Can you tie the Band of Rakhi to anyone? Think again!

The month of August brings with itself a host of festivals to celebrate. Of them, the one that keeps me waiting throughout the year is festival of Rakhi or Raksha Bandhan. Rakhi emphasizes the relation that every sister shares with her brother, who vows to save her from all perils of the world. Well, that's the significance of the festival of Rakhi. However, it really hurts to see how the purity of the festival is being maligned and its significance mellowed by many people. The practice is especially prevalent amongst young boys and girls, who tie the band to almost anyone, not with the motive of establishing a real brother and sister relationship but to be able to freely speak to and be with people whom they like. Sometimes, they also tie the band to ween away people with different intentions towards them. I guess an incident that I witnessed recently would help you to understand that statement properly.

A couple days of back, a friend of mine was narrating an incident where a guy had approached her with some different intentions. She also reciprocated his feelings and was rather keen to start up with a relationship with him. But at the same time, she was also scared of coming out in the open about the relationship, lest her parents come to know about it. To avoid this situation, she tied a rakhi on him to legalize their relation. Though she was quite happy with her feat, I some how could not agree with her point of view.

For me, rakhi is extremely auspicious. Even if I would tie it to someone who is not in my blood relation, the person has to be very special in order to get the stature of a brother in my life. If you ask me such an act only demeans the the significance of Raksha Bandhan and also maligns the pious relationship between a brother and a sister. Recently it is a trend mostly with school and college going girls who also follow the same thing, with the intention of getting liberty to be with the person they like.

Its not as if this trend has originated recently. It was quite in vogue even when I was in school some ten years back. Although I used to laugh it off then, now, when I am more mature and exactly understand the significance of that tiny silk thread. This is why I find this practice to be grossly unethical.

So, here's urging all those girls to understand the importance and sacred nature of the ceremony. There sure are many other ways to be with the person you love, other than demeaning the pious festival.

Is Friendship Day (3rd Aug) Truly Meant For India?

“We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun,” ...These famous lines from a song from the Back Street Boys holds up the image of an evergreen friendship in my mind. It brings back the reminences of my school days when every year on the first Sunday of August, we six boys used to take a firm oath to maintain our friendship for ever. Today almost after ten years of passing out from the school, we don't even know each others whereabouts.

This thing makes me ponder over the fact that what is the relevance of friendship day now for me and even what relevance does it have in India. I remember spending a lot of my pocket money in buying greeting cards, gifts and even treating my friends on this very day, but were they worth enough? After so much exposure in life and facing so much harsh reality that life offers, I just find it a waste of time, energy and money.

I still have friends whom I never wish at all on this day, but they are still my best friends in place of those with whom I use to swear for maintaining friendship and taking holy oath on this 'auspicious day'. I think it depends upon the emotion and dedication for each other that strengthen the bond, not expressing your feeling for a friend on one particular day. I see people wearing friendship bands and flaunting them in front of everyone just to show that they have so many friends or they are liked by so many people. Even the thing that makes me laugh is people have made friendship bands as their style statement and their parameter of measuring a friendship has become the cost of the gifts that they are offered by their friends. So, what is the sense of celebrating such day?

I find it a sheer copy of the western culture like the other imposed 'auspicious occasions' such as Mother's day, Father's day or the most 'auspicious day'- valentines day. I feel do we need any particular day to show our emotion, gratitude and love for our father, mother or our beloved ones? I think every day is a mother's day, father's day and a valentines day. These all auspacious days are imposed on our Indian culture to milch money. Who are the benefeciaries out of the celebrations of these occasions? These are western greeting cards and gifts suppliers like Archies or hallmark. This is the reason why they are always promoting such occasions in a big way. They are banking upon the youths who are completely obsessed with everything western. If you don't celebrate such days, you are not a trendy or a modern guy.

The celebration of such occasions, I feel, will only lead us to such a situation when we will start remembering our friends or our beloved only due to these days. So, I firmly believe that the celebration of friendship day is only a sheer copy of the west and is being promoted in India to harness rich profits by the multinational companies. It is not at all meant for India where still 27 percent of the populatin is living below poverty line and fighting each day to satiate their hunger.

Status of India after 61 Years of Independence

India is going to complete 61 years of Independence on 15^th August, 2008. Now, one more year is going to get added when we can proudly call ourselves a free nation. But, are we free in real terms? Does it make sense to celebrate this day with great pomp and show when we are still living under the clutches of poverty, corruption, injustice, inequality and most importantly, illiteracy? At least, I don't think so.

Inequality in different forms is still the face of free India. It mainly exists on the basis of gender and caste. Let us take the case of inequality on the basis of gender. Although a lot has been done for the upliftment of women and more and more women are attaining equality with their male counterparts, yet there are many women who get suppressed by their family and society on matters like pursuing higher studies or choosing a life partner or having a say in family planning or wearing a dress of her choice. Another aspect of such kind of inequality is the preference for male child, still prevalent in many parts of our country largely evident by the rampant female infanticide. Even today, when I let people know that we are only two daughters of our parents, they give an astonished look as if my parents are living an unhappy life without a son. People are also facing discrimination on the basis of caste. Let me just remind you all of an incident took place last year. An ex-army personnel belonging to a lower caste was beaten to death by his own villagers when he tried to dig a well on his land for farming. Now, what kind of achievement of India does it show after so many years of independence?

