Culturama july 2017

July 2017 Volume 8, Issue 5

POWERED BY GLOBAL ADJUSTMENTS

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House of Worship A primer on the nuances and symbolism of Hindu temples

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Launching culturama.in Culturama, a treasure trove of Indian culture is now online

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Dear Readers, There is a five-step process that works for the succession planning I call BATON. It definitely suits a niche entrepreneurship like ours, and could well be customised to meet the requirements of all other enterprises. So I thought of sharing it here with you all.

After two decades of running the country’s pioneering relocation and crosscultural training company, with offices across India, I thought it was time to take a look back before looking forward. What I consider Act I of my life was getting married and raising a family. Act II was setting up my for-profit entrepreneurship, which helped enhance the success of foreign direct investment in India, by ensuring that expats were settled well in India. What would be Act III, I wondered.

The answer came like a thunderbolt – this time around, it had to be a notfor-profit institution. And the best way forward, for me, was to set up a Foundation to create an impactful future generation, empowered with holistic well-being to achieve excellence in life. But that meant stepping out of the lead role in my enterprise. As I pondered on how to do it, I worked out BATON, a strategy that would help me pass the baton to a new leader in the enterprise I had created, and free me up for my new area of interest.

So, this is how I conceptualised BATON: B - Build another, different you A - Arrange for room at the top T - Transition well O - Operate as Advisor N - Nurture networks

Editor-in-Chief Ranjini Manian Senior Editor Lakshmi Krupa Creative Head Prem Kumar Graphic Designer Ankita S VP Finance V Ramkumar Advertising Chennai Zainab Ali Khan Bengaluru Meera Roy Delhi/NCR Ruchika Srivastava Mumbai/Pune Ashish Chaulkar To subscribe to this magazine, e-mail info@globaladjustments.com or access it online at www.globaladjustments.com Chennai (Headquarters) 5, 3rd Main Road, R A Puram, Chennai – 600028 Telefax +91-44-24617902 E-mail culturama@globaladjustments.com Bengaluru No.: A2, SPL Habitat, No.138, Gangadhar Chetty Road, Ulsoor, Bengaluru – 560043.

Tel +91-80-41267152, E-mail culturamablr@globaladjustments.com

Our stakeholders, readers of our magazines, clients, vendors, work family and government/industrial leaders, I thank you in advance for the good wishes, which will guide Rohini Manian who now holds the baton of Global Adjustments safely in her hands, as the new CEO, along with a committed team of efficient admirals.

And as she does well, I will go and do good! Of course, I will continue to see you here, at Culturama every month. Hope you enjoy our feature on Indian houses of worship, our introduction to Indian spices in the In Focus section and other fantastic stories.

Ranjini Manian, Editor-in-Chief globalindian@globaladjustments.com

Delhi-NCR Level 4, Augusta Point, Golf Course Road, Sector 53, Gurgaon 122002, Haryana Mobile +91 124 435 4224 E-mail del@globaladjustments.com Mumbai #1102, 11th floor, Peninsula Business Park, Tower B, SB Road, Lower Parel, Mumbai – 400013 Tel +91-22-66879366 E-mail mum@globaladjustments.com Published and owned by Ranjini Manian at #5, 3rd Main Road, Raja Annamalai Puram, Chennai – 600028, and printed by K Srinivasan of Srikals Graphics Pvt Ltd at #5, Balaji Nagar, 1st Street, Ekkattuthangal, Chennai – 600032 Disclaimer Views and opinions expressed by writers do not necessarily reflect the publisher’s or the magazine’s.

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Cover Image Culturama’s cover this month showcases one of the many ways in which we worship, here in India. The image carries a snake idol, with beautiful offerings of flowers.

Photo: Anne DATHILDE, France

Advisory Board Members N. Ram is an award-winning journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu. He is Director of Kasturi & Sons Limited, publishers of The Hindu.

Suzanne McNeill lived in India for seven years before returning to Scotland. She is a freelance writer and graphic designer.

Liz Neisloss is a veteran journalist and writer who has worked for CNN based from Singapore, Chennai and at the United Nations in New York.

She is now based in Mumbai.

G. Venket Ram is an acclaimed photographer and the creative mind behind many a Culturama issue. www.gvenketram.com Annelize Booysen is a business consultant and social entrepreneur. She lived in Asia for more than a decade, which included three years in India.

She is currently based in the United States.

Namita Jain, founder of Jaldi Fit, is a leading fitness guru and a businesswoman who helms Kishco, a world-class cutlery brand.

Contributors Susan Philip is a freelance writer based in Chennai, and the editorial coordinator of Culturama’s various coffee table books.

Eknath Easwaran (1910–1999) was a spiritual teacher, author and interpreter of Indian literature. In 1961, he founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation and Nilgiri Press in California.

Devdutt Pattanaik is the Chief Belief Officer of the Future Group and a writer and illustrator of several books on Indian mythology. www.devdutt.com

Letters to the editor Dear Editor,

I loved the story on cashewnuts and feni in the June 2017 edition of Culturama.

Jibby Joseph, Kerala

Dear Editor,

Every month I am happy to read Culturama from page one to the very end. Thanks for introducing me to Indian culture and people’s habits.

Tineke Sysmans, via e-mail

Dear Editor,

Thank you for including me in your subscription. I love the magazine.

Sreemathy Mohan, Chennai

culturama – Subscribe Now! Get your copy of Culturama as a hard copy or as an e-magazine - visit www.culturama.in to subscribe For other enquiries, e-mail us at culturama@globaladjustments.com or call us on +91-44-2461 7902

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culturama.in Launching

Dear Netizens, We are delighted to announce the arrival of Global Adjustments Publishing’s newest product – www.culturama.in. Culturama magazine as you know is a treasure trove of Indian culture. It has always strived to bring India, and its diverse, wondrous, charming ways closer to Indians as well as citizens of the world.

For the past twenty years, we have brought out the country’s most premium print magazine on culture and heritage.

We are proud to showcase India’s soft power for all of the world to cherish.

With the launch of our new website, www. culturama.in, we are embracing technology to help you connect better with our incredible past and our fast-changing present.

Our website’s content will complement our print magazine and we hope to reach out to you in a more personal and instantaneous manner. Take a look at all that we have in store for you, and stay tuned for a great deal of exclusive web content.There’s going to be more interaction, special offers from and for our patrons and advertisers, videos, tutorials, vibrant images of everyday India, and loads more.

See you online, at www.culturama.in

– From the Digital Desk

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Contents Regulars

22 Feature We help you understand the Hindu place of worship

India’s Culture 10

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In Focus

Meet artist Seema Kohli whose canvases are layered with stories rooted in philosophy

Short Message Service

Short, engaging snippets of Indian culture

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India Insights

All about Indian astrological systems

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India Impressions

Discover Indian spices and their many uses

Journeys Into India 58

Picture Story

Our photo story this month pays tribute to the spirit of adventure and the many ways to enjoy boats in India

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Myth & Mythology

At the Jagannath temple, every 12 years the old image ‘dies’ and is ‘cremated’ and a new image is carved from a new log of wood

Relocations and Property 62

Holistic Living

There is a vital connection between the peace or violence in our minds and the conditions that exist outside

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Space and the City

Property listings in Chennai

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by Suzanne McNeill

Short cultural snippets for an easily digestible India

Copperware For nearly 200 years, the Thatheras community of Jandiala Guru, east of Amritsar, has been manufacturing distinctive brass and copper utensils.

