Finding Nemo

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the US Declaration of Independence, he coined the famous phrase "All men are created equal". For centuries since then the phrase has gained popularity and has exuberated its meaning in different forms. The phrase has been used in decorating the speeches, writings and reflecting the intellectual bent of mind by many. Well, I am not untouched by the vast sense of meaning of the phrase either. I love it! The challenge though comes with what follows the initial phrase – "All men are created equal,…..". It is left for the others to supplement the phrase with additional words forming a statement. And this too has been a very populist subject. I remember in the late 1990's, the editorial of one of the leading newspapers of its time used the phrase to cause quite a stir. It read – "All men are created equal, but some are more equal". This became one of the common themes for essays, group discussions, debates and other literary wo

पाती तुम्हें लिख रहा हूँ, दिल थाम कर पढ़ना। बातें तो बहुत हैं, पर आज कुछ विशेष है कहना। चाहो तो मुझे ही दोषी कहना, पर मेरा हाल भी समझना। जो सपने हमने देखे थे, उन्हें जीवन मत समझना। जिन राहों पर चलना था, उन पर बबूल उग आये हैं, ज़रा देखना। मेरा धीमे चलना तुम्हें नापसंद था, पर तेज चलना कठिन है, ज़रा समझना। तुम दूर जा चुकी हो, पर मुझे आज भी अपने आंसुओं में पाना। अब जो भी है, वही जीवन है, इस जीवन को सुख से जीना। मैंने भी जीवन से बहुत सीखा है, तुम मेरी चिंता मत करना। अब भी सपने देखना, पर मुझे नायक मत बनाना। इस संदेसे को खूब पढ़ना, और जो अनकहा है, वह भी समझना। दोषी न तुम हो, न मैं, पर इस सज़ा को तो पड़ेगा सहना। मैं हर गम सह लूँगा, बस तुम्हारे सुख की ही करूंगा कामना। फिर से विनती करता हूँ, कभी अलविदा ना कहना, मुझे अपने आँसुओं में छुपा कर रखना। पाती तुम्हें भेज रहा हूँ, दिल थाम कर पढ़ना। 

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 land of Rama has a lot to o

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