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Update About This Blog and My Book

2022:This year, I finally decided that I was going to finish my book, which I have been trying to write for the last 20 years. Actually, there are 3 books in my head, all of which are about lost mothers/fathers/sons/daughters/siblings (I think of them as my Amar, Akbar and Anthony trilogy). Till now I had tried to write them in English and then in Italian, but somehow it did not work, so this time, I am writing in Hindi. The first book of my trilogy is almost done.

Writing my book has reduced the time I have for updating this website. Thus, I am not planning to renew this website when it expires in June 2023. I hope to shift most of its writings to my other blogs and websites:

Kalpana.it: This was my first website which was started as Srijan in 2001-02. It will continue to be there for the next future.

My English Blog Arre Kya Baat Hai, which was started around 2005-06

My Italian Blog Awaragi, which was started around 2005-06

My Hindi Blog Jo Na Keh Sake, which was also started around 2005-06

Meet the Artist: Eva Trentin

23 April 2022: Presenting the artist Eva Trentin from Marano Vicentino and her artistic journey with organic materials like leaves, flowers and tree-barks for create fossil-like imprints ... Read More »»

The Kashmir Story

31 March 2022: The success of the film The Kashmir Files has brought attention to the sufferings of Kashmiri Pandits. Reading about it brought back memories of this subject in director Onir's film 'I Am'(2010) ... Read More »»

The Angry Indians

25 March 2022: Why are some Indians always angry? Some are fighting for Hinduism, others are fighting for India's plurality and diversity. The two are apparently antagonists, and yet share some common features and feed-off one another ... Read More »»

Favourite Artworks from PaperMade-5

8 December 2021: Presenting 20 of my favourite art-works from the beautiful 5th PaperMade biennial Art Exhibition held in Palazzo Fogazzaro in Schio (Italy) ... Read More »»

Four for Love

28 November 2021: A post about books, especially about 4 books, and why I liked reading them and which kind of books I want to read ... Read More »»

Journeys of Discovery

17 October 2021: A journey of self-discovery through a water-colours workshop and a journey of discovering the surroundings through an emotional mapping walk ... Read More »»

Epochal Mutations Art Exhibition

13 October 2021: My favourite art works from Epochal Mutations, an contemporary art exhibition of local artists held in Palazzo Fogazzaro of Schio (VI) in September 2021 ... Read More »»

Vedic People

07 September 2021: Who were the ancient Indians who had written Veda and become known as the Vedic people? A post about the ideas of Prof. Rajesh Kochhar regarding the original homelands of Vedic people described in Rigveda in his book "The Vedic People"... Read More »»

Understanding Global Health Failures

23 July 2021: In 2019, Madhukar Pai wrote about importance of analysing the failures of Global Health - A look at what he calls failure of leprosy elimination in India and some additional elements for reflection ... Read More »»

Liberal Dilemmas

26 June 2021: Increasingly, the liberal values and struggles seem to be about competing rights of one group against another. Often, I am not sure about which side I am on ... Read More »»

Discovering Schio's Water-Canal

18 May 2021: The history and development of the beautiful water-canal of Schio, which was built almost one thousand years ago and continues to play an important role in the city's life Read More »»

Venice, the City of Water

25 March 2021: A post about a little poem by the Italian poet Chiara Carminati about Venice, which celebrates its 1600th anniversary of foundation this year. Read More »»

Importance of Alternative Medicine

22 February 2021: Doctors often present alternative systems of medicines as charlatans trying to swindle unwary people, or as superstitions and hogwash. I feel that alternative medicine has a role in our well-being. Read More »»

River to River Festival 2020

10 February 2021: River to River (RtoR) is festival of Indian films which is held in Florence in Italy. A post about the documentary and short films from the last RtoR festival held in December 2020 Read More »»

Making (Some) Sense of Concept Art

01 February 2021: When I saw art works of Concept Art in some biennales I was confused. Will Gompertz's book on contemporary art helped me to make some sense of it though I am not sure why it is so popular with art biennales and art awards. Read More »»

A Role For Sanskrit

17 January 2021: Reflecting on the barriers faced by millions of young Indians to access higher education and wondering if Sanskrit can play a role in making a more inclusive India. Read More »»

Divergenti - Trans Film Festival 2020

5 January 2021:About some of my favourite films from the Divergenti Trans Film Festival held in November 2020, organised by Movement for Trans-sexual Identity (MIT) of Bologna, Italy Read More »»

