Sunday 29 July 2012

SHIVA :: who is Shiva






Who is Lord Siva ?


Siva or Shiva is one the gods of Hindu Trinity. He is worshipped by millions of Hindus all over the world. He is known as the destroyer of the worlds in His aspect of Rudra. He personifies anger, passion as well as compassion. He subdues all our passions and transforms the human body so as to make it divine. The human body devoid of Siva is Sava or a dead body. 




Parvathi is His consort while Ganga, His second consort adorns his head. Parvathi is his better half. Parvathi literally means parva+thi, the one who occupies the one half. Ganga is the divine consciousness he bears and then allows it to flow into human or earth consciousness. The bull Nandi is his vehicle. It symbolizes ignorance, passion and animality. 




Lord Vinayaka and Kumaraswamy are his two children, who are gods of great powers in their own right. Lord Siva symbolizes innocence, purity, charity, spiritual wisdom, inner harmony and greater good. 


If He is worshipped sincerely he is bound to response and free us from the bondage or Pasa. He transforms the Pasu (animal qualities) in us. And He is the Lord of All (Pasu Pathi).

SHIVA :: Snake symbolism




The Symbolism of Snakes in Saivism


Lord Siva is depicted in many images like the one above as wearing a garland of snakes around his neck. There is a deep symbolism hidden behind this. 
Lord Siva is know as Pasupathinath, the lord of all creatures. Being a lord of the animals he has complete control on their behavior. Since a snake is one of the most feared and dangerous animals in the world, the garland of snakes around the neck firmly establishes this fact even the snakes fear Him and remain under his control. 
The snake stands for all the evil and demonical nature in the world. By wearing the snake around his neck, Lord Siva gives us the assurance that no evil can touch us or destroy us once we surrender to him, seek his protection and worship him with deep devotion. 
The snake also stands for the power of kundalini, which is described as a coiled serpent lying dormant in the muladhara chakra of all human beings and descends upwards when one starts ones spiritual journey and becomes increasingly divine oriented. The snake around the neck of Siva conveys the meaning that in him the kundalini not only has arisen fully but is also actively involved in the divine activity by keeping an eye on all the devotees who approach Siva with their individual problems.
The snake also stands for all passions and desires. By wearing the snakes around his neck, Lord Siva conveys the message to all his devotees that He has overcome all desires and is in full control of Prakriti, or maya and its various machinations.

SHIVA :: picture gallery


SHIVA







SHIVA ::tomorrow last Monday Savan month






SHIVA


Shiva is believed to exist in many forms. His most common depiction is as a dark-skinned ascetic with a blue throat, usually seated cross-legged on a tiger skin.







Shiva’s hair is matted and coiled on his head, adorned with a snake and a crescent moon. Ganga is always depicted flowing out of his topknot. Shiva has four arms and three eyes. The third eye, in the middle of his forehead, is always closed and only opens to annihilate an evil doer. A garland of skulls, rudraksha beads, or a snake hang from his neck. Shiva also wears snakes as armlets and bracelets. The serpent race, despised and feared by all other creatures, found a place of honour on Shiva’s sacred person, simply because he was moved by their plight.




In one hand, Shiva holds his trishul, the Pinaka. The trishul usually has a damaru or waisted drum tied to it. In another hand, he holds a conch shell and in the third, a rudraksha rosary, a club, or a bow. One hand is usually empty, raised in a gesture of blessing and protection. The other points to his feet, where the devotee is assured of salvation. He wears a tiger or leopard skin around his waist, and his upper body is usually bare, but smeared with ashes, as befits an ascetic. His third eye is believed to have appeared when Parvati, in a playful mood, covered his eyes with her hands. Immediately, the universe was plunged into darkness and there was chaos. To restore order, Shiva formed another eye on his forehead, from which emerged fire to restore light.




The light from this eye is believed to be very powerful, and therefore destructive. Shiva opens his third eye only in anger, and the offender is burnt to cinders.


