Anjali Kumar, the author of Stalking God — My Unorthodox Search For Something To Believe In, talks to Karthik Shankar about faith, the importance of keeping an open mind and the commonality of our humanity.
In 2010, Anjali Kumar, a New York-based lawyer at Google, had a spiritual crisis spurred by the birth of her daughter. She decided that she needed to set out to find god. However, Kumar didn’t settle for the familiarity of organised religion. Her multi-year search began with John of God, a medium based in Brazil who claims to channel kings, saints and doctors to heal people. This was followed by an eclectic spiritual sampling that tested her resolve. It required her to drink nausea-inducing volcanic water in Machu Picchu, have a Santa Claus-lookalike who is a tantric sound healer lie on top of her, attend pot luck on Thanksgiving with Wiccans and spend hours in a sweltering sweat lodge. All these spiritual episodes are wittily detailed in her eminently readable memoir Stalking God and referred to in her TED Talk which has been viewed over a million times.
As a self-avowed atheist, it was easy for me to dismiss Kumar’s insistence that “there has to be something out there.” Yet I was drawn to her winning candour and empathy which she uses to great effect in the book. Stalking God is more than a bible for believers; it’s a funny, illuminating and poignant look at our search for meaning and spiritual fulfilment in the modern world. An excerpt from a Skype conversation with Kumar....
WAS IT EASY FOR YOU TO JUMP INTO THESE STRANGE SPIRITUAL RITUALS?
When Zia was born I remember having a conversation with my father about taking her to a temple. That kick-started it for me. “Oh my god, I don’t know what I believe in!” I thought. I had never really wondered about what religion meant. The beautiful thing about Eastern religions is that they are woven into the fabric of our everyday and so there’s an ease with which we deal with them. As for jumping into different things, that is a part of my personality. I like to dabble in things.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2018-Ausgabe von Verve.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2018-Ausgabe von Verve.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Making Amends
This generation’s penchant for thoughtless consumption gets Madhu Jain roiled up, and she wonders if nature is getting its own back for our missteps…
Diamonds With Provenance
In keeping with the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany & Co. and chairman and president at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, enlightens Shirin Mehta on the efforts that make the jewellery giant an industry leader in transparency
SARTORIAL ECONOMICS
Sisters Tashi and Tara Mitra demonstrate to Akanksha Pandey how deviating from the mainstream can bend the way we think, live and dress
NOTES TO SELF
An anthropomorphized tiger’s perspective, a viscerally worded futuristic interpretation of loss, a critique of performative activism, a meta reflection on the earth’s crises. Told through different lenses, Janaki Lenin, Indrapramit Das, Keshava Guha and Roshan Ali’s stories — written exclusively for Verve — attempt to make sense of the fraught reality that we exist in today
The Eternal Optimist
As Generation X and xennials grapple with fully transitioning to conscious living, young millennials and Generation Z are leading the charge to reverse human-caused environmental damage. Sahar Mansoor, founder and CEO of the Bengaluru-based zero-waste social enterprise Bare Necessities, has a simple overarching philosophy: consume less and stay positive. Verve gets deeper into the mindset of the action-oriented earth advocate
Redemption SONGS
Indian music festivals have been demonstrating a refreshing sense of responsibility in terms of their ecological impact. Interacting with stakeholders who strive to make these large-scale events greener, Akhil Sood investigates the reasons behind the improved attitudes of audiences and the increase in corporate support.
earth hour
Crafted using nature’s elements, these dials draw inspiration from the many heterogeneous materials and hues around us.Verve turns its lens onto a mesmerising few
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Children are holding adults accountable for both the grim future they are facing and the toll this is taking on their mental health. Madhumita Bhattacharyya initiates conversations with families of young climate activists and observes the extent to which parenting has changed in the face of catastrophe
NATURAL JUSTICE
Most of us are only just waking up to the urgency of climatic action. When the stakes are so high, what can individual action solve? Mridula Mary Paul, an environmental policy expert, is proof of the tenacity needed to effect systemic change. It’s not glamorous, and the rewards are few and far between, but that doesn’t stop her from aiming big, finds Anandita Bhalerao
Along For The Ride
Navigating Indian streets as a woman is hard enough. But what is it like while riding a bicycle? Bengaluru-based Shreya Dasgupta, a regular cyclist, speaks to five urban women about the pros and cons of this increasingly popular means of transport.
