Be Indian

Being a proud Indian, I support using Indian products.
I too believe in the "Be Indian, Buy Indian, Use Indian, Wear Indian" concept.

We need to uphold our sense of nationalism & flaunt Indian clothes with pride & style.When foreigners visit our India, they should get a feel of our "national costumes".

Sad that most of our youngsters are casually dressed in western-wear & do not wear Indian-clothes most of the time...

It's also true that many are more Indian than we think. Here are some examples - REAL, REEL & RHYME.

The following are some of my ideas how to share the "Be Indian" message-

On The Bench

She loved him. When she asked if he did too, he was defensive.

She was needy of his love, but he had conditions...

PHOTO PROMPT Copyright- The Reclining Gentleman ; Pic used with permission from Friday Fictioneers

Favorite Playthings- Puppets

Puppets of different shapes & sizes- His creations were His favorite playthings,

He was in charge of their destinies- whether they'll be grounded or have wings...

He pulled the strings as per His wish & the puppets danced to His music.

Letter To Mom This Diwali

Dear Mom, I miss you so much...what to say?
Though God has invited you to His heavenly abode,
I have your memories that dazzle everyday.
Distance may separate, but feelings won't erode...

Photo Prompt for Magpie Tales- Pic used with Permission

REAL, REEL AND RHYME!

REAL

India has ‘Unity in Diversity’. From centuries, India has been open in welcoming outside elements & change, assimilating their culture & enriching its cultural diversity. 

Now, the whole world is in the same process. 

In her book ‘World Class: Thriving at home in the Global Economy’, Rosabeth Moss Canter, a Harvard Business School Professor, writes that cultural diversity is an asset. The key to turning access to cultural diversity into an asset is Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC). Without eliminating differences, ICC helps deal with clashing cultures.

Indian connection proves that the world is more Indian than we think.

People from all over the world come seeking for answers and get enriched by India’s wealth of wisdom.

In mid-1974, a young Steve Jobs, Apple’s ex-CEO, had travelled to India with his friends in search of spiritual enlightenment. They toured extensively in India. There was a transformation in their personality because of the time they spent here. 

Many ‘foreigners’ visit India as they are spiritually drawn & adopt India as their home. They learn and contribute. Sadhus & Sadhvis of ISKCON & those who stay by the banks of the river Ganga etc. are more Indian than we think.

Italy-born Ileana Citaristi, is now an Odissi & Chhau dancer, based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha since 1979. In 2006, she became the first dancer of foreign origin to be conferred the Padma Shri Award for her contributions to Odissi dance. Ileana is more Indian than we think.

Odissi Dance of Odisha, India; Source

At The Graveyard...

When I went there, I could sense the heavy atmosphere,

Under the stars shining bright, tears were falling without fear. 

Self-portrait, Vivian Maier ;  Used with permission from Magpie Tales

Durga Puja - Khan Nagar, Cuttack

Durga Puja, an important festival of Odisha, India, has been celebrated for centuries here.

Cuttack, the estwhile capital city of Odisha, has Pandals whose budgets are crores of rupees.
Yes, you read it right. Not lakhs, but crores of rupees!

The idols are dressed in pure Gold & Silver-Filigree..

Cuttack is famous for its beautiful Silver-Filigree craft items & jewellery.
You must see the intricate designs to believe your eyes.
All this makes Cuttack a must-visit, isn't it?

This year too, Cuttack had hundreds of Pandals as usual.

I had the privilege to visit a few of them, but I could manage to click pics only of one- the Khan Nagar Pandal.

Durga Puja - Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja is an important festival of Odisha, a state of India.
Durga Puja is being celebrated in Odisha from many centuries.

Durga Puja celebrates the victory of Goddess- Maa Durga over a demon- Mahisasura.

The capital of Odisha is the temple-city- Bhubaneswar.

This year as usual, it had beautiful Durga Puja Pandals.

Presenting some pics from the Rasulgarh Pandal of Bhubaneswar:

Durga Puja - Old Station Square, Bhubaneswar

Not many know that Durga Puja has been celebrated for centuries in Odisha, a state of India.

Durga Puja is celebrated with great grandeur & style here.

