বসন্ত এসে গেছে (Spring has Come) :Colors And Aroma Whispered in th ears of Flora and Fauna

ওরে ভাই, ফাগুন লেগেছে বনে বনে-- ডালে ডালে ফুলে ফুলে পাতায় পাতায় রে, আড়ালে আড়ালে কোণে কোণে ||

ফাগুন লেগেছে বনে বনে |

O dear, it is painted with spring in the woods –

The branches, the leaves   the flowers and fruits,

All the corners and hideouts it is painted with.

‘Phagun’ is a coloquial term for ‘phalgun ‘ which is synonymous to the advent of spring .. ‘If winter comes , can spring be far behind ?’

I do not quite know if spring can stay far behind..But one thing we all know, if spring comes…Colors of nature can never stay behind . One of the most popular festivals in India is the Holi Festival held every year on the day of the full moon in the Hindu calendar month of Phalgun. Holi is also known as the Spring Festival, Holi marks the end of the cooler winter months and the beginning of spring, a celebrated season as it brings warmer days, new produce, love and joy.

During this lovely season flora and fauna come to life , landscapes are at their brightest, the sun is shining and the locals from across the country adorn themselves in brightly coloured clothing. Holi also signifies a victory of good over evil. As per ancient mythology, there is a legend of King Hiranyakashipu with who Holi is associated. Hiranyakashipu was a king in ancient India who was like a demon. He wanted to take revenge for the death of his younger brother who was killed by Lord Vishnu. So to gain power, the king prayed for years. He was finally granted a boon. But with this Hiranyakashipu started considering himself  God and asked his people to worship him like God. The cruel king has a young son named Prahalad, who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Prahalad had never obeyed his father’s order and kept on worshiping Lord Vishnu. The King was so hard hearted and decided to kill his own son, because he refused to worship him. He asked his sister ‘Holika’, who was immune to fire, to sit on a pyre of fire with Prahalad in her lap. Their plan was to burn Prahalad. But their plan did not go through as Prahalad who was reciting the name of Lord Vishnu throughout was safe, but Holika got burnt to ashes. The defeat of Holika signifies the burning of all that is bad. After this, Lord Vishnu killed Hiranyakashipu. But it is actually the death of Holika that is associated with Holi. Because of this, in some states of India like Bihar , a pyre in the form of bonfire is lit on the day before Holi day to remember the death of evil.In Bengal some people burn ‘chanchar ‘ for the same reason ,this ritual is coloquially termed as ‘Burir Ghor Porano ‘.. The Burir Ghor ( The Old Lady’s Home) is constructed with dry leaves and worn out branches of trees and this ritual is also  signifies death of evil .

Some of The Places In India to Celebrate Holi:

Mathura & Vrindaban:

Mathura is certainly one of the top places to celebrate Holi in India. According to legends, the custom of playing colors on Holi originated from the play of Radha and Krishna. A colorful and musical procession takes place from the temples to river ghats then to the Holi Gate. The celebrations start almost a week before the festival. Temples are decorated, songs, and chants create a devotional ambiance. On the day of the festival, the best place to visit in Mathura is the Dwarkadheesh Temple.

Vrindaban on the other hand is a favourite place for Photo Journalists and Photo Bloggers. Vrindavan’s Banke Bihari Temple’s Holi celebrations is one of its kind. The town echoes with tales of Radha-Krishna and celebrates the festival with traditions, devotion and serenity. The extremely popular Banke Bihari temple in the town hosts a week long Holi celebrations attend by visitors from all over the world.

The Holi customs in the temple are unique, as there is not play of conventional dry or wet colors, but flowers, and hence the name Phoolon wali holi (Flowers’ Holi). The temple priests’ shower the pilgrims with flowers in a way showering the blessings of the Lord.

Shantiniketan:

Holi by the name of Vasant Utsav is celebrated with fervour in the state of West Bengal. The tradition of Vasantotsav, meaning Spring Festival was started by poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore atShantiniketan, the University he founded. What is appreciated is the grace and diginified manner in which Vasant Utsav is celebrated in West Bengal as compared to boisterous Holi witnessed in most parts of India. Students of Vishwa Bharati joyfully welcome Spring dressed in yellow singing “ Orrey Grihobashi Khol dwar khol ,laglo jey dol”, the season of hope not just with colours but with songs, dance, chanting of hymns in the serene ambiance of Shantiniketan.

image source:google

Anybody who got a chance to witness this elegant way of celebrating Holi in Bengal remembers it with fond memory for the rest of his life.In Bengal Holi is also called ‘Dol ‘ .

Kolkata:

Kolkata like many cities celebrates boisterous Holi . The city of Joy and it’s jovial citizens love any kind of celebration . Kolkata catches eyes of every one by celebrating holi in unique style . Last few years kolkata’s different event clubs are organising dry holi with safe colors which are extraxted from natural dervatives . A miniature of Shantiniketan’s  Vasant Utsav can be witnessed at  RBU Campus .

image source: Indian Express

This celebration is not only becoming a craze among young girls and boys but also photography enthusiasts .

