Ananya – The Dance Festival

Every year in the month of October, Delhi gets to witness a breathtaking display of talent in Indian Classical dances by some eminent personalities. I am talking about the newly started Ananya Dance Festival that is organized by Delhi Tourism department is association with a premier dance Organization called 'Seher'.

Knowing a little about 'Seher' will help you a lot in understanding what Ananya Dance Festival is all about. Seher is an organization which works in the area of performing and Visual arts. Founded in the year 1990. Seher has been known for its creativity and experimentation in group choreography.

Group performances with a difference is what you will get to see in the fast becoming famous Ananya Dance Festival. Held with Purana Quila as the brilliant backdrop, Ananya Dance Festival celebrates the beauty of various Indian classical dances in different styles. The daring choreography virtually thins the line between classical and contemporary by reaching for waters never explored before. It is a 5 day festival in which each day is set aside for different classical dances. The dance stresses on taking the dance to a new level, a unique one where it can cope with the changing demands of the spectators. Though one finds a lot of up gradations and experimentation, it has not invited any ire or discontent from enthusiasts who want the dances to retain its originality. It is because, in search of contemporary, the dances have not lost even a bit of the classical essence.

Having completed seven years, Ananya Dance Festival is slowly climbing the ladder to becoming the most famous dance festival in India. It certainly is the most unique already. Since last year it has started a new interactive session in between the festival where general public, scholars and enthusiasts can communicate directly with the artists. This way people get to participate more in the show and know more about different Indian classical dances; and artists get the platform to give a verbal expression to their art.

Ananya Festival left no stone unturned in creating a mesmerizing ambiance for the audience throughout the five days. It is an absolutely unique experience so do not miss the opportunity next year, to find a new face of Indian dances.

Etiquette And Customs

India is a vast country and different customs are followed in different parts of the country. The metros are usually more liberal and cosmopolitan than the countryside, where you may come across unusual customs as are preserved over thousands of years. In general, the attitude to life is vastly different from that in the western world. But Indians are very hospitable people


1 . Always remove your shoes before entering a holy place – a temple, gurudwara or a mosque. Gurudwaras will also require you to cover your head.

2. Do not touch any holy object with your feet or your left hand. Also do not accept or give or eat using your left hand.

3 . Public show of affection is generally disapproved of, particularly in smaller cities and villages.

4 . Avoid wearing skimpy and revealing clothes. Though metropolitan cities are liberal on this front, but in smaller villages, do not even wear clothes that bare hands and legs.

5 . Always follow rules written on notice boards at holy places. If they are written in local languages, make sure you get them clarified from the authorities there before you make a blunder. The rules sometimes can be pretty strict.

6 . Giving tips is customary but not mandatory.

Three Most Common Indian Rituals and their Meaning

One thing India is most known for is its rituals. You will find as many sets of traditions and rituals as their are cultures and religion in India. Although most of us follow these rituals, the are more often than not, done blindly. So why we do it and what is the significance of these rituals.

Let us look at three of the most widely practiced rituals in India.

1. Namaste
This is what has become the symbol of India to the outside world. The two palms are placed together in front of the chest and head is bowed along with saying Namaste. Namaste in Sanskrit is a conjugation of two words Namah + Te = Namaste. It means I bow to you. It has a spiritual significance of reducing the ego of a person. The Joining of palms has different meaning to it. It recognizes that the life force, the divinity, self and the lord are all one and the same. The bowing of head is saluting the divine being that is present in the person we are meeting.

2. Why Do We Ring Bells In a Temple
Too many versions of why we ring the bell in Temple are prevalent today. Some say it is to let the God know that we are here. Some are of the belief that it is done to ask permission to enter the pious premises of his abode. People also go to the extent of saying that it is wake up the god. If we consider what we believe god to be, all the above reasons seem absolutely absurd. God doesn't needs to woken up or informed, neither do we need permission to enter abode of God as he is present everywhere. So why do we ring the bell. It has to do more with the atmosphere than God. Ringing the bell creates the sound of Om, the universal name of the Lord. Listening to this sound purifies our within and outside. It also removes any disturbances and creates inner peace.

