rocksea

Meenakshi (meen=fish akshi=eye) was a princess who got married to Shiva
in Madurai, hence the temple named after her. You can see the legend of Meenakshi
here. At first there was only a Shiva temple in the place. Later it was rebuilt
by several kings and the dominance of Meenakshi developed later.

In fact, Meenakshi was a incarnation of Parvati herself.

rocksea

Ok, here is a BONUS.

I have uploaded a documentary on the 'Lost Temples of India'.
It covers Taj Mahal, south Indian temples like Madurai, Srirangam,
with historical, areal and inner (ceremonies) views of the temples.

Go to download page: Lost Temples of India
(format: mpeg, size: 480 mb, duration: 52 minutes)

Grab it before I remove the upload

Himendra

Thank you rox san,
its really great release. I downloaded it very fast within 3 min. sound and picture quality is Super....
Hay..guys dont miss the Documentary.......

Euphoria

Don't worry himendra san....i will get it from you

rocksea

These are some of the important festivals of India. Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja,
Diwali, Holi.

Of these, Holi is my favorite because it is full of fun and laughter.
It is a day of spraying colors on everyone. That day nobody wears their
best dress because it will get color-stained
Holi is known as the festival of colors, and the colors overcome the barriers of
language and convey true feelings. The colors also convey a message.
Green: Compassion and understanding and a symbol of prosperity.
Yellow: Optimism. It is also regarded as an auspicious color. The color Yellow
is associated with Mother Earth.
Red: The color of fire, the source of energy and security.
Blue: Loyalty and trust.
Pink: Love and compassion. (so if you find ur lover, you can spray this color!)

While I was in hostel, we never waited to buy color powder,
we used to make a paste of all kind of mud and dirt in a bucket and shower
on anyone

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rocksea

Let me tell about the festival of my state (Kerala). It is not a religious festival,
but a festival in memory of a mythical King MahaBali (Maveli) who ruled Kerala eons back.
Legend is that he was so famous that gods became jealous and send
God Vishnu to send him down to the netherworld. Anyways, before
sending him down, Vishnu gave King Maha Bali a boon to visit his people
once in a year. This day we celebrate as Onam, to welcome Mahabali.



Usually early morning that day we all go out, collect flowers and make floral
carpets (atha-pookkalam) as show in the picture).
It is a time of joy and fun and celebrations and games for everyone.
Schools and colleges have 10 day holidays during this time.

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rocksea

This is the article one of the SIT high school student prepared on the
festivals on India

rocksea

Yoga (from Sanskrit yuj, meaning yoke or union, integration) is an ancient family of spiritual practices that originated in India. Yoga practices share a common goal: Samadhi, the complete integration of the Self with God. Yoga as a means to enlightenment is central to Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, but yoga has also influenced religious and spiritual practices throughout the world.

Traditionally, yoga consists of eight fundamental paths, or Ashtamargas: Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Purna Yoga, Tantra Yoga, Maha Yoga and Ashtanga or Raja Yoga . In the western world, the term yoga often refers to Hatha yoga and its postures, movements, and breathing techniques.

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rocksea

Costumes of India! They are as myriad and colorful than you can imagine!!
I won't be able to show the vastness of the variety. Yet let us try to have
a glimpse on some of the common costumes.


Saree. In India, in all corners, ladies wear Saree though different parts of
India have different styles of draping the saree. The ornaments and
decorations they use with it also vary with each region and religion. They
change with occassions too.

Here in the picture I have also shown some of the ornaments/cosmetics
the Indian women wear. Most of the traditional married women wear
the sindhoor (vermilion color made from plants).
You would also find most of the girls and women wearing a red dot (bindhi) on
the forehead. It can me of different colors, with red being common.
There are a lot of traditional and religious concepts behind wearing these
kind of costumes.. Like the bindi is supposed to represent the third eye
or the spiritual sight.

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