Renuka Narayanan is a commentator and columnist on religion and culture.
Articles by Renuka Narayanan
Review: The Collected Stories of Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury
Human beings, animals, birds, fish, insects and super-natural beings mix as equals, talking to each other and being mutually understood in The Collected Stories of Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury
Updated on May 24, 2024 10:51 PM IST
Review: Aryans by Charles Allen
In this posthumously published book, Charles Allen, author of works on Ashoka and Rudyard Kipling, among others, investigates who the Aryans were by drawing on linguistic theories, archaeology, and studies of human migration and genetics
Updated on Mar 23, 2024 05:44 AM IST
Review: Green Pearls of India by V Sundararaju
Describing 27 trees considered sacred in India, this book provides information about their habitat, distribution, usage and environmental, economic, historical and religious significance
Updated on Jan 05, 2024 10:21 PM IST
Essay: The Mahabharata – beyond the harrowing angst
First published in 1965, Kamala Subramaniam’s excellent 870-page translation attained a fresh awareness of the life code laid out in Vyasa’s epic
Updated on Feb 09, 2023 09:59 AM IST
Re-reading the Ramayana of Valmiki
Reading Kamala Subramaniam’s English translation of the grand epic is a rewarding journey into the natural beauty of old India and into the emotional landscape of the heart
Updated on Dec 05, 2022 08:45 AM IST
Kamala Subramaniam: An epic life well-served
Kamala Subramaniam’s detailed and lucid renditions of the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavatam have helped generations of readers discover the depth of these epics in English
Updated on Sep 28, 2022 06:44 PM IST
Excerpt: Learning from Loss by Renuka Narayanan
This extract from a collection of stories on death, heartbreak and loss from Hinduism’s many traditions retells one of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s parables
Updated on Aug 17, 2022 07:19 PM IST
A month of fasts, feasts and reaching out: Shebaba by Renuka Narayanan
Take a cue from stories, old and not so old, to mark this time with kindness.
Updated on May 06, 2018 09:23 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Renuka Narayanan
The beauty of a job well done: Shebaba by Renuka Narayanan
It’s easy to scoff and make light of them, but it takes tonnes of discipline and commitment to do what real princesses must do.
Updated on Apr 29, 2018 09:51 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Renuka Narayanan
Accepting our errors, expressing remorse: Shebaba by Renuka Narayanan
Each one of us can and must do what we can to make things better.
Updated on Apr 21, 2018 04:52 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Renuka Narayanan
A curious old tale for a new cycle of time: Shebaba by Renuka Narayanan
A quaint story from the annual Kapalishwar festival of Mylapore is a reminder that the Eternal God is far above human conflicts and quarrels.
Updated on Apr 15, 2018 08:40 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Renuka Narayanan
The many metaphors hidden within a feast: Shebaba by Renuka Narayanan
In a time of food wars, we would do well to remember that God’s grace is reflected in every plate and palate.
Updated on Apr 08, 2018 08:57 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Renuka Narayanan
From an epic hero, lessons in humility: SheBaba by Renuka Narayanan
The verses glorifying Hanuman are more about ‘personality development’, meant to inspire the reciter to become a positive person and an asset to society
Published on Mar 31, 2018 06:44 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Renuka Narayanan