3. Why do we say Shaanti thrice
Shaanti literally means peace. We often misinterpret that to attain peace we have to do many strenuous things. In fact it is just the opposite way. To attain peace, we have to actually do nothing. Just sit in silence with closed eyes and thinking nothing; and instantly we are capsuled by an atmosphere of peace. But the problem is that in today's world, there are too many elements both inside and outside to shake that peaceful atmosphere away. To combat these elements, we make use of the physical form of peace, that is the word Shaanti. We speak Shaanti thrice to emphasize our deep desires for peace. The loudness comes down with every chant of the word. The first time is chanted out aloud, addressing the unseen forces. It is softer the second time, targeted to the immediate surroundings, and the last one is the softest, intended for oneself.

The Significance of Indian Traditional Wedding

More and more couples today are choosing for wedding that are more party and less rituals. Their view is that the rituals that have been a part of Indian weddings are for nothing and are of no use. However that is not the truth and every ritual that is carried out during a wedding have their own significance, whether symbolic or spiritual. Here are five of them that hold the most importance or let us say, made most important by wedding scenes in Bollywood flicks.

1. Kundali (Horoscope)
Matching of horoscopes of bride and bridegroom is what sets the ball rolling. In all arranged Indian weddings. The stars of boy the girl should match for the wedding to happen. Their horoscopes are matched on 8 accounts namely Varna, Vasya, Tara, Yoni, Gana, Nadi, Rashi Lord, and Bhakoot. All these aspects have different ratings and they total upto 36. A score of 19 is the minimum that should be attained to be qualified.

2. The Turmeric Anoinment
Both bride and bridegroom are anointed with paste of turmeric in their own houses. It is done on the day of marriage just before taking a bath. Turmeric is known to have medicinal values as a perfect skin conditioner. It open up the pores, cleanses the skin and gives it a shine and natural glow.

3. Walking Around The Sacred Fire
Fire in Indian marriages are considered to be holy witness to this event of joining of two souls in the holy matrimony. The bride and bridegroom walk around the fire seven times exchanging marriage vows.

4. The 'Saat Phere'
This is probably the most identifiable symbol of an Indian marriage. The seven steps taken around the fire which symbolize the seven vows affirming there mutual commitment at every rotation. These vows are regarding taking care of food and finance; taking care of household and children; mutual fidelity; wishing longevity and togetherness in all phases of life; truthfulness and abiding by the laws of Vedas.

5. The 'Mangalsutra”
Meaning the sacred thread. Mangalsutra is not just a piece of wedding jewellery, it holds a lot of importance and is supposed to be on the bride's neck at all times. It is a black and gold beaded necklace with a gold or diamond pendant. The bridegroom ties it around the neck during the ceremony. The Mangalsutra is believed to protect the bride from all evils.

The Power of Mantras

Ever since the the time of vedas, we have believed in the powers of mantras and vedic chants. They are the words of magic, words of power, words of power, words that contribute to self empowerment and fulfillment of desires. Mantras are thought to be powerful enough to be used as a magical formula, incantation charm, spells to acquire supernatural powers or to shape reality according to one's own desires.

One would mainly find mantras in religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism mantra's are used to call upon a particular deity. It is thought that continuous chanting of a mantra and meditation creates a perfect energy field for the deity to come in the presence. A mantra can be a phrase like Gayatri Mantra or can just be a word like Om. Chanting of mantras when done in perfect environment and in the right state of mind can take one to a high level of mental activity not only of psychological degree but even in the realm of material things.

Mantras can be categorized into three groups namely Vedic Mantras, Tantrika Mantras and Puranic Mantras. These are again divided into three other categories Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika mantras. The Sattvika Mantras are chanted for inner illumination, divine grace, divine love, and self realization. Rajasika Mantras are chanted for the success of earthly needs and to have children whereas the Tamasika Mantras are a part of the dark world and are used to appease evil spirits so as to use them for harming others or in committing vicious deeds. Of all these, Sattvika is considered to be the most rewarding as it alone helps a human to break the cycle of rebirth and attain Nirvana.

Mantras are not only the source of energy in all forms, they are the pool of endless knowledge. When repeated in a uniform manner, the sounds thus created changes every aspect of a persons personality i.e physical, emotional spiritual, and mental. There are no better healers known than these mantras. At one go, they improve overall health, concentration powers, respirations and provide respite from any mental ailment.

And the best part, unlike medicines, mantras won't take any time in showing results.

The Year of The Challenger

This year’s Wimbledon final was everything a tennis enthusiast could have wished for. Never have I seen such ruthless display of power from both sides of the net simultaneously. Let alone my short span of tennis viewing; people who are ardent followers of tennis for decades, are declining to compare this finals to any other. For them, and for me of course, this is by far the best grand slam final ever.

