Gujarat celebrates Lord Krishna's death anniversary

     Rajkot: Lord Krishna's departure for heavenly abode was celebrated in the form of an 'Utsav' at the temple of Prabhas Patan (Somnath) recently. The exact date when Lord Krishna left for his heavenly abode has been debated and discussed for centuries. After years of research and debate, the date was arrived at at a meet of scholars last year at Dwarka during Janmashtami. Calculations based on the Hindu calendar revealed that Krishna left this world on the first day of the month of Chaitra 5,106 years back at Prabhas Patan on the banks of river Hiran. Celebrated as `Go Lok Dham Utsav' -which means leaving this world for another -- a shobha yatra was organized from Bhalka Tirth - where Krishna was hit by an arrow- to Go Lok Dham where Krishna left his soul. Bhalka Tirth is about three km from Somnath temple. The shobha yatra comprised of floats depicting various phases in the lift of Krishna.

      Thousands of devotees joined the yatra to commemorate the occasion. A special `yagna' was also organized to mark the occasion. Keshubhai Patel, former Gujarat Chief Minister and Chairman of the Somnath Trust, said the event will now be an annual affair and only the date will vary according to the Hindu calendar. "5106 years back, Lord Krishna was hit by an arrow at Balkha Tirth and from there he came all the way to Prabhas Patan at the bank of river Hiran, where he died. So the people living at the area where he had undergone his last journey on earth took out a yatra to celebrate his death anniversary," said Keshubahi Patel. People of different communities warmly welcomed the yatra as it passed the entire stretch of six km from Bhalka Tirth to Go Lok Dham. Rather than mourning, the occasion was more of a celebration as devotees here opined, "Lord never dies". "I am happy that the death anniversary of Lord Krishna is celebrated for the first time. I hope the trust continue to celebrate it. When we came to know the date of Lord Krishna's death the people in the area decided to celebrate it as it was here that he died. It is important that the people of India should know about his death and celebrate it," said Harshal Rushi, a devotee.

     According to the devotees, so far everyone knew about birth of Lord Krishna that is celebrated as Janmashtami, but no one knew when he left this world. This utsav has helped them know Lord Krishna's last phase of life. "We have always celebrated Janmasthami, but it is important that we also celebrate his death anniversary," said Neela Mehta, a devotee. It was in September last that chairperson of the Adi Jagatguru Sankaracharya Sodh Sansthan, Swami Gyananad Saraswati of Varanasi held a meeting at Dwarka to announce his `findings' on the exact date when Lord Krishna left this world. Saraswati who was present at the occasion said that people should remove the belief from their minds that only the occasion of birth can be celebrated and not `death'.
April 12, 20005

Appeasing a Gwalior deity by piercing bodies with nails (Go to Top)

     Gwalior: India is a land of different cultures, different customs and different rituals. The country is full of unique rituals and celebrations. In bizarre ritual Hindu devotees here pierced their bodies with iron nails to please a local deity. There were some people who had their eyebrows, cheeks, chin and tongue pierced. A huge crowd cheered lustily as the devouts danced their way to the Kela Devei temple to the accompaniment frenzied beats of war drums. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali, the Hindu goddess of power. A number of women took part in the procession, falling down and then getting up as part of the ritual. The temple's chief priest said that the devotees undertook the ritual to get their wishes fulfilled. "The fair is being held since ancient times. The people who come here believe that all their wishes will be fulfilled if they touch the feet of the deity. There are people who come with all kinds of wishes and pray to the goddess," Narayan Das, said. Naresh Kushwah, the fair in-charge said that the body piercing did not harm the devotees. "People think that if they bear some pain like getting their body pierced with iron nails, then their wishes will be granted. One may think that this is harmful and dangerous but nothing happens," he said. The procession is part of an ancient fair called "Pahua" (pedestrian fair), which is held annually ahead of the nine-day Hindu festival of "Navratri", which begins on Saturday. Navratri" is celebrated twice in a year, -- during the spring and the autumn season. The festival symbolises the triumph of good over evil and is marked by prayers, processions and musical programmes.
April 9, 20005

This Rajkot guy sings and speaks backward (Go to Top)

     Rajkot: You would have heard of people writing backwards but someone singing and speaking in reverse way sound amazing. Mohit Bhanwadia of Rajkot, a third year student of Bachelor of Business Administration, is habitual of doing this amazing act. This unique talent was not a learning art; rather it was something which came very naturally to Mohit during his childhood days. "When I was 10 years old, whatever I spoke would come out to be backward. So then I realised that I can speak reverse in any language whether it is Hindi, English or Gujarati. Then I started singing backward", said Mohit. For Mohit, this talent has proven to be God's gift. Initially his parents thought that Mohit had acquired some bad style of language speaking. His father scolded him a number of times but that couldn't stop Mohit from practising this art. His father then gave a second thought and started writing or recording what Mohit spoke only to find that Mohit was speaking a normal language-but backwards. From then they started giving support to Mohit's unique talent. "Mohit used to speak to his friends in reverse language. We didn't understand what they were talking. I used to scold him, but later on I realised that it was a unique talent and we started encouraging him", said Mansoorbhai Bhanwadia, Mohit's father. Mohit's friends also admire his talent and say that it is an inborn thing. "I always tell him to teach me. But Mohit has a natural talent; it's inborn. If I am going to gain that talent, I'll have to learn it and it would not be so spontaneous as Mohit has it", said Shweta Sheth, Mohit's friend. The interesting part of this story is that Mohit never practised or learnt this and it has been a natural art for him.
April 7, 20005