The name Shiva does not appear in the Vedas. However he is identified with the Vedic god Rudra, lord of songs, sacrifices, nourishment, the healer of diseases and provider of property. According to the Shiva Purana, Shiva is said to have five faces, corresponding to his five tasks, the panchakriya: creation, establishment, destruction, oblivion, and grace. His five faces are associated with the creation of the sacred syllable Om.

SHIVA

SHIVA



Shiva literally means “auspiciousness, welfare”. He is the third god of the Hindu Triad and is the destroyer of all evil. He represents darkness (tamas), and is said to be the ‘angry god’. However, according to Hinduism, creation follows destruction. Therefore Shiva is also regarded as a reproductive power, which restores what has been dissolved. As one who restores, he is represented as the linga or phallus (Shivalinga), a symbol of regeneration.


He has a 1,008 names, including Mahadeva (the great god), Mahesh, Rudra, Neelkantha (the blue-throated one), and Ishwar (the supreme god). He is also called Mahayogi, or the great ascetic, who symbolises the highest form of austere penance and abstract meditation, which results in salvation.

Monday 23 July 2012

NAG PANCHAMI

The Nag Panchami is a festival that celebrates the mystifying role of snakes, namely the cobra, in Hindu mythology. While there are numerous stories and legends that surround the origin of this custom of honoring snakes, the main binding element in all these versions, is the worship and respect of these elegant, yet, fearful creatures. Nag Panchami celebrated on the fifth day, panchami, of the Hindu month of Shravan.

Nag Panchami picture gallery

NAG PANCHAMI

Nag Panchami :: The legend



NAG PANCHAMI


The Legend


In ancient India, there lived a clan by the name of "NAGAS" whose culture was highly developed. The Indus Valley civilisation of 3000 B.C. gives ample proof of the popularity of snake-worship amongst the Nagas, whose culture was fairly wide-spread in India even before the Aryans came. After the Naga culture got incorporated into Hinduism, the Indo-Aryans themselves accepted many of the snake deities of the Nagas in their pantheon and some of them even enjoyed a pride of place in the Puranic Hinduism.


The prominent Cobra snakes mentioned in the Puranas are Anant, Vasuki, Shesh, Padma, Kanwal, Karkotak, Kalia, Aswatar, Takshak, Sankhpal, Dhritarashtra and Pingal. Some historians state that these were not snakes but Naga Kings of various regions with immerse power.


The thousand-headed Shesh Nag who symbolises Eternity is the couch of Lord Vishnu. It is on this couch that the Lord reclines between the time of the dissolution of one Universe and creation of another. Hindus believe in the immortality of the snake because of its habit of sloughing its skin. As such Eternity in Hinduism is often represented by a serpent eating its own tail.


In Jainism and Buddhism snake is regarded as sacred having divine qualities. It is believed that a Cobra snake saved the life of Buddha and another protected the Jain Muni Parshwanath. To-day as an evidence of this belief, we find a huge serpent carved above the head of the statue of Muni Parshwanath. In medieval India figures of snakes were carved or painted on the walls of many Hindu temples. In the carves at Ajanta images of the rituals of snake worship are found. Kautilya, in his "Arthashastra" has given detailed description of the cobra snakes.


Fascinating, frightening, sleek and virtually death-less, the cobra snake has always held a peculiar charm of its own since the time when man and snake confronted each other. As the cobra unfolded its qualities, extra-ordinary legends grew around it enveloping it in the garble of divinity. Most of these legends are in relation with Lord Vishnu, Shiv and Subramanyam.



The most popular legend is about Lord Krishna when he was just a young boy. When playing the game of throwing the ball with his cowherd friends, the legend goes to tell how the ball fell into Yamuna River and how Krishna vanquished Kalia Serpent and saved the people from drinking the poisonous water by forcing Kalia to go away.

