सलाम नमस्ते INDIA

जब गर्मियों का मौसम अपने उच्चतम स्तर पर हो और आप इससे परेशान हों तब आप क्या करते हैं? गर्मियों के मौसम में सर्वाधिक पसन्द किये जाने वाले पारम्परिक भारतीय  पेय हैं, कच्चे आम का पना या कैरी का पना (Aam ka panna), बेल का शर्बत (Bel ka Sharbat), फालसे का शर्बत (False ka Sharabat), नींबू की शिकंजी (Lemon Shikanjavi), तरबूज का रस (Water Melon Sharbat), ठंडाई (Thandai Drink) आदि.   बाजार में बिकने वाली बनावटी रंग और स्वाद से बनी मीठे पानी की एयरेटेड बोतलें  तो स्वाद और गुणों में पारम्परिक भारतीय पेयों की छाया को भी छू नहीं सकतीं.   नौतपे की गर्मियों में आपके शरीर को लू से बचाने और आपके शरीर के तापमान को स्थिर रखने में आम का पना (Aam ka Pana) बहुत सहायक होता है.  इसे बनाना तो बहुत ही आसान है, आईये हम आज आम का पना (Raw Mango Cooler)  बनायें आवश्यक सामग्री - Ingredients for Raw Mango Panna कच्चे आम - 2 -3 मीडियम आकार के 300 ग्राम भुना जीरा पाउडर - 2 छोटी चम्मच काला नमक - स्वादानुसार (2 छोटी चम्मच) काली मिर्च - एक चौथाई छोटी चम्मच चीनी - 100...

It is Holi again and I am surprisingly riveted to YouTube, listening to Jaddan Bai’s lilting composition in Raga Durga. From the feel of it, she must have sung it in the 1930s. The words from the 78rpm record are haunting, and flow like confident advice steeped in experience: “Roop, joban, goon dharay rahat hain in bhaagan ke aage.” [A beautiful visage, youth and all your talents fall powerless before the vagaries of fate and time.] It should not be surprising if many who claim the legacy of Ayodhya as being exclusively Hindu fail to understand the lines in Awadhi, the language in which Tulsidas wrote his epic poem ‘Ramcharitmanas’ in the much-maligned Mughal era. Malik Mohammed Jayasi and Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana probably understood its syncretic message better. Neither Jaddan Bai nor Raga Durga is of course identified in any special way with the festival of colours. The usual compositions sung around this time are mostly in Khamaj, Pilu, Gara and Kafi, all late or early aft...

MUSLIM KINGS UTILIZED HINDU FESTIVAL OF HOLI TO PROMOTE HINDU-MUSLIM FRIENDSHIP The last Moghul Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar allowed his Hindu ministers to smear his forehead with gulal on Holi every year. He believed that his religion would not be affected by this social ritual and was sure that God would redeem him for he had not broken the heart of his subjects. That, in fact, is the true spirit of Islam that one should not hurt the feelings of the followers of other faiths. This enlightened spirit percolated in the Moghuls right from the time of the greatest Moghul Emperor, Akbar. Even Jahangir is shown holding Mehfil-e-Holi in `Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri’. Many artists, especially Govardhan and Rasik have shown Jahangir playing Holi with Noorjahan, his wife. Mohammed Shah Rangila is shown running around the palace with his wife running after him with a pichkari. During Shahjahan’s tenure of Delhi, Holi was known as Id-e-Gulabi — Pink Id — or Aab-e-Pashi — Shower of Colorful F...

Aaj Rung Hai  , a poem by Amir Khusro. Aaj Rung Hai Aaj rung hai hey maan rung hai ri Moray mehboob kay ghar rang hai ri Sajan milaavra, sajan milaavra, Sajan milaavra moray aangan ko Aaj rung hai........ Mohay pir paayo Nijamudin aulia Nijamudin aulia mohay pir payoo Des bades mein dhoondh phiree hoon Toraa rung man bhayo ri......, Jag ujiyaaro, jagat ujiyaaro, Main to aiso rang aur nahin dekhi ray Main to jab dekhun moray sung hai, Aaj rung hai hey maan rung hai ri. Translation- What a glow everywhere I see, Oh mother, what a glow; I’ve found the beloved, yes I found him, In my courtyard; I have found my pir Nizamuddin Aulia. I roamed around the entire world, looking for an ideal beloved; And finally this face has enchanted my heart. The whole world has been opened for me, Never seen a glow like this before. Whenever I see now, he is with me, Oh beloved, please dye me in yourself; Dye me in the colour of the spring, beloved; What a glow, Oh,...

Celebrates 150 Years of 'Summer Capital - Shimla  Shimla, once a village that served as the summer capital of British India between 1864 and 1939 and as the seat of the Himachal Pradesh government subsequently, is all set to walk down memory lane of being known as the 'Queen of the Hills' for 150 years. The 'Queen of Hills' moniker was given to the hill station by the British colonial rulers and the town still has 91 British-era heritage buildings. To recreate the past, the state government and other cultural agencies like the National School of Drama have lined up a series of celebrations beginning from next month. There are  a series of programmes which include theatre festivals, mythological ballets, film festivals and display of army bands to showcase Shimla's glorious history. The programme, named "Shimla Celebrates: 150 years of Summer Capital" would begin with a state-level theatre festival from March 21 to 27. Theatre...

High on opium, bulls flatten poppy crop INDORE: If you think only humans are addicted to drugs, then hold your breath! Blue bulls of Madhya Pradesh's opium belt - Mandsaur - are storming into the fields, consuming poppy and running amok in the villages, leaving farmers high and dry. A blue bull can eat up to 300 'doda' (opium fruit) in one night. And all attempts by farmers to protect their poppy farm during harvesting season have turned futile. And, this despite fencing and constant vigil. Virendra Singh Sisodia, a resident of Pithya Khedi village, who incurred losses in lakhs due to the rampaging blue bulls, said, "Earlier these animals did not eat opium. But two years ago, few of them ate and now they have become addicted. They come every night to eat 'doda'." Describing the peculiar behavior of these opium-addicted bulls, he said, "Normally, they visit in group of 50 to 100, but when it comes to eating opium, they come alone. A...

Saanjha Chulha: The Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb According to a recent survey (by Anthropological Survey of India in 1992) there are 4634 communities in India, which constitute the fabric of its social structure and culture. India is also a ‘civilization society’. The interaction between institutional, cultural, and social-structural elements through the evolution of a civilization society in India has given birth to a cultural phenomena, popularly known as ‘composite culture’, which is probably unique in history.” This is known locally as ‘ ganga jamuni tahzeeb ’, something which I hold very dear. According to Singh, composite culture refers to the “continual presence and process of reciprocity; mutual sharing and overlap of cultural practices; styles of life; a technological and economic world view of the relationship between nature and culture; shared practices of economy and technology; values and belief systems cutting across the divides of space; and religious belief s...