India
The Great Ganesh Milk Miracle
The news of the Great Ganesh Milk Miracle was dissected in every newspaper and every household. No one could talk of anything else.
On Not Leaving Kashmir
The boatman barely flicked his wrist, yet we moved forward in a terrifically straight line. How was he doing it?
The Dark Side of the Festival of Lights
I knew something was changing in India when I arrived for Diwali about ten years back and some of my nephews were boycotting the five-day Hindu Festival of Lights. While subtler forms of light are used too—a cascade of clay oil lamps illuminating sets of stairs—firecrackers are the big attraction in this annual commemoration of good over…
In the Courtyard of the Beloved
In my travels through Delhi, I have passed through the area of Nizamuddin a dozen times. I have snuck in the back way to Humayan’s Tomb and run along its looming stone wall, climbed up its dark staircases to the towers above. I have lugged baggage up and down the Nizamuddin railway platform, coming and…
Judgement for Ayodhya
Today, the Allahabad High Court in Lucknow, India announced its decisions in the Babri Masjid case, the controversial site that both Muslims and Hindus lay claim to in Ayodhya. Among other questions, the three-judge panel was determining whether the controversial site was indeed the birthplace of the Hindu Lord Ram. Sopan Joshi, of the Indian newsweekly Tehelka…
The Day Mumbai Unraveled
We’re pleased to share in celebrating the success of NonProphet Status’ Share Your Secular Story essay contest. This is the second of two winning essays that we’ll feature here on the KtBlog. by Vandana Goel LaClair Tied Winner, Interfaith category This is a story that begins in Mumbai, India. You see, Mumbai, my birth city,…
Unseen Movie/Unread Book Review: Eat Pray Love
I recently saw a commercial for the movie Eat Pray Love. I said, “This is the sort of thing that makes me embarrassed to be a white lady, just like Sex and the City does.” Because Julia Roberts is all oh man, I’ve been too busy with husbands and life partners to find out who…
