Finding Nemo

The more I learn, the more I am amazed and realize how little do I know!  I wrote about Navratri and its significance a few months ago -  Navratri . Also, I tried to explain the Golu puja as per Tamil tradition in my previous blog -  Celebrating Navratri through toys – Golu . In these blogs, I did cover and explain the importance of each of the nine days of Navratri.  Decked up in beautiful shimmery attires people were dancing to the tunes of Bhajans and Bollwood numbers on the Dandiya floor. Being heavy on foot, I silently watched them from a corner. Though Garba and Dandiya dances are folk dances of Gujarat, I saw friends from almost every part of India and even foreigners enjoying in the dance. And then I started thinking of how the same festival is being celebrated by many in different ways. I shall try my best to summarize the nine different traditions being followed in different parts of the country for this fantastic festival.  Uttar Pradesh - T he lan...

I have been visiting my Tamil friends' home celebrating navratri and looking at their Golu. Out of curiosity and my interest in knowing their culture, we have always discussed the various aspects of the ritual and the festival. This year our kids started showing interest in observing the arrangement. And thus came the idea for this article. A lot of the information here is well known to many and can be found on many websites or other blogs. So please do not charge me with plagiarism for the common knowledge! Golu or Kolu is an arrangement of dolls usually done in the Tamil and Telugu households. Also known as Bommai Kolu iin Tamil, Bombe Habba in Kannada, Bomma Gullu in Malyalam and Bommala Koluvu in Telugu. In Tamil, Golu or Kolu means the divine presence and in Telugu it means a court of toys. Some call it Golu while other call it Kolu. Since it represents an 'arrangement' of toys on the steps, it could have been derived from the word kolum – an arrangement of dots wh...

Dakhsha Prajapati is a famous character in Hindu Mythology. Most of us remember him as a loving father who adored his daughter and doted her so muc that he did not approve of her marrying a hermit. His only flaw being the love of his daughter that eventually drove him to limits of sanity and eventually claimed the life of his daughter – Uma and thus forced Shiva to perform the tandav. What we overlook is that Brahma created Daksha as his son to be a "Prajapati" – a provider for his creation and help Brahma's creation grow. Of all the Brahma's son, Daksha was chosen to be a ruler who would create a mankind and would establish ways for it to grow. He was known to be the skilled one in every field and hence got the name – Daksha. He is known to have more than a thousand sons. Once Daksha wanted to teach his sons important lesson for future. He invited them all to his palace for a grand feast. He asked his cooks to prepare the best of the food and make sure that the...

चहचाहते पेड़ , मस्तानी पवन, शोर करती चंचल सरिता , और संजीवनी देता सूरज।  यही पा कर ही, कल ही तो डेरा लगाया था।  पेड़ भी मिले , पक्षी भी मिले , सरिता भी मिली, और सागर भी मिले, सूरज भी मिला और चाँद संग तारे भी मिले, उछलते कूदते जानवर, और शिल्प गाथा गाते पत्थर भी मिले।  तभी तो, यहीं डेरा लगाया था।  सब कुछ मिला पर कुछ अधूरा था , इस सुन्दर प्रकृति के बीच मैं अकेला था।  जो भी पाया वह मैं था और मेरा सपना था।  पर अपनी खोज में मैं सभी से दूर हो गया था।  और जो साथ थे, अपनाते ही ना थे।  तभी तो आज डेरा उखड़  गया।   क्यों था मैं अकेला? क्यों छोड़ गए मुझे सब? प्रकृति की रचना अच्छी तो मैं क्यों नहीं? मैं तो सोच रहा, तुम भी सोचो ना।  सोचना फिर तो खोजना मुझे, क्यों की कल ही तो डेरा लगाया था, और आज उखड भी गया। 

The river Ganga – one of the pillars of Indian Vedic culture is also known as "Bhaagirathi". This name came from Raja Bhagirath who is said to be reason why Ganga had to leave her heavenly abode and descend to flow on Earth. It is said that once there was a great king Sagar of the Surya dynasty. He was a Suryavanshi and a forefather of Lord Rama. Once he performed an Ashwamegha yagna in which his army follows the yagna horse. All the area that the horse travels upon then belongs to the king who performs the yagna. If anyone resists, he shall face the king's army. Unfortunately, Sagar lost his horse and then he ordered his 60,000 sons to find the same. They went all over the place uprooting life and burning forests to look for the horse. Finally they reached the ashram of Sage Kapila and found the horse tied in a corner. Enraged, they thought the meditating sage was the thief and disrupted Sage's meditation and tried to burn the ashram down. Horrified at the accusation...

We celebrated Ganesha Chaturthi about a week ago. Right after the great veneration all of us immerse the Ganesha idol into water symbolizing he deportation and mingling with the five elements of the nature. When devotees carry the idol to the nearest water body or the place for immersing the idol, they chant hymns to invite the lord again next year. What we often overlook is the philosophy we emphasize through this ritual –the cycle of nature. Hinduism follows the lunar calendar – based on the cycles of the lunar phases – waxing and waning of the moon. Following the lunar phase where we bid farewell to Lord Ganesha, the phase is used for remembering our ancestors and paying them homage. Well known as Pitra Paksha, this lunar phase lasts 15-16 days. During the Pitra Paksha, it is expected for everyone to pay homage to their ancestors in form of "Pind Daan" and pray for their wellness in the other world. The "Pind" is actually a ball made of cooked rice & barley ...