Saturday, 11 January 2014

My Mother....

      
       It is really difficult to express how much you love your mother, in just words.... that mother who brought you into this world as a result of God's grace and mercy. They say that the day a child is born, so is a mother; thus creating a bond so special that it can only be understood by them. A mother holds her child's hand for sometime helping it stand on its own, but will always be with her child, in its heart forever. 
       My mother is a very loving person. She is very important and has a lot of influence over the decisions that we make in our lives. She is a person who always motivates others and helps live through good and bad times and move on  in life. She is always one of the positive, biggest and most wonderful forces in our lives. I cannot imagine life without her. She is always ready to help me out. With knowledge and experience on her side more than mine, she is one of the people to whom I can always go to whenever I need. I am what I am today and what I will be tomorrow because of my friends and family, especially my mother. I am very grateful for all that I have been taught and learnt by and from my mother but to take everything into consideration will take a lot of time. Her love is unconditional and everlasting, a trait that I would love to and hope to have throughout my entire life. She is very good at getting things done and always tells me how slow I am doing things be it getting up, dressing up,eating (she always tells me that when I was a kid, I used to take three hours to finish having my lunch) etc. She has a very big heart and I hope that my heart takes after her. She always tell me to be more open and sportive and take things in my stride and live life to the fullest, without crossing the limit. She knows my strengths and weaknesses. Her wisdom and selflessness dazzle me into hoping and wanting to have these traits in me for the rest of my life. I have learnt how to love others from her. She has always taught us to love through good and bad times. She always taught us to respect and cherish both ourselves and others. She has always comforted us whenever it is needed and for that I have learnt to care and show compassion for others. She is always forgiving. From her, I learnt that forgiving isn't easy. It is because of her that I know how to dress up appropriately, how to treat others, how to behave, how to take decisions, how to stay grounded, how to not judge or react to people without knowing them, etc. She always made sure that I had what I needed. She always tells us that Family is the most important thing in one's life. She is a person who cannot be fooled and always comes to know that something is wrong. She sees right through me and knows me like the back of her hand. She yells at us and makes us correct our mistakes because she loves us and wants the best for us. She always looks out for us. She has been through a lot of things and is always helping us to improve ourselves so that we don't make the same mistakes. She gives a lot of importance to education and always tells us that if you have a good education, then you can get the job that you want. She also believes in having the freedom to do what we want to do without crossing the limits. She raised us, took care of us and loved us. She is always there for me in every situation be it good or bad, happy or sad, important or unimportant. When I am ill, hungry, happy, sad, cranky, angry, joking, worried, etc she is always there for me. She has always been a symbol of love, care, compassion and support. She always tells us that she loves us and we tell her that we love her too. She has always be full of courage. The courage that she has to move on in life even after going through a lot motivates us to do what we can do to our best and give it everything we can. It gives us the courage to do what is right. Even when we make mistakes, she always helps us rectify them. She never gives up on the ones she loves and has a lot of faith and trust in me and my brother. She believes that if we give something that we like doing our best efforts, we can and will always succeed in it. Whenever and wherever she is really needed, she is always there. Even if she is going through something herself she is always there for us. I cannot even begin to imagine what she must have gone through when both me and my father fell ill one after the other and she and my brother had to do all the work. She believes a lot in God and is always reading shlokas. She is a wonderful cook. My favorites are Tomato Rasam, Hot Curd Rice with Avakai Pickle or Chutney, Pudina Rice and Dosas made from Idli Batter. My father always fights with her saying that she always serves him more food. She also "loves ASTROLOGY and related topics." Her most famous house is the eighth house and her most favorite planet is Shani. She is very spiritual and loves travelling to holy places, places that have temples. She always reads the story about Varamahalakshmi Vrata, Ganesha Chaturthi and Gowri Pooja from a book called Vrataratnamala. This has sort of become like a tradition in our house. She makes the most wonderful Ambodes and Bajjis (according to me). She always listens to all the stories that we tell her about friends and college. She always tells "ಪರ್ವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ ಬಿಡು." I can always rely on her whenever it is really needed. She always teases me saying that even though I am an Optional English student, I still ask her to help me with words and sentences. She also proof reads all my blog articles. She is strict and efficient when it comes to managing the household. Whatever or whenever we need to ask our dad something, it always goes through our mom. She enjoys listening to Music. She tells us our childhood stories. She keeps teasing me saying that I can't see the difference between Copy and Delete because I accidentally deleted my II PUC Drama pictures. She always loves us and is everything to us. She does a lot of things for us but only expects (as she tells us) good marks good behavior and respect from us. She feels happy is we do something good and nice. She has been there for me since I was born and will always be there. We always try our best to make her proud, and to see her smiling and laughing. I remember when my brother's results came (I don't remember which semester) when we were returning back from Sonda, he was shocked at finding out how much he got. When my mom heard that he got so much she was so happy that the look on her face was priceless. She always supports our dreams and ambitions that  we are or want to pursue (my brother MSc Animation and me BA + MSc Psychology).