It is an age-old religious belief that serpents are loved and blessed by Lord Shiv. May be therefore, he always wears them as ornamentation around his neck. Most of the festivals that fall in the month of Shravan are celebrated in honour of Lord Shiv, whose blessings are sought by devotees, and along with the Lord, snakes are also worshiped. Particularly on the Nag-Panchami day live cobras or their pictures are revered and religious rights are performed to seek their good will. To seek immunity from snake bites, they are bathed with milk, haldi-kumkum is sprinkled on their heads and milk and rice are offered as "naivedya". The Brahmin who is called to do the religious ritual is given "dakshina" in silver or gold coins some times, even a cow is given away as gift.



NAG PANCHAMI


Nag Panchami festival


Hinduism as a religion is many-sided yet bound by a common search for Truth and to Hindus it means a way of life and a fellowship of faiths. With the advent of the Aryans, it originated as a simple form of worship of the forces of Nature, drawing in its system action in social organisations, local cults, deities’ diverse beliefs and modes of worship.


Nag-Panchami is an important all-India festival and is celebrated on the fifth day of the moonlit-fortnight in the month of Shravan (July /August). This is the time when serpents invariably come out of their holes that get inundated with rain-water to seek shelter in gardens and many times in houses. As such they pose a great danger to man.


May be therefore, snakes are worshiped on this day. Right from the times when mankind started acquiring some sort of culture, Sun and Snake have been invoked with prayers and ritual worship in most of the countries. In India even before the Vedic times, the tradition of snake-worship was in vogue.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

MITHAI :: Indian sweets ,


Indian Sweets  :: MITHAI












Rasgulla






Rasgulla is a popular sweet relished in India and Pakistan. Originally a dessert in Orissa for centuries, this dish made its way to West Bengal when the Oriya cooks started migrating to West Bengal in search of jobs, bringing along the recipe. It was only then that Nobin Chandra Das of Kolkata modified its recipe to give it its current form. This dish is made by boiling small balls of casein in sugar syrup. This sweet dessert can be found in many east Indian households.




Sandesh
Sandesh is a sweet made from fine cheese made from cow's milk kneaded with fine ground sugar or molasses. This is a sweet from West Bengal and Orissa. Revered for its delicate making, and appreciated by the connoiseur, this represents sweet making at its finest. Sandesh comes in two varieties, "Norom Pak" (the softer version) and "Koda Pak" (the harder version). The softer version although more gentle and considered better, is fragile. The harder version is robust and often easier for storage. Molases made from dates can be used to make a special variation of Sandesh called "Noleen Gurher Sandesh" (a Sandesh made from "Noleen Gurh" or molases from dates) or simply "Noleen Sandesh" (as shown in the figure).


Shrikhand
Shrikhand is a creamy dessert made out of strained yogurt, from which water is drained off completely. Dry fruits, mango puree ,saffron or cardamom and sugar are added to the thick yoghurt to get the desired flavour and taste. It is served chilled .It is a West Indian traditional dish.

Indian Sweets :: Varieties




Indian Sweets


Barfi


Barfi is a sweet made of condensed milk and various other ingredients like ground cashews or pistachios. It is customary to attach a thin layer of edible silver foil for an attractive presentation.
Chikki
Chikki A simple sweet made out of peanuts and molasses.
Gulab Jamun
Gulab jamun is an Indian/Pakistani dessert made out of fried milk balls soaked in sweet syrup.


Jalebi Or Imarti
Jalebi is made by deep-frying flour in a circular (coil-like) shape and then dipping in sugar syrup. Imarti is a variant of Jalebi, with a different flour mixture and has tighter coils. Typically Jalebi is brown or yellow, while Imarti is reddish in color. Often taken with milk, tea, yogurt or Lassi.


Kulfi


Kulfis are traditional Indian/Pakistani ice-cream, where the sweetened milk/cream is frozen in small metal cans. Usually it has a milky appearance, but colors may be added for added attraction. A summer-time favorite in most parts of India, especially in the northern India. It comes in a variety of flavors such as mango kesar or cardamom. It is typically sold by street-side hawkers who carry around these frozen cans of kulfi in a big earthen pot. These vendors are known as "kulfiwalla" (one who sells kulfi).


