Tomichan Matheikal's blog

The less we know, the easier it is to assume our identity.  It is much easier to perceive ourselves as Indian or Pakistani or Hindu or Muslim than to understand the complex range of crucibles and forges which gave shape to most people’s identities on the planet called the earth.  The more we know, the more ridiculous re-conversions and identity arrogations become. Who was an Indian before India became an independent republic?  How did the Indian become a Hindu, a Muslim, a Sikh, or whatever?  What about the increasing number of agnostics and atheists in the country?  What about other identities which may be more important to certain individuals such as feminists, environmentalists, or even Maoists?  If I travel back in time and see the entire history of my ancestors, what will my identity be?  Will I see myself as a person whose helpless ancestor was forced to convert (or re-convert) to some religion by an emperor or his/her given situation...

Was Hanuman the first space traveller?  Did Ravana’s ten heads give him the intelligence and skills required to make an aeroplane?  Did Lord Ganesh receive his elephantine tusk through plastic surgery in an ancient All India Institute of Medical Science? If you answer ‘yes’ to all such questions you are eligible to present a science paper in the 102 nd Indian Science Congress being conducted by Mumbai University.  “One paper, co-authored by Captain Anand Bodas, retired head of a pilot training centre, and Ameya Jadhav, a teacher, claimed there was evidence of ancient aviation in the Rigveda,” says a Hindu report .  There were 200-foot planes that could fly forwards, backwards and sideways and even hover in mid-air during the Vedic age.  The Captain claimed that the planes, invented by a sage called Maharishi Bharadwaj over 7000 years ago, had up to 30 engines and were equipped for warfare. The Head of the Sanskrit department of the University clai...

Babri Masjid destruction 22 years ago Religion benefitted immensely whenever political power became its handmaiden.  Christianity, for example, was a suppressed religion until Emperor Constantine (r 307-337) was converted to it after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. As Paul K. Davis, scholar of military history, writes, "Constantine’s victory gave him total control of the Western Roman Empire paving the way for Christianity to become the dominant religion for the Roman Empire and ultimately for Europe." Buddhism spread far and wide after Emperor Ashoka became its votary.   Later some Shaiva kings ordered the destruction of Buddhist monasteries and the killing of monks in north-western India in the mid first millennium A.D.  Later still, Muslim rulers in India destroyed many Hindu temples or converted them into mosques. Christian church destroyed in Delhi on 2 Dec 2014 More recently, in our own times, the Babri Masjid was destroyed by the knights ...

Much before the skies turned turbulent for Spicejet, I had booked my return ticket from Kerala on one of their flights.  A week before the journey to Kerala I logged on to their website just to ensure that the flight was not caught in the turbulence only to be disappointed.  My flight was cancelled.  I tried to contact the customer care using all the numbers available and no one answered the calls.  Nor did my email elicit any response.  Finally I got my flight rescheduled from the Spicejet counter in Delhi airport.  It was a Kochi-Pune-Delhi flight. When we reached Pune my wife and I were asked by a Spicejet staff who was checking the boarding passes of the seated passengers, “Why didn’t you de-board?  Your flight ends here.”  I protested and showed my ticket to Delhi.  “But your boarding pass is only up to here,” and she pointed at the boarding pass.  True, I had failed to notice that.  The man in Kochi airport who issue...

Memories can be miracles.  They can bring about transformations within us.  My recent visit to Kerala was for a reunion of some friends who studied together from 1976 to 1978.  Meeting again 36 years later is a momentous experience.  The boys had become men.  The men are now involved in a wide variety of professions, ranging from today’s most popular profession of converting people from their religions to the least preferred job of fighting for justice.  There were jewellers and chartered accountants in between.  And a schoolteacher like me.  Quite a few priests too.  The spouses and children of those who were not priests added a unique charm to the gathering. People had cancelled or rescheduled important assignments just to make it to this gathering.  A few travelled all the way from as far away as the USA only for this occasion.  A few had spent a lot of time and money making the necessary arrangements.  I loved...