• Introduction to the Yoga Philosophy

    Introduction to the Yoga Philosophy

    Millions of people practice Yoga all over the world. However, most of them treat it as an exercise routine, without really caring to understand the Yoga philosophy. This is like smelling a cup of coffee and not actually drinking it — nothing wrong with it, just that, you miss the real thing. What is the Read more

  • The Prophet on Eating and Drinking

    The Prophet on Eating and Drinking

    No, not that one. That would be preposterous. As we only discuss books, here too we are talking about a book called The Prophet. Written by Kahlil Gibran and published in 1923, the book has never been out of print. It has inspired generations of artists, writers, lovers and romantics. The prose-style poetry of it Read more

  • Podcast: Understanding the Israel Palestine Conflict

    Podcast: Understanding the Israel Palestine Conflict

    The Israeli Palestinian conflict is the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians that began in the mid-20th century. What we are seeing right now, and in the last few weeks, is only a glimpse of its decade-long history. So what is that history? And what is this conflict really about? We discuss all these questions Read more

  • Kanji: The Millennia-Old Rice Recipe

    Kanji: The Millennia-Old Rice Recipe

    It is called jook or zhou or geng in China, zuk in Korea, chao bo in Vietnam, lugaw in Philippines, okayu in Japan, khao tom gung in Thailand. But its most popular name is of Indian origin – ‘congee’, which comes from the Tamil word kanji. What is it? We are talking about that wondrous, Read more

  • What is Good Writing? Steven Pinker Answers

    What is Good Writing? Steven Pinker Answers

    Every writer, at least in her sane moments, yearns for her prose to be deemed good. Yet, what delineates quality writing from the mundane remains a mystery to many. While instincts often guide our judgements, isn’t there a more defined metric for literary excellence? Or to be more precise, let’s ask ourselves this simple question: Read more

  • Making Tea as per the 8th-Century Holy Scripture in 8 Hours

    Making Tea as per the 8th-Century Holy Scripture in 8 Hours

    History may not forgive us for spending such little time and effort on tea-literature when there should be epics and legends written on this celestial nectar. Thankfully, certain Asian cultures will be spared, especially Chinese and Japanese, for they have done their part. So, those of us who love (and sometimes live for) tea must Read more