Their products range from small bowls called katoris, thali (rimmed plates), gagar pots for water and milk to the huge cooking vessels used in community kitchens at weddings and temples, all produced using traditional metalbeating methods. Plates of metal are hammered into shape using wooden mallets or welded together. The surface of the piece is decorated with a distinctive dimpled design by hammering precise tiny dents into the heated metal. The items are cleaned with acid, then polished with tamarind juice and buffed with sand – using the toes and heels of the feet. It is believed that eating food from brass utensils and drinking water from copper pitchers is healthy, and the utensils also have ritualistic importance. The Thatheras’ copperware has recently been inscribed on to UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage list.

Find interesting copperware at https://www.studiocoppre.com/

Chicken 65 Chicken 65 is a spicy, sometimes fiery, deep-fried chicken snack that has become a local classic in the city of Chennai. The cuts of meat are cooked on or off the bone and flavoured with ginger, garlic, chillies, vinegar and curry leaves. The dish is served as a snack with salt and garnish, or as part of a meal. The dish was first served at the restaurant of the Buhari Hotel on Mount Road (now Anna Salai), created by AM Buhari, the hotel owner.

Theories abound regarding the name of the dish: the marinade includes 65 chillies, or needs 65 days to steep; the meat comes from chickens that are 65 days old, and each bird is cut into 65 pieces; it was item number 65 on the original menu list. AM Buhari’s grandson tells a more prosaic story: simply, the dish was added to the menu in 1965. The original marinade recipe is still a closely guarded secret, but versions of the dish are served across India. It is found in all kinds of establishments, from bar snacks and highway dhabas to restaurants offering fine dining.

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March Past The ceremonial parade is the main attraction of India’s Republic Day, when regiments of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force march along Rajpath, Delhi’s great ceremonial boulevard, in all their finery and official decorations. India’s military forces may have perfected the discipline of walking smartly in group formation, arms swinging and in step with the squad, but they build on drills learnt by all Indian children from an early age and which for many is an integral part of their school life. The march past – a parade or procession past a reviewing stand – features in annual school sports days and is seen as a way to instil school spirit and encourage team or squad goals as well as a sense of pride.

Schools compete with each other, and many schools conduct their own version of the Republic Day march past. Despite long hours spent practice, often under a hot sun, school day march pasts evoke fond reminiscences, even nostalgia, for the teamwork involved, the sense of achievement – and the cancellation of classes when teams needed to practice for an event!

Bijay Biswaal Bijay (Bijayananda) Biswaal is a railway ticket inspector and self-taught artist, whose railway paintings have brought him national acclaim. Although he has exhibited his works for many years at national and international exhibitions, a sudden interest in his work was generated when Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned Biswaal on his radio show in 2015. Biswaal was born in Odisha in 1964. As a small child he doodled with charcoal reclaimed from the kitchen chullah (stove), and used his school chalk and pens to sketch. He studied political science and then took a government job with the Railways. This offered him the opportunity to travel and explore railway life, which inspired him to depict them in his works. Biswaal works in many kinds of media: watercolour, acrylic and oil. He paints village scenes and views of urban architecture but it is his fascination with India’s railway stations and locomotives that really stands out, colourful paintings of busy, often rain-soaked platforms peopled with bustling commuters and travellers weighed down by luggage. He captures the heritage, cultural diversity and modernity of India alongside the precise detail of metalwork, valves and gears, fittings, rivets and bolts, and the gritty urban landscape of railway lines and overhead cables. Biswaal met the Prime Minister at a display of his work at the Rail Vikas Shibir, a three-day planning meeting held by Indian Railways in Delhi in 2016. Earlier this year, he took early retirement from the Railways to pursue his passion full time.

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India Symbols

by Team Culturama

A Sound

Theory Modern scientists from all over the world believe that sound and the beginning of creation are somehow linked...

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In a nutshell Sound is intrinsic to Indian culture. Apart from the high decibels of daily life that stun most expatriates on their first visit to the country, specific sounds – or rather, frequencies – are crucial to the philosophy that governs Indian traditions.

The most important, and well-known, is the syllable ‘Om’.

Also of importance are the sounds of the conch and the bell in worship and other rituals. If properly used, both the conch and the bell can generate the same vibrations as ‘Om’.

Meaning and Deeper Meaning ‘Om’, which can be said to be a portmanteau of three sounds – ‘ah’ ‘oh’ and ‘mm’ – was considered by the sages of old to be the sound that initiated creation. Similarly, the blowing of conches and the ringing of bells set off vibrations which affect ambient energy. Certain vibrations are believed to dispel negative energy, and others to attract positive energy.

Conches are blown at the start of important religious ceremonies, and, in olden days, before the start of battle.

And, as for bells, are of many types, but they can be broadly divided into the big and the small. The small ones are used while performing pujas in the house, while the larger ones are found in temples. They can be rung in different, significant ways, too. The sound of a bell rung before worship helps empty the devotee’s mind of chaotic thoughts, and, therefore, aids focus on the divine. On a more down-to-earth level, temple bells are usually rung by devotees as they enter the sacred space, in much the same way as one would press a calling bell to seek the attention of the residents of a home.

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Also, the sounding of the conch and the ringing of bells during rituals help drown out other sounds which could distract the devotee from worship. So it works on two fronts.

The stuff of legend Although the conch and the bell are universally used for ritualistic worship in the Hindu system, Lord Krishna, one of the most beloved avatars of Lord Vishnu, is specially associated with both. As the charioteer of Arjuna, one of the Pandava Princes in the epic war described in the Mahabharata, it was Krishna who sounded the conch to signal the start of the defining battle.

And, as a child, so the story goes, the women of Mathura, tired of the boy Krishna helping himself to their stores of butter, tied bells to the containers to alert them when he tried to raid them. Krishna made a deal with the bells to remain silent, but the bells rang out anyway. When he berated them, they merely said that, from then on, devotees would not be able to worship him without ringing a bell.

Another oft-told story about the boy Krishna is about how he protected the people of Mathura from the wrath of Indra, one of the lesser gods in the Hindu pantheon, by lifting up an entire mountain so that the people could shelter under it from the storms unleashed by Indra. When Indra realised that Krishna was an avatar of Lord Vishnu, he came down from his celestial kingdom, and, taking one of the bells which adorned his mount, the elephant Airavat, filled it with holy water, and poured it on Krishna in worship. The bell thus holds a special place in the worship of Lord Krishna.

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Scientific substance “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration,” said Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American who was a physicist, among many other things.

Modern scientists from all over the world believe that sound and the beginning of creation are somehow linked.

The Big Bang theory is an example of the concept. So is the ‘M Theory,’ a version of the Superstring Theory of the Universe that physicists are excited about.

Saying it in verse Aagamaarthamtu devaanaam gamanaarthamtu rakshasaam Kurve ghantaaravam tatra devataahvaahna lakshanam (I ring this bell indicating the invocation of divinity, So that virtuous and noble forces enter (my home and heart); and the demonic and evil forces from within and without, depart.)

The Aikya factor Sound is an important component of worship in all religions. Singing, chanting and the playing of musical instruments are common to all religions, and these elements are incorporated into worship because they are believed to be pleasing to the Divine. Put another way, the principle is that the Divine Spirit will be happy to be present where sounds pleasing to Him are generated.

a magical sound, “Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,” and all the islands were created” — a native story from the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific says.