This year, I was particularly touched by the Durga Puja Pandal at Old Station Square, Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, is called the Temple City of India. One time it had more than 100,000 temples; now there are hundreds...

Note- The following photos and images shared in this post are from the Old Station Square Durga Puja Pandal of Bhubaneswar. The Pandal  presented a glimpse of history with relevant social messages that set me thinking.

Durga Puja - Jharpada, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja is an important festival of India that celebrates the triumph of good over evil.

It is celebrated with great pomp & grandeur in Odisha, a state of India.

As usual, the twin-cities of Bhubaneswar & Cuttack had beautiful Puja Pandals this year too.

Jharpada, a locality of Bhubaneswar, had designed its Pandal like the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand!

It was great to find the Grand Palace of Bangkok in the Temple City of Bhubaneswar!

Some pics of the Jharpada Puja Samiti for you!

Durga Puja - Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja is an important festival of Odisha, India and is celebrated with pomp & grandeur.

Odisha's capital is the Temple-city, Bhubaneswar.

Here are some pics of the Nayapalli Durga Puja Samiti Pandal.

Nayapalli is a locality of Bhubaneswar:

Doesn't the palace, oops Pandal, look appealing?

It was past midnight when we reached. Yet, look at the crowd!

Notice the deities Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra & Lord Jagannath strategically placed on the Pandal just above the "Welcome" :

There was lovely lighting on the road leading to the Pandal.

It truly looked like a magical Palace:

This was just one of the Durga Puja Pandals of Bhubaneswar.

Here are some more posts with pics of the Pandals I visited this year in Odisha:

Durga Puja - Old Station Square, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Khan Nagar, Cuttack

Durga Puja - Jharpada, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Bomikhal, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Unit 1, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Ashok Nagar, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Sahid-Nagar, Bhubaneswar

Odisha celebrates Durga Puja in grand style.

Its Pandals are enough proof. There are hundreds of Pandals and super celebration!

Odisha's present capital city- Bhubaneswar & its erstwhile capital city- Cuttack had amazing Pandals this year too.

Here are some pics from the Pandal of Sahid-Nagar, a posh locality of Bhubaneswar.

Durga Puja - Unit 1, Bhubaneswar

Odisha has celebrated Durga Puja for centuries.

Bhubaneswar & Cuttack, the twin-cities, have hundreds of Pandals.

Here are a few Pandals of Odisha we got to visit this year:


Durga Puja - Old Station Square, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Khan Nagar, Cuttack

Durga Puja - Jharpada, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Sahid Nagar, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Bomikhal, Bhubaneswar

Durga Puja - Ashok Nagar, Bhubaneswar


When we crossed the Unit-1 area, where there's a big haat (market), we found an attractive brick-coloured building that looked like a temple.
Of course, it was a Durga Puja Pandal!

Durga Puja - Bomikhal, Bhubaneswar

Not many know that the Durga Puja is an important festival of Odisha, India.

There are lots of Pandals in every village, town and city of Odisha.

Here are some pics from Bomikhal, an area of the capital-city of Odisha, Bhubaneswar.

Got to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Bhubaneswar!

Cyclone Phailin

Last week, we visited one of the most important ShaktiPeeths of India,  the Maa Tara Tarini Temple in Berhampur, Odisha. As our visit was after a couple of years, we were happy to see the developments there but sad to see the absence of the erstwhile greenery. Some parts of the once green hill now look barren & as if all the plants & trees have been cleanly shaven off... just like a clean-shaven head without any hair...

From this newspaper article, we realized that it's the result of last year's Phailin Cyclone attack where Gopalpur and its surrounding areas in Odisha, including the Temple-City, Bhubaneswar & the Silk-City, Berhampur, were badly hit.

Cyclone Phailin, a Category 5 Cyclone,  made its presence felt last year from October 4th to 14th, 2013.

The landfall  was near Gopalpur, Odisha with the highest wind being 260 km/h.
In Odisha, 11.5 Lakh people were evacuated, while in Andhra 1.3 Lakh people were evacuated.

In contrast, the recent Cyclone HudHud is a Category 4 Cyclone that has emerged from October 7th 2014 onwards with winds about 175  km/h.                                                    
In Odisha, 1.6 Lakh people have been evacuated, while in Andhra 5 Lakh people have been evacuated.