My Mom and Me...!!


 My Mom...!! <3 <3

 Everybody says that I resemble my Mom. I even got a compliment saying that if someone looks at me they don't have to look at my Mom. I don't know whether it is that correct or not (let me know...). Thank You Mom for being by our side and always helping and guiding us in our paths of life. Love You Very Much....!! <3 <3

P.S  She is pursuing her Masters in Avionics... :D :D

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

My Father....

     

              It is said that God took the strength of a mountain, the majesty of a tree, the warmth of a Summer Sun, the Calm of a quiet sea, the generous soul of Nature, the comforting arm of might, the wisdom of the ages, the power of the eagle's flight, the joy of a spring morning, the patience of eternity, the faith of a mustard seed and the depth of a family need and combined these qualities. When there was nothing  more to add, God knew that his Masterpiece was complete and called it DAD....!!          

          He is a person who is who is always there in the lives of people who matter the most to him. He should always be loved and cherished. My father is my hero. He has always helped me in everything. He is one of the people who have made me what I am today. He has loved me, taken care of me and protected me since I was born. He has, is and will always be a very important person in my life whose influence in my life has been very significant. He always helps and guides me whenever I need to make hard or important decisions in my life. Almost all the choices that I have made till now, particularly related to Academics, is thanks to him and his support. Throughout my life, he has always been responsible,caring, strict in his rules and very much there whenever I needed him. My father has been in the Teaching Profession for 29 years now (1985 to present). I am very proud of him and his profession. I guess it is probably why I always wanted to join teaching. He is very honest, hardworking, responsible, punctual, unbiased (when it comes to his students and marks), sincere and devoted. But yes I do agree that it is quite sober having three people in the house who have done B.E and you don't know what they are talking about if they start talking about technical topics, etc. What dazzles me the most is his ability to remember almost all the questions that he has set, the names of the books that students should refer to, or the solution to a problem that he had done a few years back. His favorite subject is Control Systems. We feel very safe and secure with him around.It was and is a must for him to drop me to school or college or university whenever I started  a new year or semester. I feel that my new start will be a good start. He has always given preference to Education. He is one of my role models  (the other being my mom). He is a respected husband, father and professor. He always helps me in building my life the way I want to and helps me make my life better. He doesn't hold me back nor does he take me to where I want to go, but he guides and helps me in getting there.He is a wonderful cook. I learnt how to make Idly Fry from my dad when I was in 8th Standard. It is my most favorite snack. 

              I truly look up to him and love him with all my heart. I hope that I will live up to and cross his expectations and hope to make him really happy in life because he was very happy when he came to know that a daughter had come into his life.....



Saturday, 21 December 2013

MAYAPUR GAURA PURNIMA FESTIVAL.....!!

      The Annual Gaura Purnima Festival is the most exciting event of the year in Mayapur. Mayapur is the appearance place of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir serves as the international spiritual headquarters for ISKCON.
      The festival officially begins after the GBC meetings. The festivities extend to about three weeks. But many devotees start t arrive in Mayapur about a month before Gaura Purnima and Mayapur is flooded with devotees from all over the globe. The first week of the festival focuses on the " 5 - day Kirtan Mela." The second week, the devotees perform the annual "Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama." The third week is filled with festivities and cultural programs. 
       This year, the Mayapur  Gaura Purnima Festival goes on from the 24th of February to the 18th of March 2014. The schedule for this year's festival is as follows :-
 24 - 27 Feb : Svarna Utsava
 27 Feb : Devotee arrival,  Kirtan Mela Adivas Ceremony
 28 Feb - 4 Mar : Kirtan Mela
 3 Mar : Pancha Tattva Maha Abhishek
 4 Mar : Parikrama Adivasa ( 25th year)
 5 Mar : Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama begins
 11 Mar : Navadvipa Parikrama ends
 11 - 16 Mar : Festivities and Cultural Programs
 11 Mar : Sri Radha Madhav Boat Festival
 12 Mar : Elephant Procession, Immersion of ashes of departed souls
 13 Mar : Santipur festival
 14 Mar : Ganga Puja
 15 Mar : Ratha Yatra
 16 Mar : Gaura Purnima Festival
 17 Mar : Jagannath Mishra's Feast
 18 Mar : Devotees depart

Course of Devotion...!!