Religions For the 21st Century

2 January 2021:The history of religions parallels the human evolution. Dominant religions of today arrived around 1500-3000 years ago. With human progress, they are also changing. How different would be the new religions of the future? Read More »»

Women & Friends

20 December 2020: In the book Miss Benson's Beetle, the British writer Rachel Joyce has two women embarking on a journey to the other end of the world and in the process discovering themselves and discovering friendship - Read More »»

Life in the Plants

08 December 2020: A visit to a Bonsai exhibition in Schio, reminded me of a nature visit to a forest in Bologna many years ago. A reflection about life of the plants and about the forces of nature - Read More »»

Merry Christmas or Season's Greetings?

05 December 2020: About two different ways to look at inter-faith respect and harmony in the multi-cultural and multi-religious societies - Read More »»

The Angry Birds

16 November 2020: Becoming a more aware reader - thoughts about Daphne du Maurier's story The Birds, and about the influence of being a member of a book-reading group - Read More »»

Unusual Vicenza: Discovering the Magic

26 October 2020: About visiting Vicenza in the north-east of Italy and discovering its history, art and culture through some unusual guided walking tours - Read More »»

Snakes, Merchants, & Emigrants

15 October 2020: Gun Island - the latest book by Amitabh Ghosh starts from a fable in the Sundarbans and goes on to explore the journeys of emigrants to Italy and Europe Read More »»

10 Things to do in Schio

05 September 2020: If you are visiting Schio (VI) in the north-east of Italy, a list of 10 places for sight-seeing in or near the city centre Read More »»

Cooking For The Dictators

27 August 2020: About the Polish journalist Witold Szablowski's book How to Feed a Dictator which looks at some of more infamous dictators of 20th century through the eyes of their cooks ... Read More »»

Searching for the Dragon Bones

16 July 2020: Tracy Chevalier's book "Strange Creatures", discovery of fossils and dinosaur bones in 19th century England and similar discoveries in medieval Bologna ... Read More »»

Poverty, Disease & Disability

08 July 2020: A case study showing how Zika epidemic combined with contaminated water in drought-affected areas in north-east of Brazil to cause cognitive disabilities ... Read More »»

From Butchers to Surgeons

07 July 2020: About Linda Fitzharris' book The Butchery Art and the use of antiseptics to prevent infections in surgery, and how similar ideas were already developed in ancient India by healers like Sushruta ... Read More »»

God, Consciousness & Mathematics

29 May 2020: About an article about a new mathematical theory in the magazine New Scientist and its similarities with the Hindu ideas of Brahman (universal consciousness) and God ... Read More »»

A Creativity Megahub

24 May 2020: About a centre in Schio (Italy) where you can learn about innovative technologies and where budding entrepreneurs can find support ... Read More »»

A Liberian Story of Dung Beetles

14 April 2020: About Daniel J. Meier's book "The Dung Beetles of Liberia" - to learn about the Liberia of 1960s... Read More »»

Surgery in Ancient India & Ganesha

28 March 2020: Ancient India was known for its surgical skills, which were described in books like Sushruta Samhita. A speculative post about the origins of Ganesha myth linked with those surgical skills ... Read More »»

Our Black Gods

22 March 2020: Hinduism has many deities who are described as dark-skinned. How does this idea of dark-skinned Gods fit in with other discourses about ancient Indians? Read More »»

Ancient Indians, Neanderthals & Denisovans

15 March 2020: India has been primarily an oral culture conserving its ancient memories in its mythology. Are there stories of relationships between different human species in ancient Indian books? Read More »»

Influence of Parasites on Behaviour

20 February 2020: About Kathleen McAuliff's book "This is your brain on Parasites - How tiny creatures manipulate our behaviour and shape society" Read More »»

The City of 47 Ronin

14 February 2020: A visit to Ako in south-western coast of Japan, the town associated with the legend of 47 Ronin. Read More »»

Papermade 2019-20: Paper Art

05 January 2020: Presenting 15 of my favourite art works from the 4th edition of the biannual Papermade exhibition in Schio, Italy. Read More »»

Memories of 2019 Journeys

01 January 2020: A photo-essay about the most significant moments from my travels to different countries during 2019. Read More »»

