“Love...  love...  love...

Where do you come from?

From the heart or the air?

Is everything about you indeed fair?”

India is a land famous for love stories. We see love stories all around us. Our history, folklore, scriptures and even the mythological idols- all point towards grand romanticism. There are lessons to be learnt from all of these unique love stories wherein the most common straits seem to be sacrifice and selfless love. Though all is considered fair in love, it does demand sacrifice. No other religion describes marriage, romance and love like Hinduism. Since time immemorial Indian writers and poets have explored the romantic genre and have produced some amazing works. Some love stories are real, while some are the creations of the writers of that time.

·         Soni and Mahiwal’s story is a Sindhi love story. Soni who was already married falls for Mahiwal and would go to meet him at night swimming across the river using an earthen pot to keep her afloat. One night her sister in law finds about this and replaces the pot with an unbaked one. It dissolves in water and she dies. Mahiwal sees her drowning and jumps in the water, killing himself. They are believed to have united thus by death.

Lesson to be learnt in today’s time from this story: Fall in love but make your base strong or you might just drown... :)

·         Mastani’s father who was a king gave her hand in marriage to Bajirao after he helped him in a war. They loved each other a lot and were happy in spite of many hardships. Once Bajirao died while travelling. Mastani heard this and it is believed she committed a suicide soon after.

      

      Lesson to be learnt in today’s time from this story: Don’t let your partner stray for long... :)

·         Manjun falls in love with Laila and starts composing poetry for his beloved. But before their unison, Laila’s father marries her to some other man. Majnun goes away to the desert and stops eating while Laila dies eventually due to heart break. Majnun was found dead thereafter near her grave.

Lesson to be leant in today’s time from this story: Do not marry someone when you are in love with some other person... touché :)

·         Heer was a Punjabi woman who was beautiful and charming. Ranjha falls in love with her and she feels the same for him. However, once her uncle sees them and plays evil due to his jealousy. Ranjha goes away and becomes an ascetic. But soon afterwards, they meet again and are about to get married. The evil uncle mixes poison in Heer’s food and she dies... Ranjha also subsequently dies, eating the same poisoned food.

Lesson to be learnt in today’s time from this story: Beware of jealous people around you... :)

"Jigar ane Ami" is a Gujarati language novel by Chunilal V. Shah. It’s a real life love story of an idealistic, non-compromising hero and his devoted wife, a love story also made into a film like many others.

Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, for his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died while giving birth to her fourteenth child. He mourned for her for a year and his appearance visibly changed during that period and he later built this tomb where she lays.

Lord Krishna, one of the most loved and cherished Gods in India had around 16,000 wives (Oh my God!... and ya, there was a movie also by the same name about Lord Krishna, though it wasn’t about his love story) but his lover was Radha... whom he never married. Their love story is very popular all over India and is celebrated even today in folk songs and prayers.

Here is a small story depicting the supposed nature of their relationship if they had mobile phones that time...

"Rukmini, the head queen of the palace of Lord Krishna calls Radha on her cell phone... (Yes, that’s right... all the wives and girlfriends were friends as they all lived together)

Rukmini: Hi Radha... How are you? Why don’t you come to Dwarka?

Radha: I am fine... How are you all? How is Krishna?

Rukmini: He is good. He would really like it if you came here...

Radha: No, if he wants to meet me he will come to Vrindavan.

Rukmini: What difference does it make?

Radha: You are the queen, I am the lover... and love is like that ... it does make a difference..."

Like Penelope Cruz says in Woody Allen’s movie, Vicky Christina Barcelona, “Only unfulfilled love is truly romantic”. Is it true? Ummm... Let’s just take that positively and say one should always keep the romance alive in a relationship; as Vicky Christina Barcelona is one of my favourites... :)

But hey, did you notice that all the famous love stories actually have tragic ends? What about so many of those lovely couples who have fought for their love and are living together day after day, still loving each other in the same way as they did in the beginning? Why don’t we acknowledge their love like these famous love stories? Here’s a big applause from me- to those who are happily married, and have made sacrifices for each other and kept all the promises.

