Makara Sankranthi Subhakankshalu

First of all I wish you all Happy Makar Sankranti or Makara Sankranthi Subhakankshalu.

Today morning I reached my office desk and my desk phone started ringing. I was surprised to see the call from my colleague Vijay who is from a different team. I thought he was calling with respect to cricket practice this weekend. To my horror, here goes the conversation

Babs: Hello

Vijay: Good Morning Sudheendra !!!
Babs: Good Morning Vijay

Vijay: Today is some festival in Andhra right?
Babs: Yes, its makara sankranthi or pongal for some people

Vijay: OK, Why do you celebrate this festival?
I was bowled right on the spot. I just knew that we eat sweets and fly kites.
Babs: Hmm, I dont really know the exact reason Vijay. I just know that we fly kites. Sorry.

Vijay: Who is the right person to find out?
I thought Google or Wikipedia in my mind. I was not sure if any other telugu people knew about this and I didnt want to embarass them. So I said:
Babs: Vijay I will find out and let him know.

I immediately opened Wikipedia and Google and parallely called dad. Dad was sleeping as it was too early for them in Hyderabad.

Dad: Hello Good Morning nana
Without saying a word I started off:
Babs: Dad why do we celebrate Sankranthi?

Dad: Today is the day when Sun moves from one Southern Hemisphere to Northern Hemisphere. Also today transition of the Sun from Dhanu rashi (Sagittarius) to Makara rashi (Capricorn) takes place. Farmers do harvesting and get their harvest home on this day.
Babs: Ok dad thanks. Shall talk to you later.

After talking to dad and reading online, I got a fair idea on why Sankranthi festival is celebrated. I called Vijay and explained him the same. Below some more info on Sankranthi for people who are still not clear about it.

Sankranti is celebrated for four days in Andhra Pradesh:

* Day 1 - Bhogi Panduga (Bhogi pandga)
The first day of festival is Bhogi. At dawn people light a bonfire with logs, old mats, clothes and other such things that are no longer useful. In many families, infants and children (usually less than three years old) are showered with fruit called "Regi Pandlu", that is the Indian jujube fruit. It is believed that doing this would protect the children from evil eye, called "Dishti" (from Sanskrit Drishthi: sight) .

* Day 2 - Pedda Panduga,SANKRANTI (Surya)
The second day is Sankranti, also called "Pedda Panduga",( literally, the big festival), when everyone wears new clothes,pray, and make offerings of sweets to God.

* Day 3 - Kanuma Panduga (Kanuma)
Kanuma Panduga (Kanuma) is not as widely celebrated, but is an integral part of the Sankranti culture.

* Day 4 - Mukkanuma
Mukkanuma is famous among the non-vegetarians of the society. People do not eat any meat or fish during the first three days of the festival, and do so only on the day of Mukkanuma.

Sankranti usually means all the four days together. It is celebrated in almost every village with adventurous games in South India. Whether it is the cock fights in Andhra, Bull fighting in Tamil Nadu or Elephant Mela in Kerala, there is huge amount of illegal betting but the so called tradition continues to play a major role in the festival. Another notable feature of the festival in South India is the Haridas who moves around begging for rice wishing luck.

Happy New Year - 2010

Happy Diwali

I know its been quite a while I have actually posted in the blog. This was because of many reasons both at personal and professional front. Finally today (After Ramya asked me to write something as she was missing my posts ;)) I wanted to make sure of writing something.

This weekend was Diwali weekend and this will be my third Diwali in Singapore. The first year, I went to the Diwali count down at Serangoon, which was good and the second year I was at home doing nothing. Even this time I thought I will not do anything other than sitting at home and watching some stupid movie.





The day before Diwali, I got a call from Vidya bhai and he asked me to come down to his place with my friends. As there was nothing else to do we all went to his place on the diwali day and had nice biryani and sweets. After the food we were all excited to burn those sparklers as its been a long time we all have actually done that. After enjoying the crackers and taking some pictures, I and Surya left to Poonam's place (Surya's friend).


This was my first time to meet this gang and was not sure how I would get along with them. But to my surprise everyone was good and I had a great time with them. I had gobi manchurian and coke at their place, burned some sparklers, took some pics and then left for Clarke Quay. I and Surya thought we will not go but finally ended up going there and thought we will leave early and came home at 3AM in the night.

Over all it was a fun filled Diwali that I had in the past 3 years. Even though it is late, belated Diwali wishes to one and all.

Ganapati Bappa Moriya

Wish you all Happy Holi

First of all Happy Holi. Last night when I and Ramya were discussing about holi we just tried to remember if we know anything about Holi. The conclusion was never did not know anything about the legends and rituals attached to it. So I went ahead and read on the net for what holi actually means and why it is celebrated. I would confidently say that 90% of my friends would not know any of this. So I thought I shall collectively post all the myths and legends about this festival in my blog.


Holi, the festival of colours, has many interesting legends and rituals attached to it. The mythological origins vary in different parts of the country, but the variety only gives one more reason to enjoy the festival!

Legends and Mythology
Legend 1 :
In Vaishnava theology, Hiranyakaship was the king of demons, and had received the boon of immortality from Lord Brahma. As his power and arrogance grew, he began objecting to people’s belief in the divine power and demanded that they worship him instead. However, Hiranyakaship’s son Prahlad was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. When he failed to destroy his son’s beliefs despite placing him in near fatal situations, he ordered young Prahlad to sit on a pyre in his sister Holika’s lap. Holika was blessed with a shawl, which would prevent the fire from harming her.

Prahlad happily followed his father's orders and prayed to the lord to save him. As the flames grew, to the spectators’ amazement, the shawl flew from Holika to Prahlad. From that day on, the burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi.