If inequality is an evil we still need to fight strongly, poverty is another major issue still holding our country in the league of third world countries. In fact, poverty has resulted into another kind of inequality between rich and poor. On one hand, you find those affluent people who can spend one lakh rupee just on a single dinner with their friends and family in a five or seven star hotel, while on the other hand, you find people living on streets with no proper clothing, food and other basic necessities.

Poverty has also resulted into a major social evil and that is child labor. In my locality, there is a slum area where majority of children are the bread earners for their family without any time to attend government schools. Their financial condition does not allow them to attend a full session in the school. If they at all are attending classes, it is only for satiating their hunger with mid day meals. But, this problem has got another dimension. There is a class of people who have literally no interest in making their children educated and look at them only as an additional source of income. So, isn't there a need to take a strong initiative by the government to make these people let their children attend school? Only constructing school buildings is not enough, I think.

It is not only poverty that is spelling a curse on common people, but also corruption. The common man of our free nation still needs to bow his head to corruption, which is rampantly found in our administrative machinery. If I ask you, how many times you had to pay some kind of bribe to get your work done, I am sure you would have forgotten the number as it has become close to countless.

There are many other issues that show our susceptibility to get succumbed to pressures at individual level as well as national level. So, shall we celebrate this day? Of course, but in a way that promises a great future for every Indian in coming years. On this day, we all should take a vow to join hands and cooperate with our government to get our nation free of all evils so that we get a reason to celebrate this day in true sense.

Raksha Bandhan - A Festival of Bonds

Come August and I gear up for one of the most revered festivals of the Indian Calendar. Yes this is the festival of bonds that I am talking - 'Raksha Bandhan' or more popularly Rakhi. I specially look forward to this festival as my brothers visit me on this day, no matter in which part of the country they are. where they are stationed It is on Rakhi that we revive those vows which we had taken ever since we were born.

For the ones who are not tête-à-tête with the festival, Rakhi captures the essence of the relationship between a brother and sister. Raksha means 'to protect', and Bandhan means a 'bond', therefore Rakhi is a bond of protection. Like every sister, I tie a band or an amulet around my brother's wrist as a protecting charm and pray for his wellbeing. My brother in turn vows to protect me from all sorts of evils and perils of the world. The festival is celebrated on the "Shravan Sud Poornima" every year, according to the Hindu calendar. An inetegral part of my rakhi celebrations are the gifts that my brothers lovingly shower upon me. The mere thought of the box of chocolates or the new dress that might be in store for me still brings a glitter to my eyes.

This festival has special meaning for me and my entire family as it very fondly reminds us of my grandmother. As children, I use to hear the mesmerizing legend behind Rakhi or Raksha Bandhan. Since time immemorial this festival has been attached to the ritual of protecting your loved ones from the evils of the world. The tradition actually dates back to the Mahabharata and the Hindu Mythological Godhead 'Indra.'

Rakhi is fun time as it also serves the purpose of a refreshing family get-together. The entire house basks with the presence of relatives from all corners of the country. Be it my paternal aunt or my maternal uncles, it is fun to have all of them under one roof.

Now, with Rakhi just round the corner, my mind is full of joy and I am waiting for all the action to happen. It’s not just me, I am sure that all sisters are waiting for it too.

Amarnath Land Controversy - Was This Move Required?

The controversy in the state of Jammu & Kashmir on the allocation of 100 acres of the land to the Amarnath Shrine board has brought forth the pent-up sentiments of the Muslim residents in the area. This move on the part of the Government has large repercussions on the already volatile political scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. This thoughtless move was a clear attempt to lure the Hindu residents' votes in the area, but it has resulted in uprooting the entire normalcy in the state. Ever since this announcement was made, it was evident that the Muslim residents in the state would raise their voice against it. However, an even stronger impact on this has been from the Separatist forces, who have taken this platform to draw the pro-India populace to their side.

As a result of all this political flutter, the PDP had also gone on to pressurize the Government to withdraw the land order, so as to satiate the feelings of the Muslim voters in the state. In fact, the PDP had even threatened to withdraw its support from the coalition government if this was not implemented. As a result, the Congress government in the state succumbed to the pressure and has taken back their move.

But all these developments raise a pertinent question in our minds that was this step really required? In the volatile states of Jammu and Kashmir, where the public feeling has always been bent towards Pakistan, such an inconsiderate move only ignites the fire that has always been given air by the separatist forces. The peace and tranquil atmosphere was predominant in the state from the past few years and everyone was hoping that things would be normalized again. But, with this move, things have again been pushed to the same politically corroded state.

