Meeting the Arayar Sami of Srivilliputhur

September 24, 2025

Meeting the Arayar Sami of Srivilliputhur

During my fieldwork in Srivilliputhur this weekend, I had the rare privilege of meeting the Arayar, a hereditary temple artist-priest and custodian of a centuries-old tradition…

August 26, 2025

A Return to the Weavers’ Village

This day began with a quiet insistence. I wanted to find the weavers’ village I had visited a couple of years ago. Memory and instinct led…

August 23, 2025

Field Notes from Ranipur Jharial – Journeying Closer to Yoginis

Traveling from Raipur to Kantabanji on the Vande Bharat was unexpectedly smooth and serene. A short two-hour ride, nearly empty compartments, and a quiet cabin made…

August 19, 2025

Āṇḍāḷ’s Birthday and the Diplomacy of Devotion: A Solo Journey to Srivilliputhur

My next journey to Srivilliputhur was a solo adventure in the Joey car. I drove myself from Madampatti, weaving through the early morning light all the…

August 15, 2025

Why Bharat Matters: A book Review

Why Bharat Matters, by India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, was published by Rupa Publications in 2024. The very choice of publisher is telling: Jaishankar could…

August 12, 2025

Bhakti Without Borders: My Middle Journey Between Srivilliputhur Visits

Between my second and third trips to Srivilliputhur, something shifted. I found myself in the in-between: physical stationed in Kovai, and immersed in the stories, voices,…

August 9, 2025

Srivilliputhur Part 2: Margazhi Miracles: Andal in mornings of December

Srivilliputhur Travel Blog Date of Journey: December 27, 2024 – December 31, 2024 There is something about the month of Margazhi that glows in my heart.…

August 7, 2025

Prologue: Andal Keeps Calling Me Back

Srivilliputhur Travel Blog Series There are places that you visit once and leave behind. Then, there are those that never quite let you go. Srivilliputhur is…

April 10, 2024

An Indian Palace

Every foreigner dreams of coming to India and experiencing an Indian Palace. There are, of course, the palace-turned-museums such as in Jaipur (part of the Golden…

February 3, 2024

Go all the way back, then

When in this city, you demand this propertyof increasing value,claiming it to be yours from another time, Then I say, “What of humanity?” Can’t you see,if you keep…

January 15, 2024

Paadhukaapu of Pongal

Pongal, a harvest festival, is celebrated across Tamil Nadu and by ethnically Tamil people, for several days. It marks the end of the winter season, and…

Category: Culture