Hanumad Vratha

Today is a very auspicious day for Hindus. This day, associated with Hanumaan, the greatest devotee of Shree Raam, is celebrated with Hanumad Vratha. In some parts of India (for example Tamil Nadu) this day is also known as Hanumad Jayanthi.  

Konarak Dance Fest 2015

In many parts of India, winter is usually accompanied by seasonal cultural fests. One such fest is the Konarak Dance Festival held on the banks of the sacred river Chandrabhaga in Odisha. Held annually since 1986, this year's events included dance performances by foreign artistes. As someone who spent 4 wonderful years in Bhutan, I thoroughly enjoyed classical dances by Bhutanese dancers, thanks to Bharati TV Channel.

Spectacular sense of the sidelined snail

We often associate snails with inactivity and slow movement which I think, is due to our unreasonable superiority complex. Let me share an interesting experience that I encountered on a rainy morning a few days back.

I and my mother reside in a cottage rented out to senior citizens. It is a reasonably well furnished cottage with a corridor and green plants in the front. Our food is supplied by the management. Usually after completing eating, we place our plates at the corridor and workers clear the plates (and left over food) away.

Once when I went out to the corridor to see as to whether the rains subsided, I was surprised to see a snail coming out of its shell to feed on the breakfast left-over by me. Let me share my observation that proves beyond any atom of doubt that snails aren't inactive.

I'm glad to be back after a few days of severe sore-throat, cold and mild fever from which I have recovered completely by His Grace.

There had been very important events that included our Hindu Fest `Deepaavali' (Festival of Lights), Lakshmi Pooja etc. I have mentioned about these in my posts somewhere around this time last year. 

There had also been very interesting but often unnoticed bits and pieces of our flora and fauna near my residence. I'll share them with you when I find time.  Thanks and wish you all the best until we meet next time on this blog. 

The Beatles in History

I assume that many among us (including those who read a lot) seem to prefer watching TV to reading, as the farmer is easier. 

Though Spiritual and Classical Music programs are my most favorite TV, I continue watching programs in other areas like development, education and soft rock when I find time. 

Last week, there was a very interesting program on History TV 18 Channel as a tribute to The Beatles, my most favorite pop music group. It was Grammy's `Salute' to The Beatles and featured Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, two of the members of the famous `Fab Four'. I think that the program would have taken numerous fans like me on a nostalgic journey back in time! Songs such as `Get back' and `Hey Jude' were absolutely mesmerizing (though I don't like some of the lyrics of `Hey Jude' as they seem to be obscene to me). It is amazing how Beatles and their music continue to attract youngsters of today as they did 40 years back (at which time we used to enjoy singing their songs). 

I tried to provide a link to the program, but couldn't. However let me share a TV screenshot of the program as seen on my TV set.

Modi in Madison SG

Hope you're all fine. I'm glad to be back again on the blog. Though I have watched many interesting events on TV, it is the first time to watch one that drew Indians not only across the US but also from other countries including India to Madison Square Gardens yesterday and share time with our charismatic prime minister Narendra Modi. It was nice to watch celebrities such as L Subramaniam with his family. Arnab Goswami's presence from Times Now TV Channel was a great treat as well.

National Channel and Nelson Mandela

It was nice to watch a very interesting program about Nelson Mandela on our National Channel (TV) this morning. 18 July is his birthday. He was greatly influenced by legendary personalities like Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Martin Luther King Jr. In 1993, He and F W de Klerk jointly won their well deserved Nobel Peace Prize. 

Guru Pournima 2014

12 July was an important day for Hindus. It is known as Guru Pournima on which Shree Veda Vyaasa Maharishi, who wrote the great epic `Mahaabhaaratha', is worshiped. 

This evening I had the pleasure of watching a Bhajan performance by Anup Jalota, one of my most favourite Bhajan performers, on Sankara TV. (I remember with nostalgia as to how I happened to hear his "Rang de Chunaria" for the first time in a friend's house in South Africa many years back). 

Welcome, Mr Narendra Modi

I think that our new prime minister Mr Narendra Modi and his team will succeed in rooting out corruption completely. (I had the pleasure of working in Vadodara, a few years back. It was a nice experience to live in the city with very nominal auto-fares at a minimum tariff of Rs 7).