The evening I left Manikarnika, I imagined I was leaving a place. In the days that followed, I realised that I had carried it along with me. The smells that had assailed me faded quickly. The sounds of Varanasi receded into memory. Yet the questions raised by that ancient cremation ground remained stubbornly alive. TheyContinue reading “The Gift of Manikarnika”
Tag Archives: death
Manikarnika: Where Fire Becomes Eternity
I arrived at Manikarnika as the sun was preparing to leave the sky. The evening light had begun to soften the hard outlines of Varanasi. As I walked through the city’s labyrinthine lanes, Kashi displayed all its familiar contradictions at once—pilgrims and shopkeepers, temple bells and motorcycle horns, saffron-clad ascetics and foreign visitors, all sharingContinue reading “Manikarnika: Where Fire Becomes Eternity”
A Waltz of Falling Blossoms-A Poem
(The first time I saw the white blossoms of the Caribbean Trumpet Tree twirling down in the gentle air, I was transfixed. They floated effortlessly, as if reluctant to leave the branch, yet yielding gracefully to the inevitable pull of the earth. There was no struggle, no resistance—only a quiet, mesmerizing descent. For a moment,Continue reading “A Waltz of Falling Blossoms-A Poem”
How Would I Like to Go?
Death is a morbid subject. Few amongst us welcome it, and for most, it remains an uneasy thought, especially in youth. In our younger days, the prospect of dying is effortlessly dismissed, buried beneath the boundless vibrancy of life. Yet, as Yudhishthira’s profound response to Yaksha in the Mahabharata reminds us, death is the ultimate paradox: दिनेContinue reading “How Would I Like to Go?”
scribo ad LX 