“All was in suspense, calm, motionless, silent and still. The sky was empty… Then came the word of Tepu and Gucamatz, the Forefathers, who were in the waters surrounded by the light, hidden under green and blue feathers. They were great sages…They created the Earth.

‘Earth!’ they said, and instantly, it was made,” — a creation story from the Mayan Civilization of Central America.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through the Word. In Him was life, and the life was the light of humanity,” — Gospel according to St. John, Chapter 1, verse 1, The Bible.

Many world religious philosophies also attribute to sound a quality or power that can be explained only in complex terms. Some leave them as profound statements; others choose to convey the sense through simple stories. Here are some samples:

End quote

“Long ago, there was no land at all, only the ocean. But there was a God named Lowa, who came down and made

The essence of word and sound is Om.

The essence of man is speech; The essence of speech is sacred language; The essence of sacred language is word and sound;

– The Upanishads

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Milliennial Minds

by Karishma Parmar

Leading by example A session on gender intelligence and business opportunities for the students of India's best B-School

Dr. Ranjini Manian's enterpreneurial journey has inspired young women like myself. Before joining IIM Bangalore as a student I often visited the campus for seminars and summits. and particularly remember listening to Dr. Ranjini Manian in the ‘Make in India’ Summit in February. Once I joined college and was elected as the President of the Seminar Committee, I was very clear that one of the key speakers of our seminar series would be Dr. Manian. One of the objectives of the ‘Women in Business’ (WIB) Club for EPGP 2018 is to have eminent women leaders address the class and share experiences and insights. She inaugurated the WIB Club for IIM B EPGP (Executive Post Graduate Programme) 2018 Batch. The batch has 23 young leaders pursuing their Post Graduate in Management, high achiever ladies with stellar GMAT scores and exceptional performances in their respective work areas. They come from backgrounds as diverse as Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Marketing, HR, Finance, Media and Analytics. The one year, full-time, residential programme is one of the best in the world and attracts the best crowd from across the country.

In the inaugural lecture, Dr. Manian spoke about cultural differences and ways to cope with and turn them into business opportunities. She talked about gender intelligence, highlighting the general differences between

men and women, without failing to mention that these are generalisations and exceptions are always possible. She advised us to be cognizant of another person’s sensitivities when in business interactions or negotiations and understand things from another’s point of view.

The whole session was certainly a great first step for the WIB Club and definitely a value addition to the entire batch.

But in addition to all this, the one thing that did strike me the most was Dr. Manian’s personality. There were some logistical hiccups and we had to change the presentation halls at the last minute, the slides were not loading and any other speaker might have become worried or taken heed. Dr Manian, on the other hand, was at her calmest and wittiest best throughout and drove the whole scene alone, very positively. She not only speaks as a leader, she acts as one too. Our batch was charmed by her presence, enlightened by her thoughts and inspired by her behaviour.

Neha Raj, who attended the event said, "I learned to always play to my strengths from this interactive lecture."

Shagun Anand added, "I will surely apply this learning of not trying to be perfect and seek too much approval. It will greatly help my career with a boosted self confidence quotient.

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Festivals of India This July we celebrate guru Purnima

Guru Purnima

July 9

Guru Purnima is observed by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists. Hindus mark the full moon day in July as Guru Purnima in honour of Sage Vyasa, who compiled the Vedas, India’s ancient scriptures, and the epic Mahabharata. It is also on this day that Jains remember their patron saint Mahavira becoming a Guru or teacher with his first disciple. Buddhists celebrate through day-long meditations Gautama Buddha’s first sermon given on this day. Guru Purnima is also significant to farmers, as it marks the period when the hot summer ends and the rains begin.

To Go: Guru Purnima is celebrated grandly at the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh (www.sivanandaonline.org), Uttarakhand, and has devotees coming in from across India. This is also a good time to try the rigorous Buddhist meditation practice of Vipassana.

Learn a yoga pose

by Namita Jain

Alternate nostril breathing Alternate nostril breathing or nadi shodhana pranayam is a breathing exercise that cleanses the subtle energy channels. Nadi means channel and shodhana means cleansing.

Inhale through the left nostril, exhale through the right; inhale through the right and exhale through the left. This is one round of breathing.

Benefits: Improves lung capacity and strengthens the nervous system.

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Photo: Rajarshi MITRA via Flickr

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Feature

by Team Culturama

House of worship In this feature we help you understand the Hindu place of worship...

Symbolism and unwritten codes are woven into the way of life in India. Over time, the symbolism has been forgotten, and so has Sanskrit, the root of many an Indian language.

It is important to remember that nothing that is done is without significance, whether it is the posture of an idol, a plant that is worshipped, a particular style of architecture or even a sound. When the significance is known, the gesture or notion takes on so much more meaning. This story highlights the underlying meaning of some of the most common images and icons in India.

Place of Worship The Hindu temple, like places of worship associated with all religions, is a link between man and God, between the earthly and the divine life. The features of temple architecture symbolise many of the facets of man’s relationship with the Creator.

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Photo: Sophia EL MEHDY, France

Photo: Michael Ditter, Germany

The gopura, or tower, is at the entrance to any large South Indian temple. It stands for the break between the secular outside and the religious inside, and is much venerated.

Set in stone

The temple being the house of god, a dev-alaya (god’shouse), is in a way His palace. The dwajasthamba (or ceremonial flag post) found opposite the main sanctum in the temple courtyard, flies the insignia of the deity. It is a wooden pole covered with brass or copper sheets, topped by an intricately designed flag. On the base are sculptures of the deities and sometimes their mounts.

Bali-pitam is the pedestal where the offerings for the deity are placed. It is usually next to the dwajasthamba and is made of stone designed like an inverted lotus, on which the footprints of the deity are sometimes carved.

When a person enters the temple, he stamps on the granite step but prays to the granite statue. A story goes that the granite step complained to the sculptor about its lowly position although made from the same block of stone as the idol worshipped in the temple. The sculptor explained that the statue had to go through a lot more pain to be carved intricately and was hence more revered. As a compensation, the first big entrance temple step was granted the wish that people would step over it, not on it. Notice this practice next time you are in a temple!

Sacred stories The earliest temples in India were in caves or hewn out of rocks. The most sacred part of the temple, the sanctum

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Lighting the lamp You will find lamps lit with oil and with wick on terracotta and brass lamps of many sizes in Indian temples. Light is important symbolically, in all cultures.

In India, it enjoys an especially deep significance.

Light – as a carefully fostered fire, as a searing flare rising with the sweet smell of camphor or as a flickering flame in a tiny oil lamp – plays an important part in rituals and worship, both in temples and in homes.

The lamp represents our lives. The oil represents the negative qualities like anger, greed and jealousy. The wick is the ego and the flame represents knowledge. It is the flame of knowledge that burns out the ego till there is no residue of negative qualities left. This is the wish of every Indian while lighting a lamp at an altar or at an inauguration function.

Mantras

Photo: Maria ELENA, Italy

sanctorum, is called a garbhagriha, literally meaning womb.

Directly above it rises the sikara or tower, symbolically lifting a devotee up to the plane of the Gods.

Most of the medium and large temples in India are intricately and ornately decorated. The artwork is breathtaking, but the artistes and artisans remain anonymous.

Most compound walls of temples are painted in distinctive red and white stripes. That is just a way of cueing the passer by that this is holy ground, not to be defiled or desecrated.

