Posts by Sai Priya Chodavarapu

Dhīti is a blog for long form essays, expressions of civilizational voice, cinema and literature review, and more.

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The Navakalēvara Ceremony at Puri: Ritual Embodiment of Jagannātha

This piece describes the fascinating ritual of Navakalēvara that happens periodically — with special attention paid to the involvement and crucial importance of all jātis and tribes in the ritual — which speaks to the syncretism and inter-dependence of castes at the shrine.

Sai Priya Chodavarapu 23 min read

Bodhas

India’s Lesser Known Storytelling Traditions - The Narrative Paintings of Paiṭhāṇ

Paiṭhaṇ paintings come from a flourishing tradition of narrative illustrations and are the work of the village artists from the Mahārāṣṭra-Karṇāṭaka border region belonging to the *Citrakathi* caste, the earliest ones traced to the town of Paithan near Aurangabad.

Sai Priya Chodavarapu 11 min read

Bodhas

The Culture Iceberg - A Discussion and Critique

A review of Edward Hall's model of culture and its limitations, that explains how it doesn't fully capture cultural complexity. Reestablishing cultural context through knowledge systems in education policy can help preserve and revive cultural identity.

Sai Priya Chodavarapu 10 min read

Bodhas

Śiva as Naṭarāja, the Cosmic Dancer - Iconography and Symbolism

It is said that Śiva does not dance in the day but rather, at twilight, the darkness pierced only by his own effulgence and the light emanating from the moon on his head, the licks of the flame in his hand, and the gems on the heads of the cobras that adorn his body.

Sai Priya Chodavarapu 9 min read

Culture And Policy

Kalaripayattu

Kalaripayaṭṭu must be elevated, as a traditional psychophysiological discipline, as a ‘scientific’ system of physical culture, and as an arena of experience and self-transformation: the crucible of the individual’s experience where embodied practice helps shape a self.

Sai Priya Chodavarapu 12 min read

Bodhas

Kāntāra and Universe of the Bhūtas

A review of the massively successful Kāntāra, appreciating the film’s foray into Karnataka’s lesser known Bhūta universe, along with an account of the tradition itself.

Sai Priya Chodavarapu 13 min read

Cinema And Books

Swarnakamalam and the Value of the Performing Arts

A glimpse into the timelessness of the traditional arts, conveyed through superior cinema: Swarnakamalam; and the discussion of modernity threatening the value of traditional systems in its lyrical expositions.

Sai Priya Chodavarapu 6 min read

Cinema And Books

T. S. Eliot’s Conception of Culture

Cultures across the world produce seekers and seers who bring home the truth. In India, this process is a living tradition. In other places, we have a rare T.S. Eliot who breaks the hold.

Sai Priya Chodavarapu 12 min read

Dharma Today

Oral Storytelling Traditions

A rounded coverage of the oral storytelling traditions that prevail among old cultures around the world, and especially in India.

Sai Priya Chodavarapu 9 min read

Culture And Policy

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Sai Priya Chodavarapu

The Navakalēvara Ceremony at Puri: Ritual Embodiment of Jagannātha

India’s Lesser Known Storytelling Traditions - The Narrative Paintings of Paiṭhāṇ

The Culture Iceberg - A Discussion and Critique

Śiva as Naṭarāja, the Cosmic Dancer - Iconography and Symbolism

Kalaripayattu

Kāntāra and Universe of the Bhūtas

Swarnakamalam and the Value of the Performing Arts

T. S. Eliot’s Conception of Culture

Oral Storytelling Traditions