Jaipur:

If spring comes colors certainly can’t stay behind . The Pink City, Jaipur used to celebrate the festival of colors extravagantly with the elephant festival. Elephant parades, elephant lavish decoration contests, folk dances, and tug-of-war between elephants, were the popular in Jaipur. This event hasn’t been held since 2012 due to pressure from animal rights groups.If you are interested in Holi festival celebration with elephants, try Eleholi. There are also a bunch of private parties and events which you can join for a dose of fun. You can get tickets for those event from posh hotels of Jaipur .

Puruliya:

Palash Parban is a festival held every year during Holi (in the month of March) on the bank of Kansai river at Deulghata, Purulia.

Image Source : soumita-saha.blogspot.in

Image Source : soumita-saha.blogspot.in

It’s a three day festival organized by villagers. Various artists and dancers perform during this festival. In 2013 the festival was organized by the Edge of India Purulia Co-operative.

Goa:

Now , why is the capital of celebrations  lag behind the rest of the country when it comes to Holi ? The advent of spring is celbrated here in a unique way too ,thefestival of spring is called ‘Shigmo ‘ in Goa.

Image Source :Google

The festival is celebrated mostly by the masses following all religious traditions. As expected from the Goans, the festival is accompanied with fanfare. Performance on drumbeats and epic enactment of mythology are religiously followed. Vivid and vibrant colours of gulal and neel are abundantly used. Shigmotav is highlighted with performances of troupes in the form of parades and cultural dramas. At dusk, huge effigies are taken in processions and prizes given away.

Be it Jorashanko, Shantiniketan ,Goa or your terrace Holi is Holi !!May the advent of  Spring-flowers prepare us the winning garland…May the Storm of exuberance prevail..Be it Shantineketan’s melody or Jorashanko’s crowd.. Be it the drums Goa or the Serenity of Palash Parbon on the bank of mellifluous Kangshabati let the lash of rhythmic dance injects the jovial sweet intoxication  ,replacing niggrdly attitude by opulence .

Happy Holi Every One 

Happy Holi !

Trip To Ghurisa - Bolpur

Unique and Mysterious tribal girl Kyaka from Shashi Sharma's Songs Of Mists is a mystery that every mind would love to be a part of and fascinate to keep it unsolved

Hi Friends Let me tell you about a book I recently read. ’Songs of the Mist’, the first book in The Monk Key series, is a spiritual/literary fiction writtenby Shashi Sharma. This is one of my rearest read , I am not much into books of this genre. Let me tell you people honestly I ‘was’ not into this genre before I  read this book.So I guess you all can understand how inspiring  this book is.As I was exploring  this  book ,some memories of childhood and late school life started flashing on my mind .When I was reading these lines“Death is not the destruction of your body or the flowing stream, but the merging of your dreams, desires, sorrow and anger into an eternal calm of eternity.” It was reminding me of Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose’s literary work “Abyakta”.

When I was studying in 9^th standard we had  a prose piece “Bhagirathir Utsho Shondhane”( Finding  the source of Bhagirathi “ where the author simplifies the meaning of death and life-circle and draws a perfect anonymous example with bhagirathi’s source and course.

The books starts first introducing all charecters including Ashutosh and proceeding to how these people are related to him.The book takes a new turn when  an all-knowing but simple monkis introduced, there is Ashutosh got acquainted with the monk and their journey sails for many years and becomes a monk himself.Ayan is also an important character who seeks answers for his scientific problems but takes the path of spirituality to find those answers.  Yogini Anishka is a unique character  who takes up Yoga to heal her pain but ends up choosing spirituality as a way of life,she is a girl who had a past.Her past was surrounded by infatuation followed by a situation where she failed to differentiate between lust and love.Ends up identifying  her interest as pure lust abd not love and decided to move on. There is Vasudha who had fame and every earthly pleasure needed in love ,Ashutosh’s llost love vasudha had some inner  emptiness that was killing her.The other two important charecters are Kyaka and Calliope.

One of the most unique thing about this book is it’s uniqueness that revolves around the scenic beauty of Himalayas .When Ashutosh meets the monk the journey next seems like a dream whose  twists and turns are simple like the monk’s words but their meaning’s too deep to be understood in a single go.

“Love is basically a very selfish emotion. It takes away your own control to be happy, within your own self, through your need for the other person to make you happy and selfish. It takes away the freedom to be happy or to even be sad.”The philosophy of this book is not only deep but also takes up awakening mode.Love here is no longer confined to the boundary of Male and female attraction.Here love is selfless love, love for family.

One of the most attractive and mysterious character in this book is Kyaka.Her beauty and poise is simple and naturally charming like the scenic beauty of Himalaya.

When the author describes her mind mind reminds me of Byron’s “She walks in Beauty Like the night,

Of cloudless climes and starry skies”

She is like a wild flower one cannot get over. Her enigmatic poise would make your mind picturise her. The authors unique way of describing Kyaka is praise worthy. Kyaka’s large eyes are like deep lakes talk resonates with “Meet in her aspect and her Eyes ,Thus mellowed to the tender light which heaven to gaudy day denies”Her mysterious presence will surely make many questions come back to back and I  assure your mind will never get enough of it to answers those.

