Banajaga Yatra And Nabakalebara in Puri, Odisha

Lord Ram's birth is celebrated as Ram Navami. It was celebrated yesterday.

During the birth month of Lord Ram i.e. in Chaitra, in Puri, Odisha, India, there are processions with the idols of Lord Ram, Sita & Laxman. There are grand celebrations for 15 days. This is called 'Sahi Jata'. In Odia language, 'Sahi' means locality/street. There is a 'Jatra' /'Yatra'- procession where people wear masks and costumes and there is theatre sort of Odia RamLeela. Residents of different localities of Puri have been taking part in this since 1230 AD:

Sahi Jata at Puri, Odisha ; Source

Ram Navami And Ashokastami In Odisha

Odisha, a state of India, boasts of centuries old art, architecture, culture and festivals.

Sitabinji, a village in Odisha, has a link to the Ramayana and houses an ancient 1500 years old painting as shown below:

1500 years old Fresco art in Sitabinji, a village in Odisha ; Source

Many places of Odisha have historical significance.
Many festivals are still celebrated with great pomp and grandeur.


Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, is called the Temple City as at one time it had more than 10,000 temples, out of which many still exist.

Need For Dignity

“But you don’t need to worry about that now; just try and see for yourself.”

He tried to convince his petite fiance when she expressed her big concern that his room and home didn’t have an attached bathroom.

She felt like a fool having decided to marry him and having to go to the fields to answer nature’s call as there was no toilet!

He appeared chilly to suggest open defecation.

She shared info about Puffins.

When two Puffins become mates for life, they build homes on cliff sides with toilets for their future offspring to use; Source

Earth Hour

She had spent many years planting saplings that had grown into a lush forest.

When they set fire and burnt the forest, that too during Earth Hour, she felt that not only the forest, but human values and intelligence had also been engulfed in flames...

SOURCE

Team India's Loss in Cricket World Cup 2015

Team India has lost the important semi-final match against Team Australia, and thus missed a chance to play in the Finals of Cricket World Cup 2015 (#CWC2015). 

Such Wins & Losses happen in games. 

May the spirit of Sports win. May the better team win.

Millions of Indian cricket-fans are heart-broken.

While it is celebration time for some of our neighbours across the borders...

Team India had played brilliantly in all the matches so far, having won every single one. 

We all have proudly celebrated the journey with our Team.

But, now some media channels and people are blaming the Team.

It is sad when the girl-friend of a cricketer is blamed for his poor form! It may be remembered that the same cricketer has played magnificently in the past matches when she was around to cheer for him! 

Imagine if she couldn't have made it to this semi-final match, and Team India would still have lost, then the same people would have claimed that her absence proved to be the reason why Team India lost! 

Kaleidoscopic Indian Culture

As per the Wikipedia:

Culture is a word for people's 'way of life', meaning the way groups do things. Different groups of people may have different cultures. Culture is seen in people's writing, religion, music, clothes, cooking, and in what they do.
The concept of culture is very complicated, and the word has many meanings. 
The word 'culture' is most commonly used in three ways.

• Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture.
• An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior.
• The outlook, attitudes, values, morals, goals, and customs shared by a society.

Indian culture is Kaleidoscopic.

Source

Stop Cyber-Harassment

Words are so wonderful.
Words are very powerful.
Words can heal.
Words can kill.

Cyber-bullying is the use of information technology to repeatedly harm, hurt, harass, embarrass, malign other people deliberately.

According to U.S. Legal Definitions,  

Cyber-bullying could be limited to posting rumors or gossips about a person in the internet bringing about hatred in other’s minds; or it may go to the extent of personally identifying victims and publishing materials severely defaming and humiliating them.

Source: IndiBlogger

As per the Wikipedia:

The practice of cyberbullying is not limited to children and, while the behavior is identified by the same definition when practiced by adults, the distinction in age groups sometimes refers to the abuse as cyberstalking or cyberharassment when perpetrated by adults toward adults.

Pakhala Dibasa #PakhalaDibasa

Pakhala (In Odia language- ପଖାଳ) is an Odia term for a rice dish in the state of Odisha in India.
As per the Wikipedia:

"The term Pakhaḷa is derived from Pali word Pakhaḷiba as well as Sanskrit word Prakshāḷaṇa which means washed/to wash and it is made by cooling the rice by adding water and keeping the cooked rice in water and curd. The word Pakhaḷa was used in the poems of Arjuna Das in his literary work Kaḷpalata (1520-1530 AD)^"

Cooked rice is immersed in water & fermented. The liquid portion is called Torani. There are many variations of Pakhala. It is had with other dishes.

Courtesy

Lost Lamp

He cleared the IAS Exam, one of the toughest on Earth.
Did his job with dedication & proved his worth.
What did he get in return? Transfers & now death.
The system has failed him and stopped his breath...

He was planning raids on big developers of real estate,
Politicians & illegal transactions- he was to investigate.
They took the easy way & decided to silence & eliminate.
The honest earn brickbats & have death in their fate?