You will hear chants of mantras in temples. Mana means mind, Tra comes from trayate, the verb which means ‘cross-over’. So mantras are powerful thoughts and vibrations that help get over the problems of the mind. These days, as we seem to have become Human Doings, it is good to slow down, to become Human Beings again.

Many years ago, the Beatles sang of Shanti and made it a popular mantra. Many hymns and chants in Sanskrit end with a peace chant where the word Shanti, meaning peace, is repeated three times. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti. There is a metre and a tone in which this is chanted. This is because there are three things in life that disturb a person; and to overcome these, peace is asked from each of them.

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Photo: Maria ELENA, Italy

Peace from Nature and Environment: In ancient days, it meant typhoons and tsunamis, floods and torrents. In today’s world, it could include gadgets which hook and stress us too.

Peace from Others: We need to make this request as we always feel that all problems come from others doing or not doing something.

Peace from One’s Own Heart and Mind: Even if our environment and the people around us encourage peace, our mind, which either dwells on past regrets or future anxiety, is capable of destroying our peace. And hence this special wish, for internal peace.

Keeping in mind the recipients of the three requests, the first Shanti is said aloud, the second a bit softer and the third softest and drawn out the longest, so that the peace in one’s own heart is focused on.

Making Three Wishes Here, we share a mantra that is great for humankind. This chant, transliterated from Sanskrit and explained in English, focuses on the universality and oneness of all creation. They contain age-old advice on finding peace, security and happiness.

Photo: Christine Valade, France

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Photo: Marlene WEIGREFFE, Germany

There is a simple three-pronged wish to welcome all that is enduring and wish away all that is temporary. The chant that encapsulates this is:

Om asatoma satgamaya Lead us from the Unreal to the Real

Tamasoma jyotir gamaya From Darkness to Light

Mrityorma amritam gamaya From Death to Immortality

Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi Peace Om, lead us from unreality of transitory existence and temporary attachments (to family, possessions and profession) to the lasting reality by strengthening my relationship with the permanent and all-pervading Divine Self in my own heart. (The divine symbol OM is omnipresent in everyday Indian life. Om represents the Ultimate Reality – Brahman.)

Lead us from the Darkness of Ignorance, which leads to self-will and wanting to always have it my way which promotes a separateness between myself and others, to the Light of true spiritual knowledge that there is the same divinity at the core of all, so I may seek more to understand than be understood.

Lead us from the Fear of Death of the body as if it were a permanent death of me, which limits me and causes me sorrow, to the Knowledge of Immortality, claiming that the body dies, but Consciousness, which is the real me, lasts forever. By this I become limitless and eternally free from anxiety and fear.

Peace, Peace, Peace.

This hymn is from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad and is one of the most ancient hymns of India. Brhadaranyaka means a ‘forest of knowledge’ and Upanishad means literally ‘sitting down near’. The knowledge of these philosophical texts of the Upanishads is said to be gained sitting near a spiritual teacher who has walked the path and communicates to us brilliantly, answering all our questions.

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craft cafe by

Poompuhar’s Craft café is a first of its kind craft-themed café located at the iconic Anna Salai of Chennai. Enjoy a fine dining experience and treat your taste buds to healthy and authentic South Indian cuisines, going back to our roots. Here, long-forgotten ingredients such as millets and palm sugar are used to reinvent and create new varieties of dishes!

What stands out at the Café is the ambiance. With exquisite bronze and wooden sculptures, bamboo furniture and the vintage statues around will immerse you in a divine setting.

The Craft café is also a fantastic venue to host corporate meetings, birthday parties, anniversary functions, kitty groups, farewells, get-togethers etc.

Poompuhar, No. 108, Anna Salai, Chennai - 600 002

Contact: 044 42111338, 044 28511338 Email:craftsrestaurant@gmail.com Website:www.tnhdcltd.com | Shopping site:www.poompuhar.org | Artisan portal:www.tnartisaan.com

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Look Who’s In Town Mumbai

Maximum Mumbai British-American Sue Oxley lists out some tips on how to make the best of the bustling city In Mumbai, Sue Oxley sees more than just the noise and smells of the city – she sees “the vibrant colours of the beautiful saris worn by the ladies walking down the streets” and, of course, the “huge variety of amazing foods on offer – that are expanding my waistline”. The blogger, who has been in the city for a year and a half, writes about her experiences in www.nofixedabode4sue.com.

When she arrived in Mumbai along with her husband, Sue’s view about the city was that it was “a fun adventure in a part of the world we had never explored”. The adventure transformed Sue’s life: “My time in Mumbai has changed me, made me look at life differently, and I will be forever thankful for this opportunity”. With that, Sue steers us through the act of making a home in Mumbai.

open to all nationalities. Mumbai Connexions (www.mumbaiconnexions.com) is a group of expatriates who give their time and resources to support each other.

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Traffic Stress: Going around Mumbai is time consuming (owing to the heavy congestion on the roads), noisy (Mumbaikars love their car horns) and seemingly disorganised (to a Westerner’s eye). Relax, allow for extra time and have a camera on hand to document the unique journey!

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Be open to new adventures: Use your time to try something new.

Of course, there are many yoga classes you can take, but India has so much more to offer! Photography lovers will find a wealth of opportunities in this colourful country. Volunteer with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or learn a few words in Hindi so you can surprise your driver or housemaid.

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Understand culture: Dig deeper than the standard guidebook to find places that make this city tick. Hindu festivals abound, but Mumbai also has sizeable Christian and Muslim communities, as well as Zoroastrians, Jains and Buddhists.

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Discover Mumbai's history: Most people know about the British influence on Mumbai, but there is plenty to discover about how life changed over the years. The Indian Tourist Board offers guided tours of many sites with extremely knowledgeable guides who will fascinate you with their stories.

Sue′s Six-fold Path •

Positive mindset: It is amazing how people have such a strong opinion, both negative and positive, about a country that many have never even visited. Keep an open mind and discover for yourself all that Mumbai has to offer.

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Expat groups: There are many expat groups in Mumbai that are not just a social outlet but will also help you get information about where you can buy certain items and how Mumbai works. They also provide support, as they understand that the transition can be challenging. Options include the American Women's Club of Mumbai (www.awcmumbai.org), which is

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India on a platter

by Janani Nagarajan

Farm t o Fridge

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Organic agriculture is vital for our health and the future of our world for many reasons.

It's a sunny day at our grandfather’s farm in Tambaram.

It is a suburb located a few kilometres away from the busy city of Chennai and it is where my husband and I typically drive off to for a calm and organic Sunday meal.

Long after the harsh summer, a torrential coastal monsoon and the dreaded heat wave that has just come and gone, the farm reveals abundance. Verdant, almost overrun, it requires watchful navigation, over ridges and mulch-covered trenches. It is hard to imagine that this piece of dishonoured land was filled with debris and junk a few years ago. Today, it is home to over 15 varieties of vegetables and fruits, including drumstick, spinach, beans, gooseberry, and so much more.

As we pluck, dust the gooseberries against our pants and take a bite, we ask him just how he manages to keep these plants alive. He says, “All I use is cow dung sourced from a local dairy a few streets away.” For our grandfather, this is not unconventional. It is just farming the way it used to be.

Why organic food is important Organic agriculture is vital for our health and the future of our world for many reasons. It carries far fewer toxic pesticide residues. It does not harm farm workers or the microorganisms of the soil that produce nutritious and drought-resistant crops. Organic farming controls climate change, protects biodiversity, enhances soil fertility and, to top it off, organic foods are more nutritious and taste better.