Hare Krsna.....!!

       Krishna, the eighth incarnation of the Hindu God, Lord Vishnu, has moved on with time - from thriving on butter or yogurt stored in earthen pots dangling from the ceiling to feasts of Italian pasta, Bruscheta, Chinese stir-fried noodles, Russian salad, American burgers, French coffee walnut mousse, etc. 
        This is just a few samples of the offerings at the Bangalore temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness or ISKCON. After being blessed by Krishna, the food finds its way to The Higher Taste, the temple's fine dining restaurant, where the bhajans are playing in the background to remind the guests of the food,s higher purpose - helping diners reach a higher level of consciousness. Here, Eating and Divinity are closely related.
        Various centres of ISCKON ( at present, there are 400 centres all over the world) run 100 such restaurants all over the world, promoting what it calls "Sattvic Vegetarianism." Hence, ISKCON's cuisine does not include onion, garlic, high- protein pulses and caffeinated drinks. 
         ISKCON is a non- profit organisation, but had it been a commercial organisation, its food business would be the largest in the city - through its sales from temple counters, restaurants, stores and catering, it generates a revenue of Rs 16 Crore every year. 
         Cooking at ISKCON is a complex operation and is overseen by devotees who are passionate about Food. Since the food must be offered to the Lord, the chefs cannot taste it while cooking. Hence, the chefs must perfect ISKCON's version of molecular gastronomy - a scientific cooking method which requires strict adherence to temperature and proportions of ingredients.  
         When asked how ISKCON maintains quality given the staff churn, pat comes Chamari Devi Dasi's (one of the devotees who help run the revenue - generating kitchens) reply : "Krishna is in charge. He's managing it." 
          Cooks and Devotees constantly try out new combinations in the in-house food lab, started in 2005, to keep the Sattvic Cuisine alive and kicking. One of the experiments was on Biryani : How can you create an authentic Biryani taste without using meat, onion or garlic? The result was 'Kabulistani Biryani', which substitutes meat (goat or lamb) with Cauliflower and Potato.Other innovative items on ISKCON's menu are: 
Chandan ka Sarbat :- a mocktail with a hint of Sandalwood, Mango Rasgulla Chaat :- a starter for those with a sweet tooth, Paan Ice cream :- with the traditional flavor of betel leaves and accompanying spices, etc.

 


Wednesday, 31 July 2013

Identity from a Name....!!

Everyone has a name.Each name has a story behind it. It is a gift that cannot be refused or put aside. It is a gift that is accepted and cherished and constitutes one's identity. It is a gift for a lifetime and more, because after our death, it is what remains behind. Our name, our memories are what our loved ones hold onto. Often, the name given to us, its meaning and the reason behind the name are discussed in the family before naming the child. Each person's name is kept with a different reason in mind. This helps give each person their own identity and individuality. Often children have the same names as their grandparents so that their memories live on in their children along with hopes and dreams and aspirations of a new and better future.


My name is Radha Pavitra. Radha or Radhe or Radhika Or Radha Rani is one of the principal gopis of Vrndavana and Lord Shri Krishna. The name is of Sanskrit origin. It means "The one who is the bestower of the ultimate divine bliss"."Radha" is "Dhara" of Krishna Prema. Pavitra is of Sanskrit origin and means "she is Pure". It is also one among the one thousand names of Shrimati Radha Rani. When my mother was expecting me and went to the doctor for her checkup, the doctor asked her if she and my father had any particular gender in mind for the baby and also asked if my parents had any problem with having a girl child. My mother told that she did not have any particular gender in mind and also told the doctor that she and my father had no problem with having a girl child. My parents and my family did not want to name me after my grandmother because they didn't want me to face problems in life like she had. But my name (Pavitra) rhymes with her name (Sumitra). I have a brother who is four years elder to me. His name (even he has two names) starts with the the same letter as my mother's name - "S". She wanted her second child to have a name with the same starting letter as my father - "P". So when I was born, the two names that they had to pick from were" Pavitra" and "Parijata". Parijata is the celestial flower which is the best flower to offer to Lord Krishna. Both these names were chosen from the Vishnusahasranama which my grandmother and my mother recited everyday when my mother was expecting both my brother and me. My parents decided to call me Pavitra. When my mother gave birth to me, the doctor who delivered me told my mother that Radhe had come home to her because she always chanted the Lord's name. So my parents decided to call me Radhe. But my grandfather told my parents to call me Radha instead of Radhe. Hence the name - Radha Pavitra.