Source

RivoKids Parents And Kids Choice Awards #PKCA2015

RivoKids is a top Indian online community for parents and kids. 

RivoKids.com = Fun Moments & Smart Ideas. India's First Online Community for Parents & Kids.

RivoKids is a cool online hangout place with many interesting things to do and learn with fun contests, activities and giveaways.

Joker

“A body suddenly crashed through a plate glass window at the Brigadier’s house.”

It was the Brigadier! He succumbed to injuries and died.

The Brigadier had three sons.

His eldest son said that their father had committed suicide.

The second son also sided with his elder brother. They both seemed giddy.

The youngest was sure that it was murder.

In the absence of a will, the two older sons passed lewd remarks and conspired to divide the property.

It was decided that the eldest son would get the Brigadier's palatial home.

Photo Prompt: Mondays Finish The Story

On Planet Kizia Together!

Story so far: She agreed to travel with an Alien, who was Just Like Her! and to be his bride as their horoscope matched 100%. 

They boarded the spaceship. There was a crown-wearing ceremony. That was enough to proclaim them as man & wife! He was King and she was Queen and they were going to their Kingdom.

The spaceship started moving at the speed of light. 

The Sun is the star that is nearest our Planet Earth. It is 150 million kms away from the Earth and light from the Sun takes about 8 minutes and 20 seconds to reach Earth. 

She was awe-struck and was wondering about the amazing distance between her planet and the new planet that would be her new home when she found the answers in her head.

She got the answers to whatever she thought in her head as her husband could read her mind perfectly!

It would take about 50 minutes to reach Planet Kizia that was at a distance of 900 million kms from Planet Earth.

That was so far from her home, her street, her city, her country, her planet...

Petergate, with a view of York Minster, York, UK photo by Tess Kincaid; Magpie Tales

Vindictive

Two of his colleagues stole his ideas, took credit for his hard-work & earned the perks & promotion he deserved! 

It was not in his nature to be vindictive to those two partners in crime, who were room-mates & like birds of a feather flocked & stayed together.

"Why do bad things happen with good people?" he questioned God. 

Eyes For Only You!

When they first met, she was sure she had seen him somewhere before.
Though he was silent, his eyes narrated stories of yore...

In his eyes, she could see her reflection - honest & crystal clear.
In those minutes, the eyes bridged the distance & brought them near.

Just Like Her!

She was smart and highly qualified.

Her family wanted to get her married. Everyone’s concern was that she will be 40 soon and that her biological-clock was ticking. 

40 was still some years away. But, she was sick and tired of the way people exaggerated & hounded her...

Made her wish she could just disappear to some place far away... 
 

“Main hoon hi nahin is duniya ki!” (I don’t belong to this world) She sang a Hindi-movie song. 

It was her life and she wanted to live it her own way. They wanted her to start a new life and set up her own home. 

Source: Housing.com

But, she wanted to get married if and only if she could find a compatible partner. As she believed in astrology, she wanted her horoscope and likes and dislikes to be a perfect-match with her life-partner. By perfect she meant- cent percent! Her family had given up hope as the best match they could arrive after matching hundreds of horoscopes was 75%! 

Why Aliens Visited The Vineyards?

"On March 9th, 2015, three objects were reportedly seen in the skies over the Borracho Todos los Tiempos Vineyards."

She was surprised to see the news-channels flashing this breaking-news about 'Alien-visit'. 

No objects had been found so far.

The Lotus Girl

They made her the target of their bloody malicious game.
They bullied- unfair allegations, personal-attacks, insulted her name...

Source: IndiBlogger

Mysterious Packages

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 52; the fifty-second edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. In association with Metro Diaries by "Namrata". To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

She was surprised to receive a surprise package that had a gadget-like item inscribed with text she had no clue about. 

When she received some more of that electronic stuff, she reported and handed those over to the police and detectives for investigation. 

Later that week, when mysterious flying objects were spotted in the sky, she was reported missing along with the packages- they seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Source

Dum Laga Ke Haisha

Dum Laga Ke Haisha in Hindi means 'Give all your energy'.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha is also the name of  a new endearing and simple romantic-comedy Bollywood movie that I happened to watch on International Women's Day. 

It is about the marriage of Prem Prakash Tiwari (Ayushmann Khurrana) and Sandhya Verma (Bhumi Pedneker).

Spoiler-Alert- Note- This post reveals the plot, story and key scenes and lessons from the movie. Please don't read in case you wish to watch the movie.

Source

Monkey Business

Writer's Ezine Anniversary Issue- April 2015

HE was always larger than life for her.
HE was the one she could remember.
She loved HIM passionately since inception.
Complete surrender & faith; no question.

She wrote letters to HIM every time,
Creatively expressing in prose/rhyme,
When life sprung up marvels or surprises,
When she earned brickbats or won prizes.