29 December 2019, Legends & Tales of Orchha: Some legends and tales from beautiful Orchha with its amazing architecture in the Bundelkhand region of central India. - Read the full article >>>

24 November 2019, Yoga Sculptures: Sculptures from different parts of the world representing the meditation and the yogasana (Yoga exercises) aspects of Yoga - Read the full article >>>

17 November 2019, Fighting Superbugs: Review of the book "Superbugs: A race to stop an epidemic" about drug-resistant infections, written by Dr Matt McCarthy - Read the full article >>>

9 November 2019, Baby in the Womb - Amazing Anatomy Models: About an exhibition of 18th century human anatomy models showing babies growing in their mothers' wombs from Poggi Science Museum in Bologna, Italy - Read the full article >>>

3 November 2019, The Dissident Art of Ai Wei Wei (1): About an art exhibition of the famous Chinese dissident artist Ai Wei Wei held in Rio De Janeiro (Brazil) - Read Part 1 - Read Part 2

28 October 2019, Reforming Hindu Traditions: Discussions about pollution created by Diwali, brought back memories of a discussion I had last year in Rishikesh regarding reforming of Hinduism Read more >>>

22 October 2019, Allah Loves Equality: About the new documentary of Wajahat Abbas Kazmi about the persons with alternate sexualities in contemporary Pakistan Read more >>>

18 October 2019, Unforgettable Beautiful Evenings: Wondering what makes some memories special to us and sharing 5 memories of unforgettable evenings from my travels Read more >>>

13 October 2019, Slim Long-Necked Women in Art & Sculpture: Sculptures of the Schio artist Antonio Capovilla reminded of works by B. Prabha and Amedeo Modgliani and took me back on a nostalgia trip Read more >>>

18 September 2019, The Metaphorical Ganesh: About Nani Power's Book Ginger & Ganesh and some personal reflections about metaphorical meanings of the Hindu deity Ganesh. Read more >>>

07 September 2019, From Niemeyer to Weiwei - Brazil Diary: About my recent visit to Campo Grande, Nietroi and Rio de Janeiro where I could visit the works of Oscar Niemeyer and Ai Weiwei Read more >>>

13 August 2019, Lessons of Life: About the Russ Roberts' book - How Adam Smith can change your life - An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness Read more >>>

11 August 2019, From Disability Action Plan to Rehab 2030: About the new programme of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on rehabilitation services and its implications Read more >>>

21 July 2019, An Accessible Children's Park in Schio: About the importance of having parks and playgrounds which are accessible to children and adults with disabilities and the visit to an accessible children's park in our city, Schio, in north Italy. Read more >>>

08 July 2019, Celebrating Dalit Struggles & Pride: A Delhi Metro visit to Dalit Prerna Sthal (Dalit Pride Park) in NOIDA and reflections on caste-based discriminations in India Read more >>>

27 June 2019, The Camels of Genghis Khan: A city walk in Ulaanbataar, capital of Mongolia, searching for a sculpture of a camel caravan Read more >>>

21 June 2019, Theyyam: When Gods Descend on Earth: Theyyam, a colourful religious tradition from Kannur in north Kerala (India), when Gods descend and manifest in human forms Read more >>>

17 June 2019, Disturbances of Brain & Mind: The Psychiatry Story: An overview of history of mental illness and the development of psychiatry, a branch of medicine, which treats them. Review of a book by Jeffrey A. Lieberman. Read more >>>

17 May 2019, Challenges Facing Ayurveda: The domination of Western medicine, the pressure it puts on traditional medicine system such as Ayurveda and the need of safeguarding ancient knowledge systems Read more >>>

27 April 2019, India: from Obedience to Individual Responsibility: The colonial crimes, the feudal mindset in India and the premium on obedience in the deeply hierarchical society. Read more >>>

18 April 2019, Challenges of Emancipatory Research: About the Emancipatory Disability Research (EDR) methodology and its challenges in the developing countries. Read more >>>

01 April 2019, Secularism & Inter-Religious Harmony: A reflection about experiences of inter-religious harmony in India and the way the ideas of secularism developed in the west. Read more >>>

29 March 2019, Cities of Colours & Art: A post about some cities from across the world where the use of colours and art has given a special ambience to the city life. Read more >>>

26 March 2019, Thought is also matter - Talking with Raju Sutar: A post about the exhibition "Thought is also matter" curated by Raju Sutar at the Kochi Biennale 2018-19 ... Read more >>>

