Bhavana's articles Funerals for Loss There is a relief in a funeral — to openly acknowledge loss, grieve and remember moments gone by. To have a ritual, and in kindness and love let those memories pass onto other worlds. You can be glum for few days and others know and respect that space.And how death deletes, distorts and generalises so […] July 1, 2018July 1, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Living Uncertainly 2018 has been a tough year so far. It has been a year of uncertainty on many fronts. My knee-jerk reaction was to reach out, read my horoscope and check the vaastu of my home. (Yes, I am well-versed in these areas. No, I will not give you a reading. However, avoid bsing about most […] June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Homing Recently I moved. I have moved more than a dozen times in the last two decades. And I have moved from city-to-city, country-to-country. You could call me a veteran at moving. Except that it didn’t get easier. In fact, just the opposite. Each time I have packed up a home, I have been emotional. Each […] May 3, 2018May 3, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Take Back Power This post was written on Linkedin on occasion of Women's Day 2018. Excerpt: Own all your choices and all its consequences. I know there is a tendency to blame patriarchy and social histories. Yep they exist. However I have not seen shaming game win. You cannot change others unless they want to. You change what you […] March 8, 2018March 8, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Travelling to be a Stranger (This is an experimental piece on the idea of flaneur–sauntering around. There is no pre-decided purpose in such a wandering but inputs connect with unresolved traces of the past, non-linearly, from one geography to another. Social histories collapse and, instead a personal history is built. The observation finally are a very personal interpretation.What makes this an […] February 7, 2018February 7, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – Complete links/Writing Process The Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) is complete. Below this article you will find the links to all the posts in the series. As TheLightweaver, I coach folks to write. Some details on how I wrote the series: 1. I committed to writing this series. I knew I could write it. There […] October 1, 2017October 1, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 12 (No Visarjan/Sa Ham) The tenth day, Dashami used to bring tears to my eyes. For in the Eastern myths, this was the day Mother left Earth and returned to Mount Kailash. For me, Her coming to Earth and leaving was real. I used to be sad and lost on this day, refusing to look at the images of […] September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 11 (La Que Sabe/The Woman Who Knows) These paintings are compiled by Babu T.N. Mukherji here In some communities in the South, today is the day of Saraswati, the Goddess who symbolizes the act and art of learning and knowing. We each are La Que Sabe, the Woman who Knows. Yet we spend a lifetime not believing and owning that. Culturally and socially, […] September 29, 2017September 29, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 8 (Land Dreams to Earth) From Pinterest here and perhaps originally from here Today is Shasthi. As per cultural beliefs, today is the day Goddess Durga reaches Earth. It is time for some of us to reach Earth too. We are encouraged to dream big, dream the impossible, dream for anything in any world. Active dreaming is a powerful act which […] September 26, 2017September 26, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 7 (Battles are in our Mind) Photo by Rupam Sarma The Goddess is celebrated for her triumph over the demon-king in the battle. I know there are many sociological counterpoints to the story detailed in Devi Bhagwat Puran and mythologists and scholars butt head over underlying assumptions. Leave that aside. As per the story from this source, the Goddess appeared in […] September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 6 (she is She) You are She, she is also She. The woman next to you is She. I often hear remarks about women hurting women. I have written about it before in Painting a Suncatcher Together. I will reiterate the reasons why women do so. In a circle (family or social group), when a man is central to […] September 24, 2017September 24, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham -I am She (2017 series) – 5 (Identification) It is easier said than done – I am She. For this reason – we don’t do the process of identification or what, in NLP terms, is called association. Here are the things that we do instead when we worship Her. We bathe and wear new clothes. During Durga Puja in Bengal, men and women […] September 23, 2017September 23, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 4 (Unconditional Love/Heal from Shame) Photograph by Arnab Dutta (Wikimedia Commons) Heard this phrase “unconditional love”? Many talk about it, some yearn for it, some say they received it from someone or in some form, some say they can give it. However, all those who talk about unconditional love have experienced conditional love. What is conditional love? (Please don’t ask me […] September 22, 2017September 22, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) -3 (The Battle) From A Journey Around My Skulls (Wikimedia Commons) Is Mother a sexual harassment survivor? The battle of the Goddess and the demons is unlike other battles. It is not for a kingdom or lands or honour. It is about the right to choose and the right to be. It is a battle that we women […] September 21, 2017September 21, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 2 (Dashabhuja) The beautiful Goddess Durga has ten arms. Each arm carries a weapon. As a child, I wondered why she needed ten weapons when she finally strikes the demon with the lower end of the trishul. She is said to carry the conch, thunderbolt, mace, sudarshan chakra, snake, flame, half-bloomed lotus, sword, bow and arrows. Post-NLP […] September 20, 2017September 20, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series)—1 (Akaalbodhan) This beautiful image of Goddess Lalitha is made by Prof Neelima of Tirupati and worshipped for two decades. Recently she gifted Her to me and now resides in my altar. In the first research paper I worked on back in 2003, titled as this series, I examined the disconnect between Goddess-woman and Human-woman. That in […] September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked How to Help in Disaster Relief Work Effectively From Observer [This article is in response to my friend Susan Schuurman of Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center on how folks in Albuquerque can help with #HurricaneHarvey #harveyrelief #harveyrescue efforts. This article is applicable to disaster relief efforts in any country, any disaster. I have worked on disaster relief efforts for 12 years in both […] August 30, 2017August 30, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked 7 Ways to Take Back Your Power as a Divorced Indian Woman (Photo from Vishnu's website) I recently wrote a guest post in Vishnu's Virtues website. This is a website that focuses on taking back life and love after a breakup. His articles and books are read internationally. If you haven't been to his website, this is a good opportunity to browse. I wrote about how you […] August 24, 2017August 24, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked The Art of Living Alone In the last few weeks, I have come to realise that I have a resource that most Indians don’t – the art of living alone. I have lived alone for nearly two decades. As an Indian woman, it is a phenomenal achievement. More and more Indians are living alone these days. Young folks are marrying […] August 23, 2017August 24, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Funerals for Loss There is a relief in a funeral — to openly acknowledge loss, grieve and remember moments gone by. To have a ritual, and in kindness and love let those memories pass onto other worlds. You can be glum for few days and others know and respect that space.And how death deletes, distorts and generalises so […] July 1, 2018July 1, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Living Uncertainly 2018 has been a tough year so far. It has been a year of uncertainty on many fronts. My knee-jerk reaction was to reach out, read my horoscope and check the vaastu of my home. (Yes, I am well-versed in these areas. No, I will not give you a reading. However, avoid bsing about most […] June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Homing Recently I moved. I have moved more than a dozen times in the last two decades. And I have moved from city-to-city, country-to-country. You could call me a veteran at moving. Except that it didn’t get easier. In fact, just the opposite. Each time I have packed up a home, I have been emotional. Each […] May 3, 2018May 3, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Take Back Power This post was written on Linkedin on occasion of Women's Day 2018. Excerpt: Own all your choices and all its consequences. I know there is a tendency to blame patriarchy and social histories. Yep they exist. However I have not seen shaming game win. You cannot change others unless they want to. You change what you […] March 8, 2018March 8, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Travelling to be a Stranger (This is an experimental piece on the idea of flaneur–sauntering around. There is no pre-decided purpose in such a wandering but inputs connect with unresolved traces of the past, non-linearly, from one geography to another. Social histories collapse and, instead a personal history is built. The observation finally are a very personal interpretation.What makes this an […] February 7, 2018February 7, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – Complete links/Writing Process The Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) is complete. Below this article you will find the links to all the posts in the series. As TheLightweaver, I coach folks to write. Some details on how I wrote the series: 1. I committed to writing this series. I knew I could write it. There […] October 1, 2017October 1, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 12 (No Visarjan/Sa Ham) The tenth day, Dashami used to bring tears to my eyes. For in the Eastern myths, this was the day Mother left Earth and returned to Mount Kailash. For me, Her coming to Earth and leaving was real. I used to be sad and lost on this day, refusing