Kheer


Kheer is a pudding, usually made from milk and one of these ingredients - vermicelli rice, Bulgar wheet, semolina, tapioca, dried dates, and shredded whitegourd. It is also known as "Payas".


Laddu


Laddu (sometimes transliterated as laddoo or laadu) is made of varieties of flour and/or semolina and other ingredients cooked in sugar formed into balls. The popularity of Laddu is due to its ease of preparation.
Variations in the preparation of Laddu result in a spectrum of tastes. Laddu is often made to celebrate festivals or household events such as weddings.


                                                           Jalebi
                                                                       Kheer (Payas)

Gulab Jamun
                                        Laddu



Indian Sweets :; Mithai

Indian Sweets :: Mithai

South Asian Sweets are a unique type of confectionary in Indian, Pakistani and other South Asian cuisines. The Hindi-Urdu word used to refer to sweets and confectionary is mithai. South Asian sweets are made with sugar, milk and condensed milk, and cooked by frying. The bases of the sweets and other ingredients vary by region. In the Eastern part of India, for example, milk is a staple, and most sweets from this region are based on milk products. For a more complete listing see List of Indian sweets and desserts.

Saturday 14 July 2012

Lychee Sharbat :: How to make it

LYCHEE



Lychee in Syrup (Compote)



Ingredients:
 450 grammes fresh lychees, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste




Preparation:
Peel lychees.
Make a lengthwise slit in each and remote pit, leaving pulp asd intact as possible.
Heat lychees, sugar, water and lemon juice in a small saucepan over moderate heat.
Stir just until sugar is dissolved.
Transfer to a medium bowl and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Lychee :: Famous from Muzaffarpur :: Bihar




LYCHEE

Lychee -- lichi :: Muzafferpur :: Bihar


Lychee


The litchi crop, which is available from May to June, is mainly cultivated in the districts of Muzaffarpur and surrounding districts, in an area of about 25,800 hectare producing about 3 Lakh tonnes every year. Lychee is exported to big cities like Bombay, Kolkata and to other countries. India's share in the world litchi market amounts to less than 1%. The names of the litchi produced in Muzaffarpur are Shahi and China. The fruits are known for excellent aroma and quality.

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Kathak Tanz




Zumeist ruft ein Sänger, begleitet von einer Tabla oder Pakhawaj, zu Beginn einer Kathak-Darbietung in einer Huldigungszeremonie (purvaranga) Ganesha an, um für ein gutes Gelingen der Veranstaltung zu bitten. Dann wird die Bühne mit Blumen und Weihrauch verehrt. Kathak wird von Frauen und Männern getanzt, oft als Solotanz. Im Gegensatz zu einigen südindischen Tanzstilen wird nicht auf der äußersten Kante der Fußsohle getanzt, sondern auf dem flachen Fuß und den Zehen. Die Tänzer tragen bis zu 150 Glöckchen und Schellen an den Fußgelenken, die die Fußarbeit, die im Kathak besonders wichtig ist, unterstreichen. Auch viele Drehungen, Sprünge und Pirouetten gehören zum Tanz, wobei die Position überwiegend vertikal ist. Die erzählenden Abhinaya-Teile werden fast nur mit Händen, Fingern und Armen zu einer sparsamen Mimik ausgeführt, wobei die Grundposition oft ruhig mit geschlossenen Füßen oder sitzend ist. Nach der eröffnenden Anrufung folgen kürzere Tänze, deren Abfolge nicht festgelegt ist. Es gibt bis zu hundert eher tänzerisch angelegte Stücke wie die Tukras und Paranas, bei denen der Tänzer auf den Zuruf harter Lautsilben reagiert, aber auch Tänze zu religiösen Gedichten und Tänze zu mystischen Liebesgedichten.
In den Gats werden Episoden aus dem Leben Krishnas dargestellt, wobei die Tänzer mehrere Charaktere darstellen. Die folkloristische Ras lila wird in Gruppen aufgeführt und erzählt von Krishna, Radha und den Gopis (Kuhhirtinnen).
Es besteht eine Ähnlichkeit zwischen Kathak und den Tänzen im Volkstheater Alibuxi khyal von Rajasthan.

