Now fathom this: Not just Shiv-Parvati, even Ram-Sita was a love marriage couple

Following my blog in Counterview, A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe', some Hindu love marriage couples were quite excited. They said they were not aware of the myth (they considered it as historical truth) that they were in love and then got married -- and that, that's why Maha Shivratri is celebrated. One of them, who resisted their parents to get married four decades ago, phoned up from US, where they are settled, to find out whether what I had written was true. They were excited: this should be "our Valentine's Day."
Ironical though it may seem, two days after the Maha Shivratri, during our group trip to a top temple in Ahmedabad district, a discussion arose on love marriage. A young Hindu love marriage couple -- who rebelled to get married -- said, Shiv and Parvati were not the only love marriage couples in our ancient past. Ram and Sita were also love marriage couples -- Sita chose her husband at the swayamvar ceremony; and so were Krishna and Rukmini. "There was no arranged marriage in the past. This arranged marriage is imposed on us now, it is a new phenomenon, we disapprove it", they regretted.

Comments

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. I don't know who owns this site, for there is nothing on it in the About Us link. It merely says, the Nashik Corporation site "is an educational and news website of the municipal corporation. Today, education and payment of tax are completely online." It goes on to add, "So we provide some of the latest information about Property Tax, Water Tax, Marriage Certificate, Caste Certificate, etc. So all taxpayer can get all information of their municipal in a single place.some facts about legal and financial issues that different city corporations face, but I was least interested in them." Surely, this didn't interest...

Beyond the 'plum' posting: Why the caste lens still defines bureaucratic success

Following my recent blog on former IAS bureaucrat Atanu Chakraborty’s sudden exit as non-executive chairman of HDFC Bank, a few colleagues from the Gujarat cadre — mostly those I interacted with during my Gandhinagar stint (1997–2012) as the Times of India representative — reacted rather sharply. Most of them sent their responses directly on WhatsApp, touching upon on the merits and demerits of Chakraborty’s controversial move. One former IAS officer, a Dalit, however, went further, raising a broader question: why do some officials like Chakraborty secure plum post-retirement assignments, while others are overlooked?

Blaming RTE, not underfunding: Education groups hit back at NITI Aayog working paper

A preliminary working paper by Arvind Virmani, economist and member of the Government of India think tank NITI Aayog, has concluded that the Right to Education (RTE) Act — enacted to guarantee free and compulsory schooling for children between six and fourteen — has actually worsened learning outcomes rather than improved them. The paper, published in March 2026 and reported by The Print on 16 April, has drawn sharp pushback from education rights advocates, who argue it builds a politically motivated narrative against constitutionally guaranteed entitlements.

Search This Blog