Amarnath Yatra - Holy place of India

India is land of age old spiritualism. Unlike other religions Hinduism, the main stay of India does not recognize a single prophet and idolizes innumerable gods and goddesses. Evidently, the country also has numerous pilgrimages scattered throughout, from north to south. One such pilgrimage that holds enormous significance for Hindus is the Amarnath Yatra. I have been fortunate enough to take this yatra last year. It was such a memorable journey that I want to share my experience with you. This Yatra or journey is taken up by devotees during ‘shravana’ or the monsoon season. So, I along with my friends started our pilgrimage to Amarnath on 15th of July as Darshan at the Holy Cave is generally open from early July (Ashad Purnima) to early August (Sharvan Purnima).

For yatra to Baba Amarnath Holy Cave, we have to trek a height of about 14,500 ft and the journey was full of joy and thrills. The environment was divine and we were feeling as we are walking through the heaven on earth. It is said that the devotees attain ‘Moksha’ or freedom from rebirth by reaching to this cave of Lord Shiva- the most important God Head of Hindu mythology and even we were thinking it to be true. Pilgrims gather from all around the world to offer their prayers to the ‘Shivlinga’ residing in the cave. Surrounded by beautiful valleys and mountains, we felt like walking in the Kailasha hills which is said to be the abode of lord Shiva. The enchanting of mantras and the religious slogans like “Bam Bam Bhole”, “Jai Baba Amaranth”, “Jai Baba Barfani” and others made us feel the presence of lord Shiva everywhere around me. It was such an experience that would hardly vanish with time. I feel the journey to the Amarnath cave is such that pilgrims can rediscover Mother Nature and her love for human beings.

Legend has it that Shiva recounted to his wife Parvati, the secret of creation in a cave in Amarnath. Unknown to them, a pair of mating doves heard this conversation and having learned the secret were reborn again and again and they made the cave their eternal abode. Many pilgrims report seeing the doves-pair, when they trek the arduous route to pay obeisance before the ice-lingam (the phallic symbol of Shiva), but I was not that fortunate to see them.

The Amarnath Yatra is conducted once in year by the Jammu and Kashmir Government. The climatic conditions are extremely uncertain. Rain or snowfall may take place at any time or place during the Yatra. It is to be particularly noted that abrupt changes in temperature might occur. Sunny weather may turn into rain / snow fall in a short span of time. The temperature also may fall up to -5 degree Celsius. Uncertain climatic conditions often make the journey unpleasant and difficult for the pilgrims and you should take proper care and make adequate arrangement before taking up Amarnath Yatra. Such is the faith and dedication, that all pilgrims brave the adverse conditions and reach the abode of their God. But, one thing that really hurt me was the garbage being spread by the pilgrims which is causing great environmental hazard to this beautiful abode of God. I think persons should behave little responsibly and should not indulge in such things. Then, only we would be able to save the utmost beauty of nature coupled with divinity.

Rath Yatra - The Orrissan festivals

India is a land of festivals. Every part of this country has a different festival to celebrate. Each of them has a separate background and a special significance of their own. Amongst the seem-to-be-countless such religious occasions, the Rath Yatra at Puri is extremely well known. Devotees from all over the country flock to this region of Orissa to have a mere glimpse of their favorite God.

Better known as Jagannath Rath Yatra or 'the chariot journey of Lord Jagannatha', the festival is observed in the month of Ashadha (June-July). The historical-religious event commemorates the annual visit of Lord Jagannath to his birthplace Gundicha Mandir (temple). A conglomeration of millions of people can be seen at the Jagannath temple at Puri during this chariot festival, which is celebrated for eight consecutive days.

The festival commences with several rituals and offerings to Lord Jagannatha. Then the king of Puri or any descendant of the royal dynasty brings the idols of their respective beautifully decked chariots lined up before the temple. He sweeps the chariots' platforms with a gold-handled broom and sprinkles scented water. It is only the King of Puri and the King of Nepal who are allowed to touch the idols as they belong to the Chandravanshi dynasty.

Now, the Images of Lord Jagannath - Lord of the Universe, his sister Subhadra and brother Balbhadra are taken out in a procession in three magnanimous chariots. The main chariot is 14 meters high and 10 meters square with 16 wheels. It is said that one can attain salvation with a single view of the Gods in their chariots. However, in the olden days, the die-hard devotees used to throw themselves under the wheels of the raths with the believe to free their soul from the cycle of birth-and re-birth.

The chariots of the Gods are drawn by the devotees to the Gundicha Mandir amidst devotional songs and prayers. After a week's stay here, on the tenth day, the 'Ashadha Sukla Dasami', the deities start their return journey. The return of the Lords is called 'Bahuda Yatra' or 'Phera Rath Yatra'. The journey of the Lord's chariot to and from its sanctum-sanctorum is believed to purge and purify the city.

To seek detailed information on Jagannath Rath Yatra, you can log on to www.festivals-culture.blogspot.com