After the annihilation of the annihilator Roger Federer in the French open finals by Rafael Nadal, and both setting up another showdown in Wimbledon final, the expectations were quite high from of this final. That is because Rafael Nadal is in a form of his lifetime and Roger Federer, for the champion he is, he never gives up till the last shot.

Well, among Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, I was rooting for Rafael Nadal. And the first two sets made me comfortable in my seat. When Rafa had three break points in the third set, I thought it was all over, another one sided show in Wimbledon final. But already I had witnessed something so spectacular that I was satisfied. I couldn’t have been more wrong about one sidedness. To my despair and to joy, Federer produced some bamboozling shots down the line and grabbing the third set on tie breaker. Rain twice interrupted the proceedings making it a good 7 hour long match.

All I did was sit in my seat and watch it on t.v, still I was so exhausted. Both the players made life hell for each other. Fourth set too went into the tie breaker. This time Rafael Nadal got the upper hand, and two championship points. But Fedex wanted to roll on a little longer. Consolidating both, he managed to bag fourth set as well. Now that both the players were on the same step, there was a new stride in Federer’s game. It was not till 7 -7, we got to see a break of serve. Rafael Nadal was soon serving for the championship. For me the next game was the most thrilling of all. Roger Federer dragged Rafa to all parts of the court and made him win every point. This was a game that would have kept even the best of astrologers confused. After more than 4 hr and 45 min of some amazing tennis, at last, Rafael Nadal was able to close it out.

The Challenger is now the Conquerer.

We have a New Wimbledon Champion.

Is This The Best Time To Be Alive?

I’ve learnt a lot about our past and I’m hearing a lot about the future. Our past was marred with fights of man with man, inequality and low life. And our future seems to be heading towards another clash, this time man and nature. Seems like nature will make us answerable to all the misdeeds that we have carried upon it.

Thus I believe that this is the best era to be alive in, but some people think otherwise. They give me examples of global democracy, injustice, plight of women and poverty to back their point. I agree with them that these are prominent troubles that are pinching our society. But these problems were there in earlier days as well, far greater in proportion than they are present today. And there were worse problems in our past.

Let us look at it from women’s perspective. In which period of our past, did women have so many rights and thought to be equal to men. Even in the so-called developed western countries, their condition was nothing less than miserable. But today, even the third world and Arab countries too have reserved rights for women. In today’s world women are becoming parallel to man in every respect, they are no more hidden in the layers of pardha (veil), can carry themselves without the support of their men folks, knows how to earn a living with dignity, and are gaining prestigious position whether in corporate of in prliament. Isn’t amazing.

Horrified by the thought of being of women in the past century? Imagine being ill. Epidemics and plagues were rampant thought the world, infant mortality rate were heart wrenching, number of hospitals and the facilities provided in them was pathetic. Add to that no antibiotics, And the scenario of a living hell is complete.

Today most parts of the world are virtually free of many killer diseases like the cholera, polio etc. The life expectancy has never been better. But then there are diseases like AIDS, that still remind us that nature is the one running us, and not the other way round.

Then they argue that we are the most indecent and ill-mannered society.
Oh Please! Let’s go back a little bit to the 1950’s. What do you see? Racism at its peak, caste wars, ‘No Black’ sign boards outside hotels and restaurants, no looking in the eye of higher caste people. Do that today and you are game for several years of free hospitality behind the steel bars.

No matter what others think, I truly believe that is, without a doubt the best time to be alive. Enjoy every moment of present, coz’ you really don’t know when the future begins.

I am Bound! I am Habituated

I would be wrong if I said that experiences have brought us only good. We believe that bad experiences in life hurt us, but make us stronger for future. True in many instances. But what about the good experiences. They might have made us happy and satisfied at times. But more often than not, we end up picking up habits that keep us comfortable and in a shell.

Whether good or bad, experiences bring with them a set of fears and habits that become a part of our lives. With time they slip into our unconscious mind and more or less, control the way we do things. There might not be anything utterly wrong with these habits, They might have worked for us in the past; not once but number of times. But now we are bound in a very tiny world where the waters are always calm, the weather is always pleasant.

We become unaware of a wider world where a lot more can be achieved. The very habits that we love the most curb our actual potential to achieve a far greater level of success. Of course, we have to step out of our comfort shell and try new things. There would be higher risks and more mistakes. But then, a person who has not made mistakes has not made anything else either.