What is love? Is it the system or arrangement where two people are supposed to get married and stay together or is it something more than that or maybe lesser than that? I think it’s important that the vows are taken in a marriage and they should be fulfilled. However the customs and the traditions should be more flexible.  I came across an interesting article in a magazine called “Abhiyan”, where the writers have reported there are a few people who have broken the traditions and the myth along with that and have married in a totally unconventional way. They have actually done things like wearing black and also printing the marriage invitation cards in black to break the myth that it brings bad luck. They have taken the pheras (Indian tradition sealing the marriage) in an opposite direction and they are still happy and very much in love. That’s because they are fulfilling their vows... not necessarily traditions...  Nevertheless, one may or may not marry according to the traditions, but it is important to always respect and fulfill the marriage vows or the promises given to your beloved.

Congratulations to Vyom, my cousin and Rajsi, his new bride on their marriage. May the insanity and romance never die...  :)

This week was very eventful and hence it would be injustice if I don’t cover two important events that Ahmedabad is known for in todays post...

The great Vibrant Gujarat

All of you might know all there is to know about Vibrant Gujarat, but I went to visit it for the first time this year. Vibrant has been a major event in Gujarat since the year 2003 and is held every alternate year. I was in seventh standard in school when it was inaugurated for the first time and I remember it was held during Navratri, so I thought it was something related to Garba. However, as I grew up I came to know about its standing and impact. Vibrant Gujarat is the biggest summit Gujarat has ever witnessed which has provided enormous prospects to the State to display its competency in diverse fields, investor friendly climate, modern technologies, art and culture of Gujarat. Vibrant Gujarat 2015 was a resounding success with 110 countries participating, 400 B2B meetings and colossal investments.

I visited the Vibrant two days back at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar and had a great time. It is an amazing trade show with more than 2000 companies participating and had over a million visitors. There were lot of stalls so it was impossible to cover all of those but I rummaged through and it was amazing. ONGC stall made me understand the importance of wind energy and how it can be used to create electricity and various other facets of Exploration & Production (E& P) fortunes. (ONGC is Worlds number 3 E&P Company)

     
               

The Driver Training Programme by PCRA (Petroleum Conservation Research Association), MOIL Ltd (Manganese Ore Ltd) and a company called the Westinghouse had interesting showcases to name a few. Gujarat is indeed soon becoming the Global Business Hub with the 7^th edition of this fascinating summit.

Qatal ki raat...

Yes, that’s what we call the night before Uttarayan. Widely known as Makar Sankranti, Uttarayan is celebrated in Ahmedabad with great gusto every year on 14^th (and 15^th) of January. It has an astrological significance as the Sun enters the zodiac of Capricon (Makar), and this transition of Sun is celebrated as Makar Sankranti (Sankranti means transition) as it marks the beginning of Spring. Due to this astrological significance, this day is celebrated all over India in many different ways.  There are a lot of stories from the Indian mythology associated with this festival.  It is described in Mahabharata that king Bhisma, who had the power to control his own death, happened to choose to die on the day of Maghe Sakranti, hence it is believed that one to die on this day might achieve Moksha, a release from rebirth cycle. People in the South of India often celebrate it by lighting a bonfire with logs of wood, solid-fuels and wooden furniture at home to be discarded, symbolizing a new beginning. Assam celebrates it as a harvesting festival where the feasts last for a week. Punjab celebrates the day as Lohri, as it indulges in Bhangra( a dance form) and festive delights with scrumptious food. While Tamil Nadu celebrates Pongal around this time, Uttar Pradesh is famous for kite flying. Besides, there are a lot of fairs called melas celebrated in India during this time, the most famous being the Kumbh Mela.

