Varun Ravichandran

New essay - varunravichandran.substack.com/p/like-a-thous…

My wife yelled from upstairs and asked, “Do you ever get a shooting pain across your body, like someone's got a voodoo doll of you and they're stabbing it?” I replied, “No.” She responded, “How about now?”

One can’t figure out who is the Pakistani and who is the Indian from this exchange.

A civilization of scholars without soldiers is just a library waiting to be burned.

@TamilGramsci You and your brethren can try whatever you want. I am here to stay and do more of what I always do.

They deleted their LinkedIn account

So much tolerance that a restaurant open during roza is an outlier.

Easily, one of the most important books in recent times. A must read and an urgent read for every single Sanatani. Pure brilliance 👏👏👏

When an article relies heavily on frameworks derived from persons like Kamil Zvelebil — employing terms such as “Sanskritisation,” “Hindu appropriation,” or “Vedic influence” — without the readings of primary Sangam sources, this is how it will look like. Even a cursory engagement with Sangam literature shows that there is no theological distinction between Murugan and Karthikeya/Skanda apart from linguistic expression — one being the Tamil name, the other the Sanskrit equivalent. The attributes of the deity as described in Sangam texts align closely with pan-Indian Skanda traditions. Thirumurugatrupadai explicitly mentions Murugan being worshipped according to Vedic mantras without alteration of ritual procedure. (மந்திர விதியின் மரபுளி வழாஅ அந்தணர் வேள்வி ஓர்க்கும்மே) Iconographically too, the details are consistent: •Six faces — described in Thirumurugatrupadai •The Vel (spear) as primary weapon — noted in Paripadal •Peacock as vehicle (“விரை மயில் மேல் ஞாயிறு” – Paripadal) •Rooster as emblem (“சேவல் அம் கொடியன்” – Thirumurugatrupadai) These attributes correspond closely with sculptural depictions of Skanda in northern India and with coinage issued by the Yaudheya from pre-Common Era centuries. Similar iconographic continuity is seen under the Kushan Empire and later the Gupta Empire. While Murugan is indeed associated with hill landscapes in Tamil poetic convention (kurinji thinai), Sangam texts do not describe him as an exclusively “tribal” deity. On the contrary, sacred sites such as Tirupparankundram, Tiruchendur, and Swamimalai were significant and structured centres even in the early historic period. If one must speak of “appropriation,” it may be more historically accurate to question the framing that attempts to confine a widely worshipped pan-Indian deity — attested across regions, dynasties, and textual traditions — into a narrowly regional identity.

Israel and Pakistan spotting each other in the Board of Peace

bro has unwittingly named his son harihara

It's an interesting inflection point - Western societies have to now resolve the question of "Who we are" as a people and a nation. And even the best answers to these questions are vague and superficial. In the absence of a convincing answer, people will default to more obvious markers of race and ethnicity. But, these nations have significant minority populations now who do not fit those definitions of nationhood. Aside, certain racial and ethnic groups end up being 'first among equals.' If we consider Nations as, essentially, a covenant of ideas, then we see the potential risk this poses to stability and order. The covenant of ideas is always challenged, but it was restricted to the margin - in intellectual debates or forums - but it has moved way past that to the streets and to Presidential elections in a more fundamental way, where it's impeding people's way of life. I believe the line in the sand was crossed ages ago; whether you trace it back to 2015 with record migration to Europe or Trump's 2016 election win or Covid in 2020 or end of ZIRP in 2022 or some other point it doesn't matter. It's amply clear we're past that point. Ideas and nations evolve as cultures change and entropy builds, but this is not going to be a smooth transition. We are seeing unrest and chaos, already, with no respite in sight. In contrast, India is uniquely positioned in that we have a strong civilisational basis for our nationhood. It's hard to ignore; it's widely apparent in social life in India. And unlike farcical definitions of race or ethnicity (which, too, are consistent for us), we have a more universal, inclusive, and resilient definition. We have begun to reinforce that in our polity, we must continue to do so more stridently on route to a Viksit Bharat by 2047. /end

This impeachment is a bluff, but the entire saga is undermining the judiciary of this country. A court order has not been implemented and a de facto stay is on it just b'cos the State govt is wilfully adamant. It is dangerously shambolic, I write: swarajyamag.com/states/from-la…

Picking up from where @NonsensicalNemo left off in his latest piece (linked in the first comment), I write on the the battle for our minds - varunravichandran.substack.com/p/stepping-asi…

Meanwhile vegetables in TAMIL cuisine Poriyal - stir fry Aviyal - Boil Kadaiyal - Grind lentils with water Masiyal - Mash of boiled roots and leafy greens Thuvaiyal - Coarse Mash of stirfried vegetables Varuval - Deep Fry Vathakkal - Shallow Fry Vatral - Sun dried

🚨🚨 New Episode Out! 🎙️From Labs to Battlefields — India’s Next Defence Revolution | Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla (@Gen_RajShukla) In this powerful episode, Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla explains how warfare has changed — and why India must rethink national security for an age of drones, AI, startups, space tech, and industrial capacity. From China’s civil–military fusion to Ukraine’s tech-driven battlefield, we discuss the reforms, scale, and speed India will need to stay secure in the decades ahead. ⚔️🚀 🔥 Why future wars will be won by innovation ⚡ China’s military-industrial lead — and the gap we must close 🛰️ AI, drones, startups & the new battlefield 🏛️ Civil–military cooperation — what’s missing 🏗️ Saraswati → Lakshmi → Durga — power through knowledge & wealth 💬 “Innovation, scale and velocity — not committees — will decide victory.” — Lt. Gen. Raj Shukla Episode link below 👇👇

If you have been following my interviews of TR Ramesh @trramesh, this one will captivate you. I was so moved, I came to tears. This is only part 1 and more to come. Do not miss this. சிதம்பரம் கோவில் யாருக்குச் சொந்தம்? | PART 1 | Chidambaram | HR&CE | Ba... youtu.be/jWdhdqYnggo

Prashant Kishor's election performance reminds me of what happens when literary critics write their debut novels.

This reply lol

Bahrisons will always have my heart but nothing can capture the pure, unending, hoarder energy of Blossom Book House in Bangalore.