21 March 2019: When one religion is not enough: A post about Duane R. Bidwell's book about spiritual fluidity and multiple religious identities ... Read more >>>

6 January 2019: Sabarimala and Religious Reforms in India: The challenges of promoting religious reforms and explaining why I feel that the Sabarimala verdict of the supreme court in India strengthens conservative fundamentalists view of Hinduism ... Read more >>>

Country Report: Disability & Rehabilitation in Liberia: Presenting the country report on disability and rehabilitation in Liberia in West Africa from a diagnostic study carried out in 2018 ... Read more >>>

Is there still leprosy in India: India eliminated leprosy in 2005, yet it continues to have 1.3 lakh new cases of leprosy every year. To understand how does that happen ... Read more >>>

Basavanna to Sankardev: Poet Saints of India: About the wandering mistrals of India who sang messages of devotion, equality and non-discrimination over a period of centuries, with a focus on two such poet saints - Basvanna and Sankardev. Read more >>>

Disability and Sexuality: Examples of Emancipatory Disability Research - a study on disability and sexuality carried out in Italy Read more >>>

Sunrise at the Shore Temple: A magical morning watching the sunrise at the shore-temple in Mahabalipuram, India. Read more >>>

Planning Emancipatory Research: 5th post in the series about Emancipatory Research focusing on things to keep in mind when you are planning an ER. Read more >>>

The Amazing Rock-Temples of Mahabalipuram (02): Second part of a post about the different kinds of rock-temples in Mahabalipuram, focusing on parts of the area known as Arjun's Penance. Read more >>>

The Amazing Rock-Temples of Mahabalipuram (01): First part of a post about the different kinds of rock-temples in Mahabalipuram, focusing on parts of the area known as Arjun's Penance. Read more >>>

Promoting Empowerment: 4th post in the series about Emancipatory Research focusing on what is empowerment and how it can be promoted. Read more >>>

Exiled in Spinalonga: A Greek family saga of love, betrayal and leprosy from the island of Spinalonga. Review of the book "The Island". Read more >>>

God-Concept in Ancient India: All cultures developed their concepts of God, which were similar. Ancient Indians developed a God-concept which was different from others. Read more >>>

Understanding Marginalisation for Emancipatory Research: Freirian ideas on systemic causes of marginalisation and how these can be used in emancipatory research. Read more >>>

Different Research Approaches: Understanding different research approaches to see how emancipatory research is different from others. Part 2 of a series of posts on emancipatory research. Read more >>>

Sareo Street Art Festival 2018: My favourite ten art works from the open-air art exhibition held annually in the old city centre of Schio, in the north-east of Italy. Read more >>>

Research for promoting empowerment: How can research be used to promote empowerment of marginalised persons and groups? Part 1 of a series of posts on emancipatory research. Read more >>>

A Buddhist in Mongolia: Visit to the house of an old friend in Mongolia brought out the recent history when under the communist regime the religious practices were prohibited. Read more >>>

A world made for diversity: Sharing my thoughts from a training course for students with disabilities held in Mongolia in May 2018 about an inclusive world. Read more >>>

Papermade - The Paperart exhibition Part 2: My favourite art exhibits from the Papermade exhibition held in Schio (VI, Italy) in December 2017. Read more >>>

Papermade - The Paperart exhibition part 1: My favourite art exhibits from the first Papermade exhibition held in Schio (VI, Italy). Read more >>>

The Wonderful World of Steam-Punk

22 December 2017: Steam-punk is a literary and artistic current which mixes 18th century technology to 18th century costumes, resulting in great-looking quirky costumes. This post is about a group of steam-punk enthusiasts from north-east of Italy Read the full article »»

The Metal Sculptures of Mario Converio

07 December 2017: Mario Converio is a well known artist and sculptor from Schio (VI) in the north- east of Italy, where I live. This post presents his works from the exhibition "Metal Fantasies" Read the full article »»

The Art of Corrado Meneguzzo

22 November 2017: Corrado Meneguzzo is an artist and sculptor living at the top of a mountain in Priabona, a few kms from our home in Schio. Our local cultural group organised a visit to his home to talk to him and to see his art. Read the full article »»

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This is a trilingual blog, it also has some posts in Italian and Hindi. Each section is independent, which means that the majority of the posts in Italian and Hindi are not translations of the English language posts, they are on different subjects.