Legend 2 :
In Vrindavan and Mathura, Holi is celebrated in memory of the divine love of Radha for Krishna. It is believed that when Lord Krishna was young, he often whined about his dark complexion and wondered why Radha was so fair. One day, his mother Yashoda playfully suggested that he can smear colour on Radha's face and change her complexion to any colour he wanted. Fascinated by the idea, Krishna proceeded to do so and thus, introduced the festival of colours.

Lord Krishna is believed to have popularised the festival by playing pranks on the gopis . The holi of Braj is famous all over India for its intimate connection with the divine deities and their love plays. Mythology also states that Holi is a celebration of the end of ogress Pootana, who tried to kill infant Krishna by feeding him poisonous milk.

Legend 3 :
Another Holi legend, which is popular in Southern India, revolves around Lord Shiva and Kaamadeva (God of lust). Kama's body was reduced to ashes by the force of an angry Shiva’s third eye, when he shot a flower-draped arrow at him to disrupt his penance. On the tearful requests of Kama's wife Rati, the lord restored him, but only as a mental image, representing true love rather than physical lust. The Holi bonfire is believed to be celebrate this event.

Legend 4 :
Also popular is the fable of ogress Dhundhi who devoured innocent children in the kingdom of Raghu. She was ultimately chased away by the children’s pranks on Holi. This is the reason that young boys are allowed to indulge in rowdiness on Holi.

Rituals of Holi
True Holi:
Fire or water? The emphasis is on ‘ Holika dahan’ or lighting up of Holi on the eve of Holi. The origin of the Holi bonfire is attributed to the burning of demonesses like Holika and Putana . In places like Bihar and UP, ‘ Holika dahan’ is also known as 'Samvatsar Dahan' . The concept of Samvatsar New Year varies in different provinces of our country.

Thandai:
The name says it all. Thandai is part and parcel of Holi celebrations. This refreshing and healthy drink is to be served amid the play of colours. In fact, Bhang thandai is used to set the mood for the festival of colours. Drinking thandai in this season also goes with the weather, as it acts as a coolant for people in North India, where the temperature is usually high at this time.

Vital ingredient: Bhang
There are no two ways about it — Bhang has become the official Holi drink. Culled from the leaves and buds of cannabis, the intoxicating bhang escalates the spirit of Holi. Lip-smacking bhang thandai , bhang pakoras and bhang vadas are some popular snacks people look forward to on Holi. The tradition of bhang on Holi is particularly popular in North India where Holi itself is celebrated with a zest not witnessed elsewhere.

Holi Mela
Holi melas are grand affairs and an ideal way for people who want to spend Holi in a different and more colourful way. Apart from being a source of entertainment, these fairs play a significant role in bringing people together. Colour is the main theme of any Holi fair. Everywhere, one can see aromatic colours kept in thalis or gunny bags. Even shopkeepers are seen with painted faces and hands to create the perfect aura.

Rang barse!
Splashing coloured water, smearing friends with gulal (coloured powder) and tossing water balloons on each other, playing with colours will be the order of the morning and any offence caused to anyone is washed away.

Rangoli
The beautiful, intricate patterns made from coloured rice powder or sand are considered auspicious. Traditionally, rangoli is made by unmarried girls of the family.

Say it in style!
Tray-loads of sweets and colours are distributed to near and dear ones. Blessings are exchanged and gulal is used to anoint the feet of elders or the forehead of a younger person. Other gifts, such as puja thalis, pichkaries (long metallic syringes used to splash water), packets of colour, chocolates can also be gifted.

Happy Diwali

Token of Gift for Diwali

Today at Credit Suisse we got a pen as a token of Gift for diwali and appreciation for our good work through out this year. This is a multi-utility pen which has a Laser, Torch and the Pen.

Ganapati Bappa Moriya

Elements of Ganesha

Ganesha Chaturthi aka Vinayak Chaturthi aka Vinayaka Chavithi is on 3rd September, thats tomorrow. When I was in India we used to celebrate with utmost bhakti. This was a special day for us because its my dads birthday also that we celebrate on the same day. Normally this comes in Mid Aug or Mid Sept.

Typical Ganesh Pooja

I just don't want to write what this festival means or what it is all about. I just want to write some of my observations about this festival. Previously the idols were small and cute. Now a days it has become like a competition and the height of the idol is going on increasing. Even at houses people want a big idol.

These huge idols are made of plaster of paris. The quantity of these chemicals used in these huge idols are also high. This not only pollutes water in rivers, lakes and sea but also makes the horrible situation the next morning.

Small and Cute Idol

Some of my suggestions:
1. Keep the idols small and theme BIG.
2. No chemicals but should be made of mud.
3. Immersion in tanks specially organized for this.

Raksha Bandhan

Happy Independence Day

Sarvadhaari Nama Samvatsara Shubakankshalu

Ugadi (Telugu: ఉగాది, from ಯುಗ yuga, era + ಆದಿ ādi, beginning; the start of an era) is the new year's day for the people of the Deccan region of India. While the people of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka use the term Ugadi for this festival, the people of Maharashtra term the same festival, observed on the same day, Gudi Padwa.

Sindhis, people from Sindh, celebrate the same day as their New Year day Cheti Chand. Ugadi is celebrated on different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar. The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March/April) and the Ugadi mark the first day of the new year.

Vasanta Navaratri (literally - The 9-night Spring festival) starts on this day and culminates nine days later on Sri Ramanavami which falls on Chaitra Sudhdha Navami.

The new year as per the Solar calendar followed by the people of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab, Assam, West Bengal and Nepal falls on 13/14/15th April.

The years would have names in Telugu. The name of the one that starts on today is Sarvadhaari. The one that ended is Sarvajit.