Aryaman Kakkar's Archive

Rama, or Lord Rama as he is venerated today, is the main focus of the Ramayana, one of the great epics of South Asia. Arguably greater than any icon of popular Hindu Devotion, Rama is worshipped as the marydad purushottam or ‘the supreme exemplar of correct behavior’.Touted as the foremost moral role model in modern Hindu households, he is seen as an instructor of social and political values. To quote Linda Hess: “ He is the ideal man and king; Sita is the ideal wife; his kingdom is the ideal state; his interactions with parents, brothers, gurus, subjects, and devotees demonstrate ideal familial and societal relationships. . .  The Hindu archetype of social and political perfection is called ramraj, the rule of Ram. ” ‘Ramraj’ as an ideal has been wielded by politicians and religious figureheads to guide their followers on how to live their lives, two of the most notable figures amongst them being Mohandas Gandhi and Narendra Modi. Their ideologies are pervasive in Indian and inte...

I breathe with trepidation as I approach the case on the sofa. Pulling the zip open, the wood of the violin gleams beneath the fluorescent light, the bow seeming taut as it hangs on to the top of the case. Removing the neck’s velcro bindings, the strings hum discordantly, loosened and cringing as time and changing air have their fun at my expense. The bottom resting on my diaphragm, one hand grips the joining neck as the other twists and arranges the tuning pegs, notes sliding across the air and through the hollow wooden body. Coming as close to a perfect set of singing strings as my hands and straining ears would allow, the violin is set down with its neck rest striking black against the rustic wood. The bow in its ebony hawthorn - as I imagine it to be - is the same. A few twists to tighten or loosen, and its readiness is near completion. Just the application of the fracturing resin is left, its smell faint as I rub it across the bow’s hair, only to return in full force as I run it a...