Without chemical tools, such as pesticides, known for producing high-yield agriculture, will organic produce yield enough food to feed the world? Popular studies from around the world show that organic farms can produce about as much, if not more, food than do conventional farms. It may take several months for farmers to learn the new ways and notice success, but as the soil and biodiversity recover, yields will go up.

Rooted in uncertainties India has the highest agricultural land globally, which

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is about 60 percent of the geographical land. Yet, Indian farmers are among the most distressed. News of farmer suicides, protests in different parts of the country and loan waivers fill papers. Six out of ten Indians derive their living from agriculture, but just two in a hundred earn a living that is sustainable.

Industrialised farming practices based on fossil fuels are putting tremendous pressure on our planet. The food we eat is engineered to travel very long distances and 50 percent of our food is worn out even before it reaches us.

While the reasons are many – from unpredictable rains to declining commodity prices across the world – a key issue with agriculture in India is its fragmented nature. Individual holdings of land by farmers are diminishing, and with it drop the productivity of each farm. As production falls, the bargaining ability of the farmer falls. Poor returns lead to a further drop in production. And, this vicious cycle continues.

Chemical fertilisers Chemical farming practices have had 60-odd years to solidly entrench themselves in our agricultural systems. One cannot expect to make a colossal dent overnight.

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Here are the top 10 reasons to choose organic foods today: 1. Avoid chemicals 2. Benefit from more nutrients 3. Enjoy better taste 4. Avoid GMO 5. Avoid hormones, antibiotics and drugs in animal products 6. Preserve our ecosystems 7. Reduce pollution and protect water and soil 8. Preserve agricultural diversity 9. Support farming directly 10. Keep our children and future safe

They are widely touted for their ability to aid soil fertility and promote growth, but little is done to promote information and awareness about their side effects on soil health, like destruction of naturally occurring nutrients that eventually make soil useless over time. The government has recently recognised this soil crisis and has introduced incentives for farmers to better understand the nutrients in soil.

Just over three years ago, the Indian Government launched the revolutionary Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (National Agriculture Development Programme) as a way to encourage organic farming and decrease dependence on chemical pesticides. In January 2015, the northeastern state of Sikkim was declared as the country’s first 100 percent organic state. Sikkim now yields 800,000 tons of organic produce that is free of harmful pesticides, chemical fertilisers and toxic genetically modified organisms (GMOs), accounting for roughly 65 percent of India’s total organic yields.

Nurturing an organic push If you shop regularly at supermarkets for your grocery and other household supplies, you would have most likely seen that all things organic are priced way higher than their regular variants, whether it is food, toiletries and cosmetics. And, you would have also noticed that the organic sections are almost always thinly populated compared to the general sections. It showcases that for a majority of people, price concerns get the better of the obvious benefits of organic foods such as purity and wholesomeness.

Why the high cost?

Organic foods are tricky to grow as they need more involvement and additional time to grow. Furthermore, lower yields of these crops and poor supply chain further add up to the production cost. Post processing and handling of organic food is an expensive affair since the risk of contamination by chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and so on, from water and neighbouring farms is high. One of the biggest hurdles to the adoption of organic farming is the exorbitant fee for registration, accreditation and certification to become organic farmers.

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your local vendor about his source.

So, what should I consider when buying?

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It is mandatory that products sold as “certified organic” carry the logo of the certification body and the NPOP (National Programme of Organic Production).

• Popular organic brands in India – 1.

24 Mantra

This is indeed a certificate of assurance that the product has been produced/processed following organic practices/procedures that take into account care for nature, people, plants and animal welfare considerations.

2.

Berrytree

3.

Chamong

4.

Herbal Hills

5.

Herbal Strategi

If you are buying packaged produce in a supermarket or in grocery stores, look for labels or logo on the packaging that indicates the product is certified as organic.

6.

Indophile

7.

Kushies

8.

Organic India

Consumers can be assured that having a certification label means it is organic food.

9.

Smart Baby

Considerable share of organic produce is also sold through boutiques or through social networks. Talk to

10. Phalada Pure & Sure

Regardless of your diet, organic foods are a smart priority.

Opting for organic foods is an effective choice for personal and planetary health. Buying and supporting organically grown food – free from harmful chemicals, bursting with better nutrition, taste and sustenance – is a direct vote for instant health and the hopeful future of generations to come.

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India Impressions

by Team Culturama

Spice Land Discover Indian spices and their many uses

They say variety is the spice of life. In India, there are so many varieties of spices and so many uses for them that there is hardly a dull moment at the dining table. From India’s famous masala tea to different types of gravies and curries, spices find a use in almost every meal and drink. We present five of them this month, with some tips on how to use them.

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Elaichi Elegance

Pepper it up Among the world’s most traded spices, pepper was called ‘Black Gold’ in ancient times. Known as the king of spices, pepper has been a crucial part of the South Indian state, Kerala’s economy since those times. The spice trade contributed to India’s increased contact with the world. Pepper is used in many dishes native to various parts of the country. It is believed to help relieve one of cold, cough and indigestion, among other things.

How to Use: Beat together a cup of yogurt and add freshly crushed black pepper (a quarter of a teaspoon) and half a teaspoon of crushed cumin. To this add freshly chopped cilantro leaves. Enjoy pepper raita with flatbreads like roti or naan and pilaf or biriyani.

Known commonly as elaichi in India, this is an ingredient reserved for special and auspicious occasions. Cardamom is usually sold in pods which are green in colour. These are crushed and used to enhance the flavour in sweet as well as in savoury dishes like biriyani in India. It is also used in teas.

How to use: Boil black tea leaves with three pods of crushed cardamom with a small piece of crushed ginger. To this add a dash of milk and teaspoon of sugar. Enjoy elaichi tea.

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Mustard moments History tells us that mustard was cultivated in India during the Indus Valley Civilisation! It is still used in India in different forms – leaves, seeds, paste and even the oil.

In West Bengal, for instance, almost all cooking is done using mustard oil, while in South India no dish is complete without a generous garnish of popped mustard seeds in oil.

Mustard is packed with B complex vitamins and is said to have anti-inflammatory properties, too.

How to use: Add two teaspoons oil to a wok and heat. Add a teaspoon of mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add curry leaves and chopped red chilli. To this add chopped cabbage (one cup). Sprinkle a few drops of water and close the wok with a pan. Enjoy this simple and tasty South Indian–style cabbage poriyal.

Cumin home Cumin seeds resemble caraway seeds and can be used as whole seeds or in powder form. They add an earthy feel to food. They are commonly known as jeera or jeeragam in India. It is known to provide relief from stomach aches and cramps and is rich in iron content.

How to use: To a teaspoon of melted butter, add a tablespoon of cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle, remove from heat and add to a cup of white rice. To this add three cups water and pressure cook. Eat the Jeera Rice with pepper raita.

Yellow there Turmeric, native to southwest India, is an important ingredient in Indian cooking. It is usually powdered and used in tiny quantities to enhance the flavour and look of a dish. It has immunity-boosting and antioxidant properties.

How to use: To treat a cold, add a pinch of turmeric to a glass of warm milk, and a dash of pepper powder. To this add a teaspoon of sugar.