Sarees from Chinese machines (Go to Top)

     Kolkata: Embroidered sarees have wooed Indian women for centuries, with the beautiful design patterns finely embroidered by hands on sarees accentuating the elegance in women. However, with the passage of time, hand-embroidery is gradually dying and slowly getting replaced by machine or computer embroidery. And strange as it may sound, but the fact is that China has captured the Indian embroidered saree industry, with sarees now getting embellished with a variety of designs through computerized embroidery.

      Although embroidery machines first made their appearance in India about 15 years ago, with the earlier versions imported by export Houses across India from Germany, United States and Japan, they however, was beyond everyone's reach because of their high costs. However, the advent of Chinese machines in the market has changed the whole scenario. Not only are they cheap, but their performance is also satisfactory and at par with the German and Japanese machines. "These machines are from China. These machines also come from Japan, Korea and Germany, but Chinese machines are cheaper and therefore everybody prefers them. We are really happy to invest money on these machines. Their performance is also good and can be used to make a number of designs," said Subhash Aggarwal, a machine owner. While a European machine comes at eighty lakh rupees and sometimes even stretches to one crore, Chinese ones can be bought at a much cheaper rate of 15-20 lakh rupees. Also computerized embroidery machines have changed the design patterns as most complicated embroidery work can now be done in a matter of hours on a saree with very low labour cost

     While a single hand-embroidered saree would be completed in about six-seven days with at least five-six workers working on it, the same design can now be patterned by the machines in a couple of hours with just one worker, thus making mass production of embroidered sarees a viable proposition at a much lower cost. "The machine-embroidery has changed the market. Earlier hand- embroidery was in vogue, but it was a tedious job. It used to take time. But the advent of machines has changed everything. The design pattern has changed and the sarees can be bought at cheaper rates. We can have a variety of designs with these machines. Also we can have a good volume in less time," said Gopal Aggarwal, a saree wholesaler.

    The sarees have also become a huge hit with the customers as well owing to their low costs. "Hand-embroidered sarees are expensive and we don't get them in great quantities. They are rarely available. But the markets are flooded with machine-embroidered sarees so we can have a pick. These are cheaper to machine-embroidered ones. So we really like them," said Lekha Bagrodia, a customer. Besides Kolkata, these Chinese machines are being used in almost all the metros in India. Investors in Delhi, Mumbai and clothing centres like Surat and Tirpur are merrily bringing in these machines by the load and doing a roaring business. Also these machines are compatible with all kinds of fabrics like organza, kota, silk, satin, cotton, chiffon, georgette or mixed materials. All types of threads from silk, cotton, satin to different kinds of zari can be used for the embroidery.

     The designing is done on computers and then fed into the machines, which executes them onto the fabrics. Embroidery can also be done on dress materials, furnishings and bed line. Although cheaper Chinese goods have flooded Indian markets in other sectors too, but these machines have given a new impetus to the saree-designing business bringing in more investors, making mass production possible, providing quality at cheaper rates and giving access to the vista of exquisitely embroidered sarees to the common Indian women.
April 7, 20005

Machine to extract water from air (Go to Top)

Chennai: To help the water starved city of Chennai, a local scientist has come up with a new method for generating water. Dr. S.S.Sivakumar has come up with a method to convert air into water! Sivakumar was able to create this surprise after three years of hard work. His invention comes as a breather for the city in particular and country in general. Chennai depends solely on the two-month-long northeast monsoons for its water needs. The city gets water during the months of October and November. The three water reservoirs of the city--Red Hills, Poondi, and Sholavaram-fill up to its capacity during the months and the excess water flows into the sea. Although being full to its capacity, these three are never able to meet the vast and growing water needs of the city. After three years of hard work, Sivakumar has managed to develop an equipment called "Akash Ganga"-which converts air into water. The process by which the water is produced from air is called Atmospheric Moisture Extraction System (AMES), which involves the technology for controlled condensation of vapour from the atmosphere. Humidity of the city comes as help here; humidity is used to convert into water with the help of the machine.

     "We created the product. Basically it functions by drawing atmospheric air into itself and makes a little rain by reducing its temperature to around 5 degree Celsius. When moisture particles get heavy and drop, that water is collected and filtered and given to you as drinking water by the machine", said Dr. S S Sivakumar, a scientist who came out with the invention. Akash Ganga offers a commercially and economically viable source of pure water using the AMES process. The equipment can extract up to 25 litres of pure water in 24 hours. People who have bought Akash Ganga are satisfied with its working. "I tested Akash Ganga in my house for about a week and found that the quality of water was very good. This will be a product for the future", said Balaji, a customer who has used Akash Ganga. The equipment also works as a home cooler by reducing the room temperature considerably. It consumes only a minimum amount of power.
April 6, 20005