The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Last week, I left home to pick Samhith up from school, and there, on a tree right in front of me, was a kingfisher! I fumbled for my camera, only to realise that I had left it behind! For the rest of the week, I berated myself for my stupidity, and took to carrying my camera everywhere, but it was too late - not a bird turned up to be photographed! Finally , lady luck smiled at me, and this White Breasted Kingfisher turned up right opposite my house and sat still long enough for me to take a few pics... I wondered if I should put up just one, but then gave in to temptation and decided to put up all three.... So, now its up to you to tell me which one you like best!