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ADVERTISE

IN  T HIS MAGAZINE

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In Focus

by Team Culturama

Art of Living Meet artist Seema Kohli whose canvases are layered with many, many stories rooted as much in philosophy as in knowledge gained in modern times; a parable of tales both imagined and real

Born in 1960, Seema Kohli has created her niche in the world of contemporary art over the past 35 years. Her creative repertoire is eclectic, encompassing a wide range of mediums ranging from painting, murals, experiential installation performances and films to installations and sculptures, and each is a unique expression of her style. Working with oils on canvas, inks, mixed mediums, ceramics and printmaking, her work has redefined the basic contours of figurative art in India. Kohli’s series titled ‘The Golden Womb’ or the ‘Hiranyagarbha Koham’ series propelled her into much acclaim. Her work captures in its entirety the perpetual change, order, strength and fragility, colours and rhythm, and melody and exuberance of the elemental world. It talks about the creation, the cosmic journey, of the oneness of being and the final liberation in relation to the golden womb

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or hiranyagarbha. Seema Kohli has had over 30 solo shows in Venice, Brussels, Melbourne, London, New York, Dubai, Singapore, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and many more. She has had interactive sessions and experiential performances at WuWei Wisdom Sanctuary Bali 2016, Venice Biennale 2015, TedEx Chennai 2013, WIN Conference Rome 2012, and so on. She received a Gold at the Florence Biennale 2009 and her works are part of various private and public collections such as the Melinda Bill Gates Foundation, museums including Rubin’s Museum and MOSA-Brussels, Kochi Museum of Arts, and many more.

The artist, in conversation with Culturama, talks about her journey.

Can you tell us about your childhood and growing up years? Did they have an influence on your art?

Childhood was full of stories and dreams, watching the

soft cotton elephant clouds roll by, of birds, butterflies and bees, watching my mother adorn her hair with jasmine and waking up to the early morning sound of heavy wooden wheels of bullock carts. The sounds, the smells and visuals of my childhood constitute my art.

How did art happen to you?

Colour was introduced to me at the age of two or three, just as it is introduced to any child of that age. But it stayed with me; and as I grew it became my friend with whom I shared my most personal thoughts, creating my own coded language of images and symbols.

Your art exudes philosophical and mythological leanings, while also celebrating the female power, stree shakthi. How important are these three to you?

I grew up in a spiritual household where religion and ritual took a back seat, but the lives of people who grew above

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the human limitations were discussed.

The mythical stories were humanised and made believable. We had dialogues and discussions and the spirit of questioning was nurtured. But the idea of the feminine and the role of energy and its inter-relation came much later. The celebration of birth and constant evolution has taken over my art practice in all mediums.

Can you take us through your creative process?

I must confess that I do not have any rough sketches of the artwork before hand. I start with a blank white canvas with a simple invocation of the Lord of Intellect and Lord of Luxury to come and reside on my canvas. I then layer it with silver leaf which deoxidises so that it does not become dark over a period of time. Then I start layering the canvas with sometimes 12 to 13 washes of acrylic colour. Then it is finally ready for my drawing and rendering – with stories and, finally, I finish it with drawings on 24 carat gold leaf expressing the golden womb, the Hiranyagarbha.

What upcoming project are you most excited about?

The most important project just now is my visit to about six universities in the United States, where I am sharing my practice with the students and people. I will be talking about my performance/crossover of mediums in interactive sessions and workshops.

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Learn from the Bhagavad Gita

by Team Culturama

Chapter 12 Capturing the essence of the Bhagavad Gita in a single sentence, one chapter at a time; accompanied by an inspirational photograph from our Annual Photo Competition.

Absorb your mind in the ‘Higher’.

Photo: Michel Valade, France

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India Insights

by Devanshi Mody

Stardom beckons Ever been curious about the Indian astrological systems? This writer goes on an experiential trip – to the future and the past...

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Indian astrological systems -- this is a presumptuous title commensurate with the presumptions one entertains about one’s Destiny. Because astrology is ingrained in Indian culture and its systems are many like the stars, its scope vast like the Universe. North and South Indian systems combat with the ferocity of star wars; and among South Indians there’s consummate disdain for rival factions and divergent methods, the hair-splitting technicalities enough to make you want to tear your hair out. The topic seems doomed. Except, it could be a matter of life and death.

Astrology is a science and intensely mathematical, say its practitioners. Meeting a competent astrologer might depend on Destiny, they say. When I stayed at The Bangala in Karaikudi last September, I was intent on meeting an astrologer the hotel’s owner Mrs Meyyappan mentioned.

It wasn’t fated. Three appointments failed. On holiday, he perused a WhatsApped horoscope and gave us a prediction.

When Mrs Meyyappan invited me to stay, again later, I envisaged finally meeting Ganesan, the astrologer. Mrs M was irked, “Devanshi, I asked you to stay at The Bangala to relax, not to run around the countryside pursuing astrologers!” Alas, that’s what I was destined to do…

Thrillingly back in Karaikudi I ask Ganesan how he had made an accurate prediction about a family occurrence when every other astrologer had got it wrong. Ganesan pats himself about the finesse of his calculations. The incredulous must recall Hamlet: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Hamlet (1.5.167-8) Einstein’s Mass-Energy equation surely corroborates Vedic views on how cosmic forces affect mind and matter.

If I’d once determined to disprove astrology, then my own

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experiences deny me this triumph. An example elucidates. A life-long science student, I went up to Oxford to read Physics and Philosophy. I randomly and inexplicably decided I’d done what I wanted (Quantum Mechanics and Relativity) and the remaining two years comprising Newtonian Mechanics bored me. French and Philosophy suddenly beckoned. Oxford doesn’t entertain whips certainly when one hasn’t even the prerequisite French A Level. I prevailed. My brother, then reading Engineering, at Oxford, was dismayed that everyone would think I wasn’t clever enough to complete a science degree. Mum was stoic. An astrologer had foretold I had “arty” stars and there was no way in Hell – or the Milky Way – that I would get a science degree.

So now I sit avidly before Ganesan. He forecasts gloom for the next two years and four months. Then, astronomical literary fame (yes, yes) and 16 years of unmitigated glory when Sun and Moon reign followed by seven years of benevolent Mars before Rahu and Kethu come together when I’m 77 and 6 months and then I am off (Ganesan delights in issuing death sentences). But as I’m privileged with Kethu in the 12th House he also presages Moksha (the state of eternal bliss and emptiness) for me (hurrah!).

Can prayer alter Destiny? Do “miracles” happen or are ostensible miracles incorporated in the plan? Moreover, if astrology holds true, then different astrological systems must surely furnish similar predictions. Bhaskar at the Cholan

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These palm manuscripts, it is believed, carry the fates of people.

Tours office in Madurai mentioned that an American group taken to the legendary Vaitheeswaran Koil for Nadi Joshiyam wept at the accuracy of the predictions. So next I embark to verify Nadi Joshiyam, widely decried and rightly so I realise when quacks assail me. But Bhaskar has identified noncommercial youngsters trained at a “gurukul” in the “art” they sustain out of passion.

A youngster, Vinod translates for the practitioner Sivamurugan, who explains in Tamil that 18 Siddhas including Agasthiya Muni intuited our futures and transcribed them onto palm leaves in the Sidha language that a sage in Raja Raja Chola’s court translated into Old Tamil 1,500 years ago. Raja Raja lived 1,000 years ago, I remind…

The British, we are told, wantonly destroyed 40% of the leaves.

They hope my future is concealed in what remains. I give my left thumb print and return the next morning. (Of course, for jet-setters like Bhaskar’s boss Pandian who owns Cholan Tours computer-generated predictions are a WhatsApped thumb-print away!)