to look at the images of […] September 30, 2017September 30, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 11 (La Que Sabe/The Woman Who Knows) These paintings are compiled by Babu T.N. Mukherji here In some communities in the South, today is the day of Saraswati, the Goddess who symbolizes the act and art of learning and knowing. We each are La Que Sabe, the Woman who Knows. Yet we spend a lifetime not believing and owning that. Culturally and socially, […] September 29, 2017September 29, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 8 (Land Dreams to Earth) From Pinterest here and perhaps originally from here Today is Shasthi. As per cultural beliefs, today is the day Goddess Durga reaches Earth. It is time for some of us to reach Earth too. We are encouraged to dream big, dream the impossible, dream for anything in any world. Active dreaming is a powerful act which […] September 26, 2017September 26, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 7 (Battles are in our Mind) Photo by Rupam Sarma The Goddess is celebrated for her triumph over the demon-king in the battle. I know there are many sociological counterpoints to the story detailed in Devi Bhagwat Puran and mythologists and scholars butt head over underlying assumptions. Leave that aside. As per the story from this source, the Goddess appeared in […] September 25, 2017September 25, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 6 (she is She) You are She, she is also She. The woman next to you is She. I often hear remarks about women hurting women. I have written about it before in Painting a Suncatcher Together. I will reiterate the reasons why women do so. In a circle (family or social group), when a man is central to […] September 24, 2017September 24, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham -I am She (2017 series) – 5 (Identification) It is easier said than done – I am She. For this reason – we don’t do the process of identification or what, in NLP terms, is called association. Here are the things that we do instead when we worship Her. We bathe and wear new clothes. During Durga Puja in Bengal, men and women […] September 23, 2017September 23, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 4 (Unconditional Love/Heal from Shame) Photograph by Arnab Dutta (Wikimedia Commons) Heard this phrase “unconditional love”? Many talk about it, some yearn for it, some say they received it from someone or in some form, some say they can give it. However, all those who talk about unconditional love have experienced conditional love. What is conditional love? (Please don’t ask me […] September 22, 2017September 22, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) -3 (The Battle) From A Journey Around My Skulls (Wikimedia Commons) Is Mother a sexual harassment survivor? The battle of the Goddess and the demons is unlike other battles. It is not for a kingdom or lands or honour. It is about the right to choose and the right to be. It is a battle that we women […] September 21, 2017September 21, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series) – 2 (Dashabhuja) The beautiful Goddess Durga has ten arms. Each arm carries a weapon. As a child, I wondered why she needed ten weapons when she finally strikes the demon with the lower end of the trishul. She is said to carry the conch, thunderbolt, mace, sudarshan chakra, snake, flame, half-bloomed lotus, sword, bow and arrows. Post-NLP […] September 20, 2017September 20, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Sa Ham – I am She (2017 series)—1 (Akaalbodhan) This beautiful image of Goddess Lalitha is made by Prof Neelima of Tirupati and worshipped for two decades. Recently she gifted Her to me and now resides in my altar. In the first research paper I worked on back in 2003, titled as this series, I examined the disconnect between Goddess-woman and Human-woman. That in […] September 19, 2017September 19, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How to Help in Disaster Relief Work Effectively From Observer [This article is in response to my friend Susan Schuurman of Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center on how folks in Albuquerque can help with #HurricaneHarvey #harveyrelief #harveyrescue efforts. This article is applicable to disaster relief efforts in any country, any disaster. I have worked on disaster relief efforts for 12 years in both […] August 30, 2017August 30, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
7 Ways to Take Back Your Power as a Divorced Indian Woman (Photo from Vishnu's website) I recently wrote a guest post in Vishnu's Virtues website. This is a website that focuses on taking back life and love after a breakup. His articles and books are read internationally. If you haven't been to his website, this is a good opportunity to browse. I wrote about how you […] August 24, 2017August 24, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Art of Living Alone In the last few weeks, I have come to realise that I have a resource that most Indians don’t – the art of living alone. I have lived alone for nearly two decades. As an Indian woman, it is a phenomenal achievement. More and more Indians are living alone these days. Young folks are marrying […] August 23, 2017August 24, 2017 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
