called it a ’Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’; and Emile Bronte musically described,’ Every leaf speaks bliss to me; Fluttering from the autumn tree’. Robert Louis Stevenson referred  to the fire of autumn, ‘Flowers in the summer, Fires in the fall!’ , while Robert Frost mused,’Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold!’ Continue reading “Seven Lakes Drive: The Opalescence of Fall Colours”

( Lake Ascoti is one of the lakes among a cluster of seven lakes, located in New York state of USA. Celebrated for their scenic pulchritude and pristine serenity amidst a multi-dimensional gift of generous beauty, Lake Ascoti is the smallest but perhaps the most bewitching.) There spreads a sheet of glistening Limpid cool watersOr, isContinue reading “Standing on Lake Ascoti”

Israel occupies a unique position politically, culturally and economically in today’s complex configuration of nationalities. In less than a hundred years, a race which was more defined by its diaspora is now a country with a definite geography enjoying considerable international clout and standing.Unlike Chinese or Italian, Israeli cuisine is deemed possibly more esoteric. HistoryContinue reading “A Taste of Israeli Street Food”

‘Vessel’ is an architectural poetry, an imagination frozen in chrome, steel and glass, a riveting beauty that mesmerises you. This extraordinary centre-piece of Hudson Yards is a spiral staircase, a soaring new landmark.Taken up as a part of Hudson Yard Redevelopment Plan where a 5- Acre (2 Hectare) parcel of land was developed as HudsonContinue reading “Vessel-An architectural Art-Piece”

A Searing Search of SelfThe French writer Annie Therese Blanche Erneaux nee Duchesne gets the coveted Nobel for literature for 2022. It’s a culmination of a remarkable journey of life-long creativity, often of exceptionally introspective and astoundingly candid experiences. Her works are autobiographical and poignantly merge personal memory with collective third party memory. The otherContinue reading “Annie Erneaux”

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta” observed Federico Fellini, the celebrated, all-time great and influential Director known for his films that blended fantasy and baroque, and brought together beauty and earthiness. Whether pasta represents fantasy; or ornate, he never explained but to many like him the Italian food does offer an aspect ofContinue reading ““Eataly””

A Time for IntrospectionNavratri by any account is a celebration of demise and destruction of demons and demonic instincts. It is supposedly a triumph of divine over ungodly, good over evil, virtue over vice. Good and virtuous may be relative concepts and so may well be bad and evil. Yet, there is a continuity andContinue reading “Maya’s Manifestations”