Author: Peter Sahota
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On cakes and hot cross buns
Nursery rhymes in general are a precious store of cultural history and popular wisdom, and the above rhyme is no exception.
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𑀤𑀻𑀧𑀸𑀯𑀮𑀻-𑀫𑀢𑀂 – 𑀴𑀢𑀬𑀁 𑀘 𑀴𑀢𑀬𑀸𑀕𑀭𑀳𑀰𑀘
दीपावल्युत्सवे यत्सत्यं तदेव विजयेदिति वयं मनोभिः संकल्पामः |
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Remembrance Day Thoughts – Poetry and WW1
‘For the Fallen’ is one of the most well-known poems, not only of its author Laurence Binyon, but in fact of all war poetry. Often recited at Remembrance Day services, it seems to strike the right note of solemn dignity, lauding the sacrifices of English soldiers who died in the First World War without glorifying…
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Sanskrit prompts for ChatGPT
ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) are a major technology breakthrough, albeit some of the claims made about their capabilities is overstated. Rather than being genuinely creative or intelligent, what such models can do is to continually repackage, rephrase and recombine things that human beings have already created.
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Pope, poet and Opet: pathfinders three
Today, the title of pontiff is held by the pope, yet this title, in its Latin form, pontifex, traces back to ancient Rome, where it was held by the highest-ranking priests.
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The Mirror in Indian Art and Literature
I recently read a fascinating article by Christopher P Jones, ‘Decoding Reflections: The Meaning of Mirrors in Art’, where the author talks about some important European paintings featuring mirrors, and explains the role and symbolism of the mirror in each painting. After reading it, I thought of the depiction of mirrors in Indian art and…
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World Happiness and Indian Philosophy
As the exuberant celebrations of the ‘Holi’ festival last month were dying down, a slight dampener came in the form of the release of the ‘World Happiness Report 2023’. The report authors managed to rank India as 126th out of 136 countries surveyed, far behind countries such as Pakistan (108) and Ukraine (92).
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Poetry for the G20
This year India holds the presidency of the G20, and is hosting high-level diplomatic and ministerial meetings which are now in full swing. The theme of this Indian presidency is the Sanskrit phrase “वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्” taken from the Mahā Upanishad, or, in English, it is ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.
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On doubt in science and religion
That doubt is of the greatest value in supporting the scientific tradition has been a fundamental principle for many of the greatest scientists. Richard Feynman has eloquently described how doubt and intellectual humility are values at the heart of the scientific enterprise.
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Indra driving the chariot
The chariot race was one of the most important competitive sports in Greece, Rome and many other ancient cultures. In the Iliad, we read a description of a chariot race held as part of the funeral games. The energy and competitive spirit of the racers is vividly described as follows
Desire To Think 