Diwali special

Hi friends,

We are delighted to inform you that, we are conducting essay writing competition on the occasion of Diwali 2012.Write to us  about "Diwali festival celebrations" in your hometown and win cash or Goodies.... If your article is the first of it’s type in our website or the article which you covered is not there in any of the other website’s online, you will receive a cash prize of 1000 rupees and or a surprise gift from our team.... Be sure to write not less than 100 lines of information about the Diwali festival celebrations in your hometown and also include a minimum of 5 images, the more the better (Please do mention your email for further contact)

    

Send your article and images to  hinduadhyathmikam@gmail.com.

Read More

Lord Ganesha Festival

Ganesh Chaturthi is also know as vinayaka chavathi,The Celebration of  vinayaka Chavathi continues for five,seven,nine and  elevens days,ending on Ananta Chaturdashi and some people will extend it to twenty one days.

Etymology

“Lord Ganesha” the word Ganesha is a Sanskrit word which derived from gana & isha and a group, multitude or categorical system refers to gana and the word “isha” master or lord. 

History of Lord Ganesha

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha is the son of lord  Shiva and parvathi.There are many stories, why Ganesha been born and how he got the elephant head and lord ganesha’s mother Parvati, one day disappointed because of her appointed guards were out of lord shiva’s army failed to stop him from barging into her private chambers.  She decided to guard her for while until she completes her bath. She created a body from dust and oil and infused life into that body and told him that “I am your mother” and ordered until my bath, guards the entrance, 

Lord shiva came to see Parvati and lord shiva was unaware of his son and as his duty lord Ganesha blocked his way and would not let him in and that time, lord shiva became irate and in great anger fought with lord Ganesha, whose head got severed from his body.

As soon as, Parvati returned from her bath and saw her son, she got very aggrieved anguish and threatened to destroy the heavens and earth.Later, the gods and shiva pacified her and soon after sent out the ganas, to get the head of first living being his head towards in north direction, as north direction is associated with wisdom. After a while they found an elephant sleeping and faced towards north and ganas took the elephants head, returned to lord shiva and he emotionally involved the elephant’s head to the body and revived him back to life.

This elephant-headed god was welcomed into the first family of the Hindu heavens and named Ganesha or Ganapati.He is worshipped during every festival  Ganesha as initial God

                    

Ganesha is the god of wisdom and prosperity of  and  is invoked before the beginning of any auspicious work by the Hindus..It  is  celebrated  on of  fourth day of the waxing moon period in the month of Bhaadrapada according to the Hindu calendar.In Most of  the cities Vinayaka chavathi celebrations will start in the evening with Arthi pooja and ends with bajna's.The festival is celebrated with immense enthusiasm in

Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh for ten days,And eleven days in some places.

                                         

why and when a ganesh chaturthi celebration begins, but the earliest celebrations were started in the times of reign of dynasties of satavahan, rashtrakutha, chalukya.  As per historical records, ganesh chaturthi initiated in Maharashtra by chatrapati Shivaji maharaja. 

many stories revealed about lord Ganesha, and his presence in universe as a lord. Ganesh chaturthi will fall between in the month of august  and september.While vinayaka chavathi  celebrated all over India,

Ganesh Chaturthi festivities are most elaborate in states like Maharashtra, Goa (It is the biggest festival for Konkani people all over the world), Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and other areas which were former states of the Maratha Empire. Outside India, it is celebrated in Nepal by the Newars.As the idol is immersed amidst loud chants of "Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai!" (Hail Lord Ganesh), the festival comes to an end with pleas to the Lord to return the next year with chants of "Ganpati bappa morya, pudcha varshi laukar ya" (Hail Lord Ganesh, return again soon next year).

Tourists from all over the world come to witness this wonderful event in the sun kissed beaches of Goa and

Mumbai.Even muslims and christians will also celebrates vinayaka chavathi they present ganesh idols to well wishers and wish them.

It was around 1893, during the nascent stages of Indian nationalism, that Tilak began to organize the Ganesh Utsav as a social and religious function. He was the first to put in large public images of Ganesha in pavilions and establish the tradition of their immersion on the tenth day.

Vinayaka chavathi special recipes:

Modak:It is a famous Indian sweet, prepared especially on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. It is known as Lord Ganesha's favorite sweet. Thus, majority of the people consider it a must to make Modak on the

very first day of Ganesh Chaturthi. The celebrations are regarded incomplete without Modak, a sweet that is greatly associated to Ganesh Chaturthi.

Motichoor ki ladhu:It is thought to be the favorite food of Lord Ganesha. In fact, the sweet also finds a mention in the aarti of lord Ganesha, where a line goes "ladduan ka bhog lage, sant Karen seva". So, when it is occasion of Lord Ganesha's birthday i.e. Ganesh chaturthi, then how one can forget to make the sweetmeat.