Giving you a peekaboo into the famous Ahmedabadi  Uttarayan...  We celebrate Uttarayan every year in the old city of Ahmedabad, Khadia; where the main activity is flying kites. You haven’t seen the real Uttarayan if you haven’t been to Khadia. This area has societies called “Pols” which basically have low roofs as there are no tall buildings. This makes the wind blow really fast and without any obstruction in between. 13^th is colloquially called “Qatal ki raat”, which is the day before the festival that literally means “The night of the kill.” People throng the streets of khadia on the 13^th to buy kites and manjha (the thread tied to the kites). There is hardly any space to walk as the market is open all night with people buying lanterns, fire crackers and food; hence the name. Families and friends meet up and tie Kinya. (make holes in the kites to insert thread and tie it as a loop around the kite to be attached to the manjha; thus making the kites ready for the next day)

People who rent out their terraces charge around Rs. 50,000 per day, which says it all about the kite flying craze. People eat Undhiyu, Khichdo, Jalebi and Gud chikki on Uttarayan. We always celebrate Uttarayan with our family and all the cousins get together on the same roof in Khadia. They say kite flying is a philosophy. Releasing and pulling the thread according to the wind and applying bandages to fellow kite flyers if they get cuts on their fingers while pulling the thread – all resembles the life experiences...  Kites do teach you a lot, which are often used in songs and folk culture.  People release paper lamps called “wishing lamps” in the air as the sky gets dark. There are thousands of such lamps floating in the sky which makes the sky look beautiful. A picture or a video can never capture the true beauty of this amazing sight. My elder cousin Hilor Mehta observed while on his way home that even the little kids living on streets could purchase these lamps and were enjoying themselves as each costs only around Rs. 15. Indeed, kite flying is celebrated by millionaires as well as the poor people in the same manner, with the same stuff... and it should remain that way...

Night sky full of thousands of wishing lamps

Wishing lamps- Costing only Rs. 15 each

A hotel in Ahmedabad, called Patang (patang means kite in Gujarati) is based on the kite flying theme which is a revolving tower restaurant. The building remains stationary and the diners are carried on the revolving floor which enables them to enjoy a panoramic view without leaving their seats. There is also a kite flying festival held on the banks of the river Sabarmati which has people from all over the world coming here with their unique kites and there is a showcase for the public. Amitabh Bachchan, one of the most famous celebrities of India had paid a visit to Ahmedabad this Uttarayan.

www.indiantravels.com
The Patag Hotel, ahmedabad

http://www.vishwagujarat.com/

http://www.vishwagujarat.com/
The kite festival

The festival ends with a Tukkal (lamps that are tied on the kite string) flying activity. Tukkals are slightly different than the wishing lamps as they are tied to the kite string one by one. Some kites have as many as 20 tukkals which is an amazing sight.

Tukkal

Tukkals tied on a kite string

If you are planning a trip to India or Ahmedabad, make sure it coincides with this festival as you will witness something truly amazing. :)

Zeitgeist

Today, I will be sharing about a unique movement with you all which intrigues me and makes me think very deeply. The idea is to make you all think about it as well...  The “Zeitgeist Movement.”  I don’t know how many of you have already heard about it or know about it, but I am going to share what I know about it. “Peter Joseph” has directed three parts of this movie called the “Zeitgeist”. The word Zeitgeist is a noun which means the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of that particular time.

•             The first part is about the religions and their messages and its supposed co relation with scientific observations, the disasters of the 21^st century and the power play behind them and lastly the alleged reasons and effects of the World Wars. While the movie spans across three different periods in history, the message seems to be that the word of mouth, or the way an idea is spoken about or promoted by the media and the eminent people, is the way the general public perceives it. That there is a fully fledged plan behind things we believe to be otherwise.  Some of the catchphrases from the movie:

                  “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

                     -          Lord Action

                  “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

                     -          Jim Hendrix

•           The second part underlines the reasons why a large part of world lives in inequality in spite of the abundant resources. The paralyzing profit structure in all the fields prevents the technology from developing as it will decrease the role of the middle men.  The resources are abundant to enrich everybody’s life but the efforts are not channelized in the right direction.  

                  “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.”

                    -          Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

•      The third part is about the scientific research and interviews on various experiments about the gene structure of the human race and how it affects the individuals.

