Meet 11: Loneliness

31 March, 2017 It was a somewhat lonely session with only three people able to make it. Discussion veered toward the difference between `loneliness' and `solitude'. Wendel Berry wrote ` In solitude one’s inner voices become audible [and] one responds...

Acquainted with the night

This is a poem by Robert Frost that speaks of human alienation and hints at depression. I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain—and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light....

An Un-necessary Woman

Makarand shared his thoughts on Rabih Alameddine's book `An Un-necessary Woman'. Reproduced here is a review of this book on GoodReads   Aaliya Sohbi lives alone in her Beirut apartment, surrounded by stockpiles of books. Godless, fatherless, divorced, and childless,...

They’re made out of meat

A short story by science fiction writer, Terry Bisson "They're made out of meat." "Meat?" "Meat. They're made out of meat." "Meat?" "There's no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard...

Meet 10: Shiva

3rd March 2017: It was Maha Shivratri last week and we were supposed to have met then.  So the theme `Shiva' seemed very appropriate. But then, we ended up postponing the session but..continued with the theme. Discussions sparked off by...

Shiva – Short stories

The story behind Shiva's blue throat Also known by the name of Neelkantha, Shiva got the blue neck after drinking the poison, Halahala, during the Churning of Ocean (Samudra Manthan) to get the elixir of life (Amrit). The legend says...

Kannappa Nayanar and Bhilla worship Shiva

Two stories that are popular in two different parts of India but are very similar. They highlight that it is not the manner  of worship but the devotion with which it is done that is important. At least so far as...

Who and what is SHIVA?

Extracts from the writings of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev: When we say “Shiva,” there are two fundamental aspects that we are referring to. The word “Shiva” literally means “that which is not.” Today, modern science is proving to us that everything...

Meet 9: Fear

Contributions this time explored the nature of fear, the utility of fear and a new (to most of us) genre of story-telling - the chat story. Enjoy... Torture by Hope, a short story (original in French) by Count Villiers de...