Sivamurugan has, from the temple library (that only admits sanyasins and never women), selected ten manuscripts corresponding to my thumb print. The reading begins. Ninety minutes and multiple leaves later he hasn’t quite “identified”

He accurately reads out my birth date, time, day, asks me to return in one hour when he’ll have ferreted out other corresponding manuscripts from the library me. I despair. Then, suddenly, one leaf graphically describes a rare congenital disease I have. I must acknowledge its truth.

The next question, “Your father’s name is Kanu?” (Correct).

“Your mother’s name is Sunita?” (Correct). “Your name is Devanshi Mody?” I almost collapse. He accurately reads out my birth date, time, day, asks me to return in one hour when he’ll have ferreted out other corresponding manuscripts from the library.

I next learn it isn’t Agasthiya but Sivavaakiyar Siddha who wrote my life and it’s no coincidence that I have come for the reading specifically now (had I gone a year ago or to some other place they might not have excavated the correct manuscript). Moreover, what I am getting is a Siva reading (that predicts every 3 years of my future) and not the intense Bohar reading (yearly predictions). Destiny decides, I contend

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with three scant manuscripts. My previous birth is quickly intimated: I was born in Kurukshetra, called Kannan. My father was Subramanium and mother Sakuntala. They proceed to unravel that this Kannan was a temple boy who seduced a devotee who begot a baby girl. Kannan abandoned them and then disrupted temple rituals, incurred the curses of the priesthood (beside the desolate damsel’s and the daughter’s), fell ill and finally effected a pilgrimage to the Sharabheshwarar Temple in Swamimalai where he was cured and took to being good but transmigrated with his sins, cast into a woman’s body (i.e. mine).

The next manuscript holds my future in this life.

Having trudged through 42 years of sanyas, I shall marry a man of a different community who, like me, has only one parent currently alive and who will be divorced. I’m amused, “Divorce existed 1500 years ago?” Vinod excuses his translation. The original wording states “a man whose first marriage ended in separation”.

Numbingly consistent with Ganesan’s forecast I’m next told despite my current mendicant ways for 16 years from when I turn 42 I will scale astronomical literary heights (well, well). By 70 I would have achieved all I want and shall lapse into deep meditation and develop intuitive powers (nice).

At 77 and 6 when Rahu meets Venus, “all apertures will close, the sahasrara chakra (sahasrara, meaning thousand, is the ‘Lotus of the Thousand Petals’ chakra – centre of energy – located four finger-breadths above the crown of the head) will open and the soul like a pushpam (flower) will fly out and fall at God’s feet”. They seem awed in the august presence of someone destined for great literary accolade and moksha.

Parrots can tell your fate too. Photo: Carlo Sem, Italy

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Sivamurugan even interprets a line saying “like father like daughter” (there certainly were strong physical and characteristic resemblances between Dad and me) to assure that Dad too got moksha.

Imminently, a mercenary “Professor of Astrology” in Tanjavur abrogates my ticket to moksha, stripping me of smug complacence and says I shall have neither moksha nor literary fame – penury and strife are the eternal lot of quondam lady-killers, sigh.

My luck improves in Swamimalai’s INDeco Hotel, whose corporate GM Sindhu hosts mighty astrological tourism

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The South IndianHindu almanac

groups and orchestrates a buffet of astrological systems including tarot parrot (a lark), a palm and face reader and her astrologer who predicted she will “reign” (at 25, she wields three hotels). He spends a day explaining “lagna,” “rasi” and “nakshatra”, but these definitions are as shifty as the stars depending on the particular astrological system employed and Chinnasami’s views are idiosyncratic. It piques me though when he says even the mediocre can achieve greatness if it is in their stars. He doubts not my literary fame and moksha, so I could be those mediocre talents who fluke fame and freedom. God only knows.

And, here’s the philosophically fascinating point.

Chinnasami says life is predetermined, he only deciphers the timetable. A priest tells me astrology gives probabilities and above the stars is a decisive Supreme Power. But can

this Power subvert planetary influences? Astrologers claim Destiny is unalterable, precisely because God-willed.

Hindus accept God’s will. I recall Draupadi, from the epic Mahabharata, standing garland in hand, presumptively invested with the freedom to choose her own husband at her swayamwar (literally meaning choose your own husband.).

The devastatingly handsome Karna lifts the bow, Draupadi is ready to give herself to him but Lord Krishna has determined otherwise. Arjuna eventually wins Draupadi only to have to share her with his brothers, leaving Karna and Draupadi to obsess about each other contributing to the cataclysmic war, according to some versions of the epic. Is “Free Will” an illusion?

We are certainly free to filter what astrologers say. Or, are we? Tamil believers consider astrological utterances sacrosanct. Understandably, INDeco’s face-reader deplores my Oxford scepticism about his outlandish predictions. But he can compel coach-loads of Chinese, Korean, Singaporean and even Mexican and Russian tourists. Sindhu avers that recent surveys show the Chinese represent the largest influx of tourists into India all bound for South India to explore its Nadi Joshiyam and astrological systems.

Could a good astrologer have forecast that by 2017 “astrological tourism” would be a wild rage in South India and Chinese tourists will comprise 9.83%? Indeed, a Chinese group hijacked Sindhu’s shadow reader and he is now operating a mega astrology business in China enjoying grand stardom.

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sri lanka

Best for July & August: Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle with a beach break at Trincomallee

milesworth holidays india • srilanka • maldives • and beyond

visit: www.milesworth.com Milesworth Travels & Tours Pvt. Ltd., 39 R M Towers, 108 Chamiers Road, Chennai. Tel: +91-44-24320522 / 24359554 Fax: +91-44-24342668 E-mail: holidays@milesworth.com

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Picture Story

by Team Culturama

Fresh off the Boat Early in the mornings, fishermen push their catamarans (made from logs of wood tied together) and set sail into the sea or river singing, in search of fresh catch...

Elsewhere, in backwaters, boatmen come plying their fresh wares, bananas, fish, tender coconut and more... On houseboats tourists try their hands, gently, on the wheel...

No matter which part of the country you are in, boats are integral to India. Take a ride in one, the next time you get a chance.

Towards the shore, ahoy! Photo: Linda Graeble, France

Catamarans are fantastic examples of indigenous Indian technology and craftsmanship. Photo: Clara Thommes, France

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A leisurely ride on the gentle backwaters of Kerala. Photo: Aurelie Marsan, France

On the Dal Lake, Kashmir. Photo: Michelle Klakulak

Catch of the day. Photo: Thomas Valero, France

Ready for the sea. Photo: Reem Aousy, Iraq

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Myth & Mythology

by Devdutt Pattanaik

Hands of Jagannath At the Jagannath temple, every 12 years the old image ‘dies’ and is ‘cremated’ and a new image is carved from a new log of wood – and the divinity passes on from the old to the new in an elaborate ceremony

Imagine a crowded sanctum sanctorum of a thousand-year-old temple filled with the light of lamps and the smell of camphor, and three gigantic brightly painted wooden idols staring down at you from a platform. That is what you experience in the temple of Jagannath in Puri, Orissa. Nowhere else is Krishna enshrined with his elder brother, Balaram, and his younger sister, Subhadra.

He is black as soot and has circular eyes; Balaram is white and Subhadra is turmeric yellow. The images seem malformed. Nowhere else does one find Krishna depicted in such a totemic, almost tribal, form. Some say this was originally a tribal shrine, appropriated by Brahmins. And that is attested by legend.