Those letters she didn't know where to post.
No idea about the address of her dost!
As many homes were HIS abode,
Which path to travel, the right road?

She was wondering about HIM that morn,
Philosophically thinking why she was born.
A group of monkeys appeared out of nowhere.
They started screeching with crazy antics there.

                  

Essential Love

Everyone says I'm responsible for your success!
If your popularity has increased, I earn the fame.
Actually, you are like an island that can impress.
Even when I'm no more, you'll still have your name.

You may not understand that I'm essential for you,
Though your very existence is owing to me...
But, that you provide succor & bliss to me is true.
Dear, you mean the world to me & it's no mystery...

A Life Full of Colour

She had worked so hard on her garden & the pretty and colourful flowers were the reward of her effort.

That day when she woke up, and like always when she went to her garden to greet her plants & flowers, she was shocked to see that a thief had picked all her flowers... 

There was not a single flower in her garden!

No time to grieve as it was Holi* and her family and friends fed her sweets, put colours on her and hugged her saying "HAPPY HOLI!"

As her eyes wondered to one patch of her garden, she let out a cry of joy seeing that her Mushroom-cultivation had been successful!

From Friday Fictioneers; PHOTO PROMPT – © Erin Leary

Look Up!

Sara checked on Brownie. He showed no improvement.

Sara was trying to nurse him back to health ever since his accident last month.

The accident had cost her father’s life.

Now Brownie was all she had...

Sara couldn’t afford to lose him.

Sara’s father was an award-winning jockey. He was so gentle with all his horses. He talked to them and treated them with respect. Sara too learned to be kind and compassionate like him, and treated the horses as her dear friends.

Sara even figured out what the horses were trying to say and both father and daughter had a lot of communication with their horses. Sara’s father lost his job, fell into hard times and had to sell off his horses as he could hardly afford meals for them...

Sensing that Sara was sad, Sara’s father said, “Tough times don’t last, tough people do.”

Then, one fine day, they had a smart young guest at their home. He just stopped by as if this was his destiny. Perhaps God had sent that special chocolate-brown-colored horse. Sara and her father were overjoyed and named him Brownie. Ever since Brownie came to their lives, their fortunes looked up. Sara’s father got a new job in the city and settled there with Sara and Brownie.

Sara & Brownie; Source

Order! Order! World Is Remade!

yada yada hi dharmasya  
glanir bhavati bharata  
abhyutthanam adharmasya 
  tadatmanam srjamyaham

-The Bhagwad Gita

English Transalation: "O descendant of Bharata! Whenever and wherever there is a decline in virtue, and a predominant rise of vices, then I Myself descend."

As there has been a decline in values in the world, and now that this is 'Kali Yuga', I have been waiting for the Tenth Avatar of Lord Vishnu - Kalki Avatar for long as I want Him to restore order. 

I love the way order is restored in court scenes in Bollywood movies. Judge sahib just has to strike his gavel and say, ‘Order! Order!’

Wooden gavel ; Source- Wikipedia

Jim Smiley And His Jumping Frog

“When it came to a challenge, Jim Smiley just had to jump right in!"

Jim Smiley loved challenges, participated enthusiastically and won.

Yes, he won each and every challenge he took part in, that too creating new records!

Jim Smiley was all smiles as his home was full of trophies and medals.

Everyone said that the secret of his success was talent, hard-work, dedication, determination, perseverance, confidence...

They didn't know that he had a lucky charm- a magic jumping frog that gave him the power to win and create world records...

Photo-Prompt- Mondays Finish The Story

Oceans Of Fantasy

She was grateful to be back home after a long voyage across continents and oceans. 

Though she loved journeys, she was tired and home-sick this time.

She immediately went for a warm and refreshing bath to rejuvenate her senses. 

She felt at home and comfortable in her own bathtub and generously applied soap and shower-gel. 

Just then the taps ran dry, no water - no, not even a single drop! 

Lee Miller in Adolf Hitler's bathtub, Munich 1945, by David E. Scherman

Some Lessons From My Parents

Humility, Honesty, Hope, Happiness, Helpfulness, Health, Habits... just some of the action-words I learnt from my parents. 

I am grateful for the lessons I learnt from them. They have been good examples as they practice what they preach. Their actions have a lot to teach... Upholding the high standards they have set is tough...

Sharing a few of their lessons that have made me who I am- 

Be humble- fruit-laden trees bend, while others stand tall!

Don’t be haughty- pride comes before a fall!

Be grateful & do everything happily & heartily.

Be hale & hearty, health is wealth, eat & live healthily.

Adopt Healthy Habits & Lifestyle

Languages Inside & Outside

When I reached my motherland,
I experienced bliss & felt grand. 
I was inside looking out trying to win-
While the others outside looked in.

I made a sincere effort to connect.
But, our paths didn't intersect...
Though I spoke in my mother-language, 
They answered in the foreign-language!

International Mother Language Day Poster By UNESCO.