series ⁽¹¹⁾

Bharat Singh Bhadwal 30 November 2025

Chitralekha Part VI - The Solitude of Choice

“हर मनुष्य अकेला है, और अपने कर्मों का उत्तरदायी भी।” Every human being is alone, and accountable for their own actions. That line appears late in the book, almost hidden in a quiet dialogue, but it struck me like a bell. It’s the point where…

Bharat Singh Bhadwal 30 November 2025

Chitralekha Part V - In the Company of the Stoics

“हम अपने कर्मों के स्वामी हैं, परिस्थितियों के नहीं।” We are masters of our actions, not of our circumstances. I didn’t think a Hindi novel from 1934 could remind me of Marcus Aurelius — a Roman emperor writing to himself nearly two thousand years earlier.

Bharat Singh Bhadwal 30 November 2025

Chitralekha Part IV - In the Company of the Gita

“कर्म करो, फल की चिंता मत करो।” Act, but do not cling to the fruit of your action. It’s a line we all know — the heartbeat of the Bhagavad Gita. We hear it so often that it risks becoming background noise, a moral slogan…

Bharat Singh Bhadwal 30 November 2025

Chitralekha Part III - Desire and Detachment

“इच्छा और त्याग—ये दोनों ही जीवन के दो छोर हैं। और जीवन का सत्य इन दोनों के बीच में बहता है।” Desire and renunciation—these are the two ends of life. Truth flows somewhere in between. I have always found that line haunting. It sounds simple…

Bharat Singh Bhadwal 24 November 2025

Chitralekha Part II —The Woman Named Chitralekha

“मैं पापिनी नहीं हूँ। मैं अपने जीवन की परिस्थितियों की देन हूँ। और मैंने इन परिस्थितियों से झूठ नहीं बोला है।” I am not a sinner. I am a product of my circumstances. And I have not lied to them. When I first met Chitralekha…