KATHAK TANZ :: klassische Tanz aus Indien


KATHAK TANZ 

Kathak ist ein indischer Tanzstil, der vor allem in Nordindien, im Punjab und im Bundesstaat Uttar Pradesh verbreitet ist.


Geschichte



Er entwickelte sich seit dem 13. Jahrhundert durch umherziehende Barden und Geschichtenerzähler, die aus Kasten stammten, deren Beruf es war, religiöse Lieder (Bhajan oder Ghasel) zu singen und tänzerisch zu begleiten. Die meisten dieser Lieder handelten vom Leben Vishnus und Krishnas, infolge der muslimischen Herrschaft der Moghulen änderten sich jedoch Themen und Musik des Kathak grundlegend, da diese Kunstform nun vor allem an Höfen dargeboten wurde, wo die einheimischen Künstler auf persische und arabische Musiker stießen. Es wurden nun neben den religiösen auch weltliche Themen aufgegriffen. Vorlagen für die Tänze lieferten hinduistische Dichter wie Jayadeva, Kabir, Tulsidas und der den Vishnuismus predigende Chaitanya.
Seit dem 18. Jahrhundert gab es drei Orte und Sippen, an denen der Kathak wesentlich weiterentwickelt wurde. Die Jaipur-Gharana-Schule in Vrindavan, die sich durch schnelle Fußarbeit und Rhythmik auszeichnete, die Lakhnau-Gharana-Schule, die sich durch lyrische Elemente auszeichnete und die Janki-Prasad-Ghanara-Schule, die in Varanasi und Lahore wirkte, und deren Stil sich durch langsame Elemente und Fußarbeit zu skandierten Lautsilben auszeichnete.
Heutzutage gibt es viele Tanzzentren und Hochschulen in Indien, die Kathak lehren.

KATHAK :: HISTORY


History of Kathak




The story of Kathak begins in ancient times with the performances of professional story-tellers called kathakas who recited or sang stories from epics and mythology with some elements of dance. The traditions of the kathakas were hereditary, and dances passed from generation to generation. There are literary references from the third and fourth centuries BC which refer to thesekathakas. The two texts are in the archives of Kameshwar Library at Mithila.






maggasirasuddhapakkhe nakkhhate varanaseeye nayareeye uttarpuratthime diseebhage gangaye mahanadeeye tate savvokathako bhingarnatenam teese stuti kayam yehi raya adinaho bhavenam passayi (Prakrit text, 4th century BC).
Translation:
in the month of margashirsha, in the shukla-paksha nakshatra, to the north west of Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges, the shringar dance of the kathaks in praise of God pleased Lord Adinatha.

KATHAK DANCE

KATHAK DANCE 

Expressive Dance (Nritya)

Aside from the traditional expressive or abhinaya pieces performed to a bhajan, ghazal or thumri, Kathak also possesses a particular performance style of expressional pieces called bhaav bataanaa (lit. 'to show bhaav or 'feeling'). It is a mode where abhinaya dominates, and arose in the Mughal court. It is more suited to the mehfil or the darbar environment, because of the proximity of the performer to the audience, who can more easily see the nuances of the dancer's facial expression. Consequently, it translates to the modern proscenium stage with difficulty. A thumri is sung, and once the mood is set, a line from the thumri is interpreted with facial abhinaya and hand movements while seated. This continues for an indefinite period, limited only by the dancer's interpretative abilities. Shambhu Maharaj was known to interpret a single line in many different ways for hours but all the Maharaj family (Acchan Maharaj, Lachhu Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj and Achhan Maharaj's son Birju Maharaj) have found much fame for the naturalness and innovativeness of their abhinaya.

