A TO Z INDIA December 2022

From the Editor’s Desk: Annapurna Jayanti - "The ancient Hindu festivals that celebrate food" This editorial talks about Annapurna Jayanti that commemorates the birth anniversary of Goddess Annapurna. Annapurna Jayanti is one of the ancient and unique Hindu festivals that celebrate food. This day commemorates the birth anniversary of Goddess Annapurna, the Goddess of nourishment. Goddess Annapurna is known to be an avatar of Goddess Parvati. Annapurna Jayanti is celebrated on the ‘Purnima’ (full moon day) of the ‘Margashirsha’ month in the traditional Hindu calendar. This observance falls in the month of December as per the English calendar. On this day Hindu devotees worship Goddess Annapurna with complete devotion and dedication. The rituals of the puja are primarily observed by the women folk. Annapurna Jayanti is celebrated in different parts…

This is a summary of the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus. Almost 2,000 years ago, a young woman from the town of Nazareth named Mary was visited by an angel named Gabriel. Gabriel told the Jewish woman that she would have a son named Jesus, who would be God’s Son. At this time, Mary was engaged to her soon-to-be husband, Joseph. When told, Joseph was hurt and confused because he did not believe Mary. The angel Gabriel visited Joseph and told him, "do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit," and her son, Jesus, would save the people from their sins. Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem because of an order from…

The 17th century Chandragiri Fort lies in Kasaragod District of Kerala, South India. This large squarish fort is 150 feet above sea level and occupies an area of about seven acres adjacent to Chandragiri river. The fort, now in ruins, offers panoramic views of the green countryside, the Chandragiri river and the estuary where the river meets the sea. Very few tourists venture here as the better known Bekal fort is close by. In ancient times, river Chandragiri bordered the two kingdoms of Kolathunadu and Tulunadu. Later, the region around the river came under the Vijayanagara Empire. When the empire fell, the Keladi Nayakas, who had carried out the administration, took control of the area. When Shivappa Nayak took over the reins, he renovated and built many forts including the…

Our modern society knows that Newton was the first person to give the world a proper idea of ​the rainbow. He tried to divide the sun’s rays into a variety of colors by reflecting it through a prism … which is known as VIBGYOR (violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red). Our current knowledge and understanding of light and color begins with many experiments published in 1672 by Isaac Newton (1642-1726). But it amazes us whenever we look at the Sun temples in different parts of India (such as the Sun Temple in Konark, Odisha, the Sun Temple in Modhera in Gujarat, etc.) and the idols of the Sun God in various places. It is absolutely awe-inspiring that everywhere, the chariot of the Sun God is driven by seven enthusiastic…

Praying to Goddess Lakshmi by chanting the Lakshmi Gayatri Mantra is believed to improve one’s wealth tremendously and alleviate all kinds of sorrows as well as misfortunes in one’s life. Goddess Lakshmi will bestow one with prosperity, auspiciousness, good appearance and beauty, good health, good fortune, increase in monetary wealth, spiritual and emotional well-being, and happiness. The Lakshmi Gayatri Mantra when chanted with utmost devotion also gives an individual abundance of wealth. Good luck is assured to the devotee and auspiciousness will prevail in the house where the Lakshmi Gayatri Mantra is constantly chanted religiously. Individuals seeking to further improve their financial standings are advised to chant the Lakshmi Gayatri Mantra daily with full focus and religiously. Job seekers can also benefit greatly. Apart from that, business men and business…

Children, we think that if we have the liberty to see, hear and say everything we want, all our problems will end. But this is a wrong assumption. Just as the absence of liberty causes sorrow, excess of liberty also will lead us to unhappiness and distress. Compared to the Indians, the people in Western countries enjoy a great deal of external freedom. But they are also miserable and disappointed. The number of broken homes and the number of youths ended up in prison cells and mental hospitals are very high there. Though there is material progress, why things happen in this way prompted them for more enquiry. The real freedom is not something external, it should come from within. They have begun to recognise that real freedom is something…