As you are nearing the end of the book,the most important question that is hitting your mind when you are nearing the end ‘Who is the tribal girl Kyaka?’

My realization says Kyaka is not a existant human being but the imagination of the lead character Ashutosh.The Ashutosh that meets Kyaka or  rather saying imagines her is mercilessly lonely and terribly upset.The Ashutosh that tells about Kyaka is all together a different person,he is a loner by choice.Lonely and terrible betrayed by destiny  Ashutosh creates seeks a cool shade of affection as the scorching heat of betrayal , sorrow ,agony of loosing loved ones was killing him from inside.He creates  a  soothing andcomforting character in his mind and feels comforted by her presence everytime. I am not saying that this what is all about Kyaka , this is what I felt the author might me hinting .

Kyaka’s is the epitome of mystery that is kind of addictive . This character’s decent appeal kind of forces readers to believe she exists on the other had series of mysterious do-gooded deeds makes a lot of questions come up.She again does something so alluring that you would believe in her existence.In the end her existence would felt like  that soothing touch of mist that drifts away when the sun declares the dawn with a ray of hope. Just Like Byron said “A mind at peace with all below ,A heart whose love is innocent”

You can buy this book from Amazon

You are Special regardless of any validation ,Trust me!

You are depressed ,sad and what not .Reason you partner is not really proud to have you.Not really as proud as your parents are.You are too matured for constant high school sweatheart PDAs  ,a lil bit of it? I mean some occational PDAs really revives  the spark is’nt it?More than everything else you want to feel special and need the world to know how you get treated. But may be your partner is not much into all these.Your bff suggested you to stay satisfied with the fact that you found some one loyal that’s all.

Wake up , You are much more than average and you barely deserve to settle for anything less or average.You smartest friend suggested a break and you are just too afraid to go for it.

Let me tell you one thing, did your parents required anything to be proud of you?

No !!!!! Performance is a second factor they were always proud of you, of every little achievement you ever secured. Hard work is not a result of their pressure, those happy faces ,gesture of pride is all you wanted to preserve all your life and thus you worked hard .You know why I spoke so much about parents here? Just to help you get the paradox, why do you need to prove anything to your partner? If the person is not the one  to take an initiative to show u off  to the world ,why do you need to keep trying?

I often see my friends going to malls and buying clothes of their husband’s or boyfriends favourite color.Some started to change their parting patern ,may be  Mr. boyfriend finds the face prettier the otherway .One thing I truelly wanna ask  these bimbos ,does he asks you befor going for a hair cut?

Lemme come  to boys  now, trust me  their situation is more pathetic. One of my friend is wearing girlie shades ore these days .His janu’s a pinkaholic.One of them left gym and opted for yoga and is on the verge of living all his life depending on green.Thank god the green revolution happened bro! One of my senior reads vogue and filmfare  these days , even beauty blogs actually his girl friend finds him worth less coz he failed to diffenrentiate between two shades of pink to different ambassadors of a leading cosmetic brand were sporting.Some of them get the news paper and check their partners horoscope first.

And whats the outcome????? At the end of the day that particular partner would be a sport with every PDA with their life’s every existant member ,but you? Nope !!! because some public display action over any social media makes them answerable!!!! Nothing  else does ,but if it involves you!!! I  am telling you you Mr/Miss someone is answerable.

You partner will never be interested to share or show of your skill or atleast aknowledge them in public.Forget it ,no one other than parents does that.Yes keep it in mind that if they cannot do what parents can,they do not have rights to enjoy the same priorities in your life too.

Today it feels like, “Everybody else loves my work ,but the person I love is least bothered”and they always have an answer “I love you for  the person you are and not your performance”. Again is the same person really tolerant with your, tantrum, behavior and flaws . No!!!!! they keep complaining that too. Honestly when the whole circle praises you, its their intentional motive to over look and ignore your achievement talent and quality.

They best thing that can solve this situation can only happen when you fully want it.The only thing you can do about such situation is .Stop over thinking and give time to activies you are good at. Make your own world a world outside college or office , a world outside his/her pals or common ones.Not even a world where your or their realtives are involved. Stay away from infatuation factor from either side if you can make that circle.Do not encourage such feelings out there ,trust me that way they can never blame you on  trust issue.

Encourage , busy schedule lots of activities .Trust me,work and work pressure heals  every thing. If you have no time to  think how will you even over think.

Be honest and loyal to you work.I am not saying  do not give time to your partner ,but if you become busy with work trust me there would never exist issue to worry about.Giving that particular less time saves it all,your partner might complain about it first.Later on will learn to understand that you have a life of your own  too and your partner is lucky to have your time. Both of you will learnt to respect each other better.Both of you will be able to revive that old spark ,because lack of time will kill that taken for granted factor.