Believe me, screwing up things once in a while, isn’t that bad or entertainment less.

The big question is how to go about it. First and foremost is definitely to segregate the hollow habits. It might look tough from the outside, but just a peak within you, and they start to unravel themselves. Empty vessels make more noise. It is easy to spot them. However it is not easy to throw them out of your system. Ask someone who has quit smoking or drinking. Those habits will admit ample impediments to stop you from finding new and better ways. But it is possible.

All you have to do is take conscious decisions. Make sure that you do things differently. There are thousands of ways to go about things and you have the capability to do it in all those ways. So why hold yourself back and stick to the habits that no more pay rich dividends.

Experimentation is the mantra to a happy and successful life. Because problems may remain same, but the situations always change.

My 30 Seconds With 'The Beetle'

Standing at a crossing, listening to ‘You’re Beautiful’, never did I think that one of my special dream was about to come true. To my right, but heartbreakingly on the other side of the road, came to a halt, a shining new ‘Volkswagen Beetle’. One of the most admired cars in the world, Beetle is any auto enthusiast’s darling. This was one of those times when I prayed for every signal to go faulty and remain red.

It seemed as if it was just rolled out of a showroom, such was the glitter and freshness of the car. But then, owners of a car like Beetle, always keep it flawless and shining. Even from a distance of more than 50 m, the most admired insect had a magical affect on me.

Take a right turn, take a right turn; I kept chanting in my heart, virtually begging to the driver. Believe me, if I was not on a damn tight schedule, and if there were no promises to keep; It wouldn’t have mattered where it turned. I would have been right on its tail, reading every inch of it, till my eyes and heart were satiated.

A sudden honking of horn from the esteemed section of the traffic meant its time. It is green for them.
My heart sank deeper and deeper as I saw ‘The Beetle’ fly in straight. Ensured then, I will have to wait till another day to get to know this beauty.

Oh, she knows she is beautiful. The Beetle, as it caressed past me, behaved just like any beautiful girl, aware of her charm, would do.
Arrogantly ignoring the admiring eyes.

Someday Beetle, someday, you will be in my arms

A Horror Story!!

For the complete 2½ hours, I prayed for the producer of ‘Bhootnath’. Watching the movie, I thought he must have been in dire need for some quick bucks and that resulted in Bhootnath. If a movie has two of the biggest names in modern era Bollywood, no matter what the script of the movie is or how the direction is, it is bound to gross more than what was spent on it. Ravi Chopra, the producer of the movie, seemed to have employed this theory to the best affect.

The story of the movie revolves around two main characters Bhootnath (Amitabh Bachchan) and Banku (Aman Siddiqui). The star cast is good enough to attract anyone; there is Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Rajpal Yadav, Satish Shah and Priyanshu Chatterjee. Any SRK fans in hope to witness another starry performance by him, stay away. He is on screen for not more than 30 minutes, and in that too, his acting felt half hearted. Everyone else’s performance too was below par. The only consolation being the acting of Satish Shah and Aman Siddiqui. Satish Shah is the principal of Banku’s school who’s Parsi accent lends that comedy touch that is missing from the whole movie, even when it is dubbed as comedy movie. I didn’t here any one laugh

I ain’t going to scribble the whole story of the movie here, it is just not worth it. Even though this is a kids movie, they seemed to be the least interested lot in it. First half was somewhat ok for the kids. A song where hippie youngsters were the main theme, seemed to be entertaining for the kids. And the antics of Banku made the theater a little lively with the laughing of kids, Though it was not even a percent of what I heard when the following conversation happened in the movie ‘Ice Age’

Sid : Hey, Why am I the poop checker???

Manny : Because you are small, insignificant and I will trample you if u don’t.
…
..
.
Sid : mmmmmmmmmm……Why Else????

Any ways that was a different genre altogether. But I felt that with such a good theme of Bhoothnath, a lot more could have been done. And the second half was all drama and emotions. All for adults and kids were completely ignored here. The film proudly boasts that there is something for everyone, but the two sections just did not connect.

I will recommend this movie only for the acting of Amitabh, who was as elegant as ever and blended well to meet the expectations of kids; and for Aman Siddiqui

Shubharambh

Though this blog has been on the radar for quite sometime now, I was not able to post due to some technical problem. Now that the problem is passe, I hope to be a regular here.