Ravva Laddu:Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha. It is believed that Ganesh Ji is fond of sweet food and thus, His birthday is celebrated with variety of sweets and other dishes. A special sweet dish called Modak and many other sweets, along with milk, is offered to idols of Lord Ganeshji at home and in temples.

Moong Dal Ka Halwa,Purna poli,Puliyodarai,Besan Ke Laddu,Kaju Ke Barfi,Karanji.These are the special dishes prepared by hindus on vinayaka chavathi.

May the Lord Ganesha bless us, on which you initiate things to lead to a success in our lives.

"Jai Bolo Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai"

Read More

Hyderabad-Bonalu

History of Hyderabad Bonalu

The festival’s history can be traced to as recent as the 18th century, unlike most other festivals whose ancestry can be traced back to the hoary past. The story has it that in 1813, Suriti Appaiah, a ‘doli’ bearer in a military battalion, was transferred to Ujjain. Cholera broke out in Hyderabad around that time claiming thousands of lives.

Appaiah and his associates went to the Mahankaal temple in Ujjain and prayed that if people were saved from the epidemic, they would install the idol of Mahankali in Secunderabad. On their return, they installed a wooden idol of the goddess in Secunderabad in July 1815. This was replaced with a stone statue in 1964.

Following brahminical traditions, all hoary Hindu festivals are marked by astrological precision: their timings marked in terms of the sun/moon entering certain constellations in certain months. But Bonalu is a festival of the farming and lower classes and is certainly not brahminical. So the timing of the celebrations is not so rigorous

Where and When in Hyderabad

Bonalu is celebrated in various parts of the city on different days, all Sundays. On the 1st Sunday of “Ashaada”, celebrations are held at the temple at Golconda fort. On the 2nd Sunday, at Ujjain Mahankali in Secunderabad, and the 3rd Sunday, at the Matheswari temple of Lal Darwaza in Old City.

About Bonalu

Bonalu involves the worship of Kali and her various forms. She destroys disease and keeps pestilence at arms length. Three deities Maisamma, Pochamma and Elamma, are worshipped. The performances are marked by an element of aggression. Potharaju, a masculine power, is believed to weed out all evils. During Bonalu, colourful brass pots, smeared with haldi and kumkum, and decorated with neem leaves are offered to the goddess. The pots usually contain a mixture of raw rice, jiggery, and milk. Sometimes, curd is also used. 

The Ritual of Hyderabad Bonalu

Earlier they used to sacrifice a male-buffalo. Now goats and chickens are sacrificed to ward off the ‘evil spirit’ Women carrying Bonalu are believed to possess the spirit of Mother Goddess, and when they go towards the temple, people pour water on their feet to pacify the spirit. On the first day of Bonalu, phalaram bandlu, a buffalo cart, laden with fruits is taken around (phalaru means fruits and bandlu, carts)

Rangam in Hydearabad Bonalu

Rangam, or Forecasting of the Future, Women under spell foretell the year ahead when devotees ask about the future.On the second day of the festival, a ritual known as ‘rangam’ is held. Here, a woman stands on a wet clay pot and makes predictions. This is held mostly between8.30 am and 9.30. An hour later, a procession is taken out on an elephant up to Mettuguda. Earlier, Mettuguda was the border of the city. To this day, the tradition continues.

Ghatam

Ghatam is a copper pot, decorated in the form of mother goddess. The Ghatam is carried by a priest , who wears a traditional dhoti and body with smeared in turmeric . The Ghatam is taken into procession from first day of the festival till last day, when it is immersed in water . The Ghatam in usually accompanied by drums.

Ghatam is followed after Rangam. The festival concludes with immersion of Ghatam. The ghatam of Haribowli's Akkanna Madanna Temple leads the procession, placed atop an elephant and accompanied by mounted horses and models depicting Akkanna and Madanna. It ends in the evening with a glittering procession and display followed by immersion of ghatams at Nayapul

                          

A carnival like atmosphere, where thousands of people wait along the main streets of Laldarwaza to Nayapul and watch the exquisitely and elaborately decorated Ghatams. Young men dance in a unique style to the drum beats and folk songs alongside Pothraju, dress-up in various mythological roles.

The Ghatams of the Old city procession include the Mahankali temples in Haribowli Akkanna-Madanna, Laldarwaza, Uppuguda, Miralam Mandi and Kasaratta, the Jagadamba temple of Sultanshahi, Bangaru Mysamma temple of Shalibanda, Alijah Kotla and Gowlipura, and Sultanshahi, Darbar Mysamma of Aliabad and Mutyalamma temple of Chandulal Bela.

Click here to know more about Hyderabad and It's culture
Click Here know the Information about Hyderabad Bonalu 2013

Read More