Should one be open to new ideas and accept the reforms in any sector as fast as one can if they are logical and beneficial?  All the three parts seem to throw light on things which are not shared with the common people since ages. Which are kept secret from us as we are not one of the “eminent few”. Are we actually leading these people to rule over us? While word of mouth and fear were used to rule over people in olden times, now with the advent of internet people resort to various social media to believe things the higher sects want them to. Have you ever thought about the authenticity of the videos and information on the internet? Or the television? Some of the events in the movie may come as a grave shock, but are worth giving a long thought.

Peter Joseph leads the “Zeitgeist Community” which is a group of people who strive to think independently. The Zeitgeist movement's ideas are presented through local and national chapters and online release of media and it holds an annual event, Z-Day.  The aim of one of their projects is for every chapter of The Zeitgeist Movement to initially try to go into just one school or university to promote/discuss sustainable values and practices with the next generation.

I am sharing the link of its website so that you can know more about it. I recommend all the three parts of this movie...  http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

Check this out on Chirbit Just like in the song, shouldn’t we all seek the light, meaning the truth? Staying true to the spirit of the Zeitgeist, I am simply asking you to think about the events in the movie... not necessarily join the movement (Even I haven’t) 

The GPS

I have a very good friend from school, Khushi who shifted to a town a little away from Ahmedabad, where I live, around six years back. She shifted after school but still misses Ahmedabad and always wants to know about the famous and new hang out places and asks me “What’s new?” whenever we talk or chat. The other day I went to the IIM food festival, a very exciting event, where people from all over India come together and put up stalls of various delicacies from their cities. It’s a three day festival celebrated every year where you can literally see Ahmedabadi’s numb their other senses except for taste buds and simply enjoy the spread laid out at IIM campus ground in cold Decembers.

I saw an advertisement of a new tea lounge that opened up recently in the city at the IIM food festival. Khushi messaged, “What’s new?” just as I came home and was un- numbing myself from the cold winter chill as well as the lip-smacking dishes that I had devoured. I sluggishly replied, “Wagh Bakri Tea Lounge”... She was prompt, “Where, where, where??”...  I replied, “Navarangpura”... She wanted to know the exact location for the sake of it even though I knew she was not going to visit the lounge anytime soon. So I gave up explaining and she curtly replied that she will look up the GPS co ordinates on her phone and get the location.

Oh yes, we use the GPS not just for getting directions but even finding places and exact locations. It saves time, brain-energy :P, and even the lengthy process of giving directions to a person who doesn’t really want to visit the place... :)  Over the years, there are so many things which have been developed, invented and modernized on our planet. The global positioning has helped various sciences, technologies and even astrology! Astrology deals with the positions of not just the earth but all the planets in the solar system and their effects on the earthlings. People wear Rubies, Sapphires, Topazes, Emeralds and various other stones and gems which symbolize the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury and other planets respectively to ward off the appalling effects which  these planets may cause on them. Whether they actually help or not, is debatable, however I wonder why don’t we wear a gem or a stone symbolizing the Earth? Our own planet, which bears us and also the good and bad effects of the other planets on us?

Its 2015, and the mighty earth is a year older...  We really wouldn't know how to calculate its age as we don’t know whether to start from The Big Bang, or which calendar to follow as there are several in use; but scientists claim its 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years old. And it’s aging oh so gracefully!

It’s beautiful, huge, and is home to so many living creatures. The wildlife, forests, mountains, valleys and oceans make our abode the most amazing in the solar system. I saw Amir Khan’s movie PK recently in which he is an alien who falls for an earthling... not surprising! We are complex and difficult to be understood by aliens if they exist with so many different cultures, calendars and languages; but we sure are the most interesting! That’s because our planet is one of its kind... simply unique, as its home to so many different and interesting species...  Earth- land has accommodated the vast history over the years and is rotating and revolving around the Sun since 4.54 billion years. There are earthquakes, eclipses and tsunamis, but it never stops.

As I wish you all A Very Happy New Year, I would also like to ring a bell that it is our planet which just turned a year older. Respect it and love it. We celebrate “Earth Day” once a year, but every day begins due to the earth. Plant trees and make efforts to bring down pollution this year. And oh yes, please don’t use the GPS so much that you forget friendly talk with your fellow earthlings even if you are just going to ask for directions... :)