The Hermit of St Helena

Fernão Lopes – A Soldier Of Misfortune Every now and then you come across a tidbit of information which when researched unearths a fascinating story. This was one such and relates to a person who sailed to the Indies during the period when the early Portuguese were striving to make their presence f…

Eclipses, Scriptures and the Mathematicians

Eclipses have been a part of Hindu thought and have been discussed since very early times. While the cause had been initially ascribed to mythology and recorded so in scriptures, the negative effects of eclipses were paramount and continued to be understood as detrimental to physical wellbeing. So…

A tall tale….

There are some unbelievable stories, this might one day be consigned to one of those collections. But then again, I have to tell it, for it is, if not remarkable, an interesting tale. I take you again, my friends, to the little village I hail from, nestling near the Western Ghats, where we still h…

The Cynical Malayali

Most people would agree on this, that an average Malayali is somewhat cynical. Sometimes his pithy and sarcastic answers comes across a bit negatively and pessimistic, for example if it was raining, he would opine that the sun is unlikely to come out for a number of days as though you were in for …