Navratri Customs: Navratri is a very important and popular festival of India. It comes twice on a year, once around March-April and the second time, around September-October. The nine days and nights of Navratri are entirely devoted to Mother Goddess. Throughout this period, fasts, strictly vegetarian diets, japa (chanting mantras in honor of the Goddess Shakti), religious hymns, prayer, meditation …
Read More »Why we worship Mother Goddess on Navratri?
Why we worship Mother Goddess on Navratri? We think this energy is only a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children. “Why mother; why not father?“, you may ask. Why we worship Mother Goddess on Navratri? Let me just say that we believe that God’s glory, his cosmic energy, …
Read More »What is Navratri Kolu or Navarathri Golu?
What is Navratri Kolu or Navarathri Golu? Bommai Kolu or Bommala Koluvu is the artistic display of dolls by women during Navratri and Dussehra in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and among certain communities in Kerala. The dolls, called Kollu or Golu, represents the durbar or assembly of Goddess Durga. This assembly is held just before Mother Goddess ventures on …
Read More »Why Navratri comes twice a year? Ashwina and Chaitra Navratri
Why Navratri comes twice a year? Every year the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter are two very important junctures of climatic change and solar influence. These two junctions have been chosen as the sacred opportunities for the worship of the divine power because: Navratri comes twice a year The festival of Navratri occurs twice every year. One …
Read More »Why did Gandhi fast? Dateline of Gandhi’s Fasts
Why did Gandhi fast? Gandhi (1869-1948), known as Mahatma meaning ‘great soul’, is regarded as the father of India. From 1919 he led the country’s campaign for independence from the British, which was eventually granted in 1947. He was committed to non-violent action, such as refusing to pay taxes, strikes, and non-cooperation with the British, believing that independence could not …
Read More »Who was Subhas Chandra Bose and his role in India’s Struggle for Independence?
Who was Subhas Chandra Bose and his role in India’s Struggle for Independence? When one thinks of the Indian independence movement in the 1930s and early 1940s, two figures most readily come to mind: Mahatma Gandhi, the immensely popular and “saintly” frail pacifist, and his highly respected, Fabian Socialist acolyte, Jawaharlal Nehru. Who was Subhas Chandra Bose and his role …
Read More »When Rath Yatra of Ahmedabad is carried out?
Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad is the one of the grandest event in Gujarat and it begins from the Jagdish Mandir located at the Jamalpur area of the city at the early morning and there are three completely separate chariots for the idols of Krisna, Balram and their sister Subhadra and all the three chariots bears strong resemblance with the chariots …
Read More »When is Fathers Day? History & Significance
Fathers Day Festival is celebrated on different dates in different countries. Most countries including US, UK, Canada, Chile, France, Japan and India celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June. President Richard Nixon declared the date of Fathers Day festival in US in 1972. Though the date of Father’s Day is not fixed in countries around the world and …
Read More »Between whom was the battle of Haldighati fought?
Between whom was the battle of Haldighati fought? Pratap Singh became the Maharana of Mewar in 1572 after the death of his father Maharana Udai Singh. Pratap never accepted Emperor Jalal ud-Din Muhammad Akbar as ruler of India, and fought Emperor Akbar all his life. Emperor Jalal ud-Din Muhammad Akbar first tried diplomacy to win over Pratap Singh but nothing …
Read More »What is Haldighati?
Haldighati is a mountain pass in the Aravalli Range of Rajasthan in western India. It connects Rajsamand and Pali districts, 40 kilometres from Udaipur. The name is believed to have come from the turmeric-coloured yellow soil (Turmeric is haldi in Hindi). What is Haldighati? The mountain pass is historically significant as the location of the historic Battle of Haldighati, which …
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