Last year's memories are still fresh in my mind.
Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, was also ravaged by the strong winds and the heavy rains.

Here are some pics taken last year in Bhubaneswar by my sister from our home's terrace:

Notice the fallen branches of trees.

Diwali With Family

Diwali is an important festival of India, our nation.
Diwali is called the "Festival of Lights"as there's illumination.

 

During celebrations it is sad to be away from one's family.
Festivals are for get-together & to enjoy together happily!

Wishing over phone or through emails or SMS is not as much fun...
Everyone dreams of real meetings & being a part of the celebration.

A Diwali Meeting is much better than an SMS Greeting-
One is real & face-to-face; while the other is in digital space! :)

Cyclone HudHud

I get very disturbed when there are natural calamities. Who doesn't get affected?

The memories of Cyclone Phailin, in Odisha on October 12th, exactly a year ago, are still fresh in my mind.

The effects of any natural calamity like a cyclone is devastating. It incurs a lot of pressure on our administrative machinery and takes a toll on general public & development...
We lose a lot of time and resources...

When I first heard the name of the latest cyclone- HudHud, being the HUGE Hindi Movies Fan that I am, I remembered the title song from the Salman Khan starrer- Dabangg.
In Hindi, the word Dabangg means fearless.

No doubting the power of Cyclone HudHud Dabangg.

It had started making its presence felt much before its arrival.

"Coming Soon to Odisha & AP. Nature's Production & Direction-From the makers of Phailin." 

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

I love the words, ideas and speeches of our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.

Today, on October 11th, 2014 his speech is notable & inspirational, as usual.

The occasion is Shri Jaiprakash Narayan's 112th birth-anniversary when Shri Modi has launched a new village development scheme named - 'Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana'.

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana means- Parliamentary Model Village Scheme.


Some key points-

- All basic facilities with 100% access to education and health should be available in villages.

- MPs should adopt a village and work towards its development; Create a model that can be replicated by others.

- The PM himself plans to adopt a village in Varanasi and work for its development.

- India's development model has been supply-driven. We want to change it by making it demand-driven.

- Let us create an atmosphere where every person takes pride in his or her village.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan!

Dear Mr. Amitabh Bachchan,

We watched the 1stDay1stShow of your movies.

When U won all those Awards, we said Cheese! 

180 Films in 45 years with 39 Filmfare Nominations-

Not only the pride of India, but U r a global inspiration. 

On The Beach

Happiness on the beach for Mr.Bakshi!
He ogled at a pretty lady in a bikini sexy!

Photo-Prompt- The Moving Quill

Mrs.Bakshi, who was wet, was wild seeing this.
Hubby staring at another woman is no bliss...

Borderless

Photo by Tom Chambers ; Used with permission from  Magpie Tales

They created artificial boundaries & conspired to take her hostage & monstrously imprison.

She never lost her spirit, her confidence or the sight of her dream to reach for the horizon.

This world may be filled with hatred, but as long as there are believers, there's light & hope.

She dedicated herself completely to her music & expressed herself & her desires to cope...

Treasured Assets - Some Examples From Bollywood

Recently, there was much brouhaha about "cleavage" in the social media. A top-actress, Deepika Padukone, was targeted just before the release of her movie, 'Finding Fanny'. Last year, actress Sonam Kapoor was under similar focus with the release of her movie, 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'.

Actresses have always been the cynosure of attention, sometimes unfair & ugly.

Mango people (Aam Aadmi) or ordinary citizens like you and me don't have it much better...

We judge others and get judged too. We get judged even if we don't judge :)

Thanks all for voting for my idea for IndiSpire #33:

To answer this question, I present some lyrics, dialogs & situations from Hindi Movies in this post.

Durga Puja- Ashok Nagar, Bhubaneswar

The Temple City of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha- a state of India, boasts of spectacular Durga Puja celebrations with artistic & beautiful idols & Pandals.

Durga Puja is an important festival of India that is celebrated with much pomp and grandeur, especially in Eastern India.

Sharing some pics of Durga Puja of the Ashok Nagar Puja Samiti Pandal of 2014 that I have clicked in the past couple of days.

Ashok Nagar is an area/locality of Bhubaneswar. Each locality has its own Pandal(s).

The pics tell their own story.