KATHAK DANCE ;; U P





KATHAK DANCE   ::  U P

Pure Dance (Nritya)
The structure of a conventional Kathak performance tends to follow a progression in tempo from slow to fast, ending with a dramatic climax. A short dance composition is known as a tukra, a longer one as a toda. There are also compositions consisting solely of footwork. Often the performer will engage in rhythmic 'play' with the time-cycle, for example splitting it into triplets or quintuplets which will be marked out on the footwork, so that it is in counterpoint to the rhythm on the percussion.
All compositions are performed so that the final step and beat of the composition lands on the 'sam' (pronounced as the English word 'sum' and meaning even or equal, archaically meaning nil) or first beat of the time-cycle. Most compositions also have 'bols' (rhythmic words) which serve both as mnemonics to the composition and whose recitation also forms an integral part of the performance. This recitation is known as padhant. Some compositions are aurally very interesting when presented this way. The bols can be borrowed from tabla (e.g. dha, ge, na, 'ti' 'na' 'ka' 'dhi na') or can be a dance variety (ta, thei, tat, ta ta, tigda, digdig, tram theyi and so on).
Often tukras are composed to highlight specific aspects of the dance, for example gait, or use of corners and diagonals, and so on. A popular tukra type is the chakkarwala tukra, showcasing the signature spins of Kathak. Because they are generally executed on the heel, these differ from ballet's pirouettes (which are properly executed on the toe or ball of the foot). The spins usually manifest themselves at the end of the tukra, often in large numbers: five, nine, fifteen, or more, sequential spins are common. These tukras are popular with audiences because they are visually exciting and are executed at great speed. Other compositions can be further particularised as follows:
1. Vandana, the dancer begins with an invocation to the gods;
Thaat, the first composition of a traditional performance; the dancer performs short plays with the time-cycle, finishing on sam in a statuesque standing (thaat) pose;
Aamad, from the Persian word meaning 'entry'; the first introduction of spoken rhythmic pattern or bol in to the performance;
Salaami, related to Ar. 'salaam' - a salutation to the audience in the Muslim style;
Kavitt, a poem set on a time-cycle; the dancer will perform movements that echo the meaning of the poem;
Paran, a composition using bols from the pakhawaj instead of only dance or tabla bols;
Parmelu or Primalu, a composition using bols reminiscent of sounds from nature, such as kukuthere (birds), jhijhikita (sound of ghunghru), tigdadigdig (strut of peacock) etc.;
Gat, from the word for 'gait, walk' showing abstract visually beautiful gaits or scenes from daily life;
Lari, a footwork composition consisting of variations on a theme, and ending in a tihai;
Tihai, usually a footwork composition consisting of a long set of bols repeated thrice so that the very last bol ends dramatically on 'sam'

KATHAK DANCE

KATHAK DANCE ::  U P

Kathak (Hindi: कथक) is one of the eight forms of Indian classical dances, originated from Uttar Pradesh, India. This dance form traces its origins to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India, known as Kathaks, or storytellers. Its form today contains traces of temple and ritual dances, and the influence of the bhakti movement. From the 16th century onwards it absorbed certain features of Persian dance and Central Asian dance which were imported by the royal courts of the Mughal era.
The name Kathak is derived from the Sanskrit word katha meaning story, and katthaka in Sanskrit means he who tells a story, or to do with stories. The name of the form is properly कत्थक katthak, with the geminated dental to show a derived form, but this has since simplified to modern-day कथक kathak. kathaa kahe so kathak is a saying many teachers pass on to their pupils, which is generally translated, 's/he who tells a story, is a kathak', but which can also be translated, 'that which tells a story, that is 'Kathak.'
There are three major schools or gharanas of Kathak from which performers today generally draw their lineage: the gharanas of Jaipur, Lucknow and Benares (born in the courts of the Kachwaha Rajput kings, the Nawab of Oudh, and Varanasi respectively); there is also a less prominent (and later) Raigarh gharana which amalgamated technique from all three preceding gharanas but became famous for its own distinctive compositions.