I am the second girl to be born after my atte (father's elder sister) in my father's side of my family. I have an elder brother of my own, three elder and one younger cousin brother. Being the only girl among five boys, i get a lot of attention and pampering whenever i got to Hyderabad to visit my cousins. My atte was so happy that a girl was born in the family that she and my aunt came to Bangalore from Hyderabad to see me. She also distributed sweets to all her co-workers. 

People keep asking me why I have two names. Honestly, I myself didn't know why till I was asked to write about it. Now, I'm very proud to have been given two beautiful names.....

               


            During my Naming Ceremony...!!!








Thursday, 11 July 2013

A Week of Bliss..!!

       The Much awaited Rath Yatra started yesterday. It is also known as the Roth Jatra or the Chariot Festival. The Rath Yatra in Puri is a seven – day festival.
        The Rath Yatra is held once every year in the month of Asadha {the rainy season that falls in June – July}. The three deitiesare namely Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra {elder brother of Lord Krishna} and Lady Subhadra {younger sister of Lords Krishna and Balabhadra}.
        The “Rath Yatra” of Puri Jagannath is a rare, special and a very unique one.The chariots in which these Lords and Lady respectively go around in are very huge, very grand and have different specifications. They are as follows :
       The chariot of Lord Jagannath is called 'Nandighosa' - has 18 wheels and is 23 cubits in height. Jagannatha's ratha is marked with a cakra and garuda, is yellow in color, with four white horses. The protecting deity is Nrsimha.
        The chariot of Lord Balabhadra is called 'Taladhvaja' - has 16 wheels and is 22 cubits in height. Baladeva's cart is blue, with a palm tree insignia, and four black horses. The protecting deity is Sesa.
        The chariot of Lady Subhadra is called' Devadalana' - has 14 wheels and is 21 cubits in height. Subhadra's cart is black, with lotus insignia, protected by Vanadurga.
The three charioteers attached to the chariots of Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra respectively are Daruka, Matali and Arjuna.  
       The Puri Rath Yatra is world famous for the crowd that it attracts. Puri being the abode of these three deities, the place plays host to devotees, tourists and some millions of pilgrims from across India and abroad.
       I have attended around 5 Rath Yatras myself . I love it as the ambience and the people are just full of bliss and wonder for the Lordships.  People will be singing kirtan with joy and love and will be enjoying themselves. Prasad will be distributed. 
         The significance of the Rath Yatra is that the Lord helps the devotees to pull their chariot of life. In these seven days, the Lord allows his devotees to pull the chariots of him and his siblings.

   “ Simply touching the rope of the chariot or the chariot itself is believed to bring prosperity. ”

                                                 



                                    Nandighosha Rath....

                                    
                               Taladhwaja Rath…

                                                             Dwarpadalana or Padmadhwaja or  Devadalana Rath…
                                        

Tuesday, 9 July 2013

A New Beginning.....!!

MY FIRST DAY OF COLLEGE…..
Jain University.
      During my school days, I had glimpses of college life from my elder brother. I was curiously awaiting the day when I would start college. At last that day dawned.  It was the 12th of June, 2013.
      I was admitted to Jain University for the BA + MSc ( Psychology ) program. The nervousness and the fear that I was feeling since the previous day as I was about to enter a new college , a new environment, and make new friends  was also accompanied by feelings of excitement and happiness when I left home in the morning along with my dad. He dropped me to college. It was like a customary thing for me that my dad drop me on all the important days of my life . My friend was waiting for me outside college as we had already decided the previous day that we would go together. We walked inside the campus and were asked to go to a classroom on the fifth floor. Feeling quite nervous we went inside the classroom and sat down together in a bench at the back of the class. We were then asked to introduce ourselves.  After some time we were asked to go to the auditorium. We went and after we settled down the orientation program began.
      The program was not so good but the person who was talking to us {Sri Chakravarthy Sulibele} told some interesting and funny things. The auditorium was a good place for people to talk and get to know each other. They told us some information about the college, its rules, some course details, some of the cultural activities that were going to take place in the coming year and also about where and what time we were to assemble the next day.
       I felt happy and relieved that my first day of college got over in a pleasant manner and went home feeling very cheerful .