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On the top of many Hindu temples, one finds the image of a head looking down on the people below — his eyes protruding from its sockets, his mouth wide open, his tongue out. This is called the Kirtimukha, the Head of Glory, or Vajramukha, the Eternal Head.There are many stories to explain its origins. The most popular is that of a goblin who was created by Shiva to kill demons. But when the demons apologised, Shiva forgave them. Now, the goblin was hungry and asked the lord for food. Shiva said, “Why don’t you eat your own body?” The…

I grew up in an environment where perfection was expected — all the time, and in all aspects of my life. You had to wake up at a certain time, get dressed for school without being reminded, be a straight A student, have only ‘good girls’ as friends, walk to school but pretend you have blinkers on, come straight home, and spend the rest of your time buried in your school books. If you didn’t do everything that was expected from you, you were met with ‘what will she do tomorrow when she goes to her in-laws place?’It seemed to…