The story goes that thirty-six years after the Mahabharata war, Krishna was fatally wounded by the arrow of a hunter called Jara. Arjuna rushed from

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Hastinapur to save his dear friend and cousin, but it was too late. By the time he arrived, Krishna had left his mortal body and ascended to Vaikuntha, his heavenly abode. His beautiful body lay in the shade of a Banyan tree, surrounded by birds and animals and termites spellbound by his beauty. What was left behind, despite its beauty, was with great reluctance cremated. Fire consumed everything except Krishna’s heart that was cast into the sea. It floated and transformed into a beautiful image called Nilamadhava that was found by a tribe in Orissa who enshrined it in a cave.

When King Indradyumna learnt of this relic of Krishna, he decided to build a temple that he felt was more appropriate for God. The task of securing Nilamadhava from the tribals was given to Indradyumna’s most intelligent courtier, Vidyapati.

Knowing that Nilamadhava was jealously guarded by the tribals, Vidyapati came up with an elaborate plan to find its location. The chief of the tribals, Vishwavasu, had a daughter called Lalita. Vidyapati successfully seduced Lalita but refused to marry her unless as dowry he was given a darshan of Nilamadhava. With great reluctance, out of love for his daughter, Vishwavasu agreed. But after marriage, when it was time to go to the cave, Vishwavasu said, “I will take you there blindfolded.” Vidyapati realised then that his father-in-law was no fool.

Determined to outwit Vishwavasu, who clearly suspected his intent, Vidyapati let himself be blindfolded but on the way, quietly dropped mustard seeds on the forest floor. After the rains, these seeds germinated and sprouted bright yellow flowers that served as a trail to the secret shrine, much to Vidyapati’s delight.

Before long, to the horror of the tribals, King Indradyumna stood at the gate of the cave determined to take Nilamadhava to the temple he had built. Vishwavasu begged the king to let Nilamadhava be. Even Vidyapati appealed to the king for he had seen the image and had been overwhelmed by the deity’s beauty and the simplicity of tribal devotion. “But it is mine,” said the king, storming into the cave, only to find that the image had disappeared, clearly refusing to fall into the hands of the arrogant king.

Indradyumna realised his folly and begged for forgiveness. In compassion, Nilamadhava appeared to the king in a dream and advised him to walk on the sea shore.

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There, the king found a log of wood with marks of Vishnu.

From this wood, would come the images that Indradyumna could enshrine in his temple. But the wood was too tough for the royal artisans to carve. The king was at his wits end, wondering what to do.

One day, an old man came to the king and said he could turn the log into the desired image, provided he was allowed to work without any disturbance in a closed room. The king agreed.

A room was provided in which the old man locked himself with the log of wood. For days, the king heard the sounds of wood being cut and thumped and he grew increasingly impatient to see the form the log of wood would finally take. One day, however, the sounds of cutting and thumping stopped. There was an eerie silence in the room.

Fearing the worst, the king opened the door. Inside there was no old man, but Vishwakarma, the artisan of the gods, painting three incomplete idols. Vishwakarma disappeared and the king was left with the three incomplete idols of Krishna, his elder brother and their younger sister. That became the form of the image that Indradyumna enshrined in his temple.

Since the image is made of wood, it is replaced every twelve years. In effect, the old image ‘dies’ and is ‘cremated’ and a new image is carved from a new log of wood – and the divinity passes on from the old to the new in an elaborate ceremony. Thus, the deities experience the cycle of life and death, like their devotees. The incomplete images are a reminder that no one on earth is perfect. Even Krishna, locally known as Jagannath, or lord of the world, has no hands or feet or eyelids or ears, but he always sports a smile, seeing all with his circular cartwheel eyes, stretching his malformed limbs to welcome devotees and comfort them as they endure the trials of an imperfect world.

Published in Sunday Midday, Mumbai, 6 Sept 2009. Reprinted with permission from devdutt.com.

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Holistic Living

by Eknath Easwaran

Photo: Cassia REIS, Brazil

Make Peace Your State of Mind

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Join Us Every Saturday Global Adjustments Office, Chennai, facilitates a weekly spiritual fellowship group following Easwaran’s Eight Point Programme of Meditation. E-mail us for more information at globalindian@globaladjustments.com If you are in other cities, visit www.bmcm.org for e-satsangs.

There is a vital connection between the peace or violence in our minds and the conditions that exist outside “Peace”, according to Spinoza, “is not an absence of war.

It is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, trust, and justice.”

From this one quotation, you can see how far beyond politics the mystics’ definition of peace goes.

In order to do effective peace work, to reconcile individuals, communities or countries, we have to have peace in our mind. If we pursue peace with anger and animosity, nothing can be stirred up but conflict.

I knew hundreds of students in India during Gandhi’s long struggle for independence from the British Empire. I met hundreds more in Berkeley during the turbulent sixties, when students all over the country were honestly trying to work for peace. I watched their relationships with one another, especially with those who differed with them, and I saw that these relationships often were not harmonious.

If your mind is not trained to make peace at home, Gandhi would ask, how can you hope to promote peace on a larger scale? Until we develop enough mastery over our thinking process to maintain a peaceful attitude in all circumstances – a “disposition for benevolence” – we are likely to vacillate when the going gets tough, without even realising what has happened.

Photo: Denis Lenoir, France

There is a vital connection, they assure us, between the peace or violence in our minds and the conditions that exist outside. When our mind is hostile, it sees hostility everywhere, and we act on what we see. If we could somehow attach a monitor to the mind, we would see the indicator swing into a red danger zone whenever consciousness is agitated by forces like anger and self-will. Acting in anger is not just the result of an agitated mind; it is also a cause, provoking retaliation from others and further agitation in our own mind.

After some of those demonstrations that were capturing headlines, I used to remind my friends that agitating for peace and actually bringing it about are not necessarily the same. Stirring up passions, provoking animosity, and polarising opposition may sometimes produce short-term gains, but it cannot produce long-term beneficial results because it only clouds minds on both sides. Progress comes only from opening others’ eyes and hearts, and that can happen only when people’s minds are calmed and their fears allayed. It is not enough if your political will is peaceful; your entire will should be peaceful; the whole of your personality should be nonviolent.

The meaning of nonviolence It is a living law, a law governing all of life, that ends and means are indivisible. Right means cannot help but lead to

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doesn’t mean weakening your convictions or diluting your principles. Disagreeing without being disagreeable is one of the arts of civilised living. This is what Gandhi means by nonviolence, and he calls it the most active force in the world. You don’t retaliate, you don’t retire; you just stand where you are, firmly rooted – rooted in wisdom, rooted in love, unshakably kind in the face of criticism, opposition, calumny or slander.

Photo: Lynn Elise PETERSON, USA

Use kind words

right ends; and wrong means – waging war, for example, to ensure peace – cannot help but result in wrong ends. Gandhi went to the extent of telling us to use right means and not worry about the outcome at all; the very laws of our existence will ensure that the outcome of our efforts will be beneficial in the long run.

“Select your purpose,” he challenged, “selfless, without any thought of personal pleasure or personal profit, and then use selfless means to attain your goal. Do not resort to violence even if it seems at first to promise success; it can only contradict your purpose. Use the means of love and respect even if the result seems far off or uncertain. Then throw yourself heart and soul into the campaign, counting no price too high for working for the welfare of those around you, and every reverse, every defeat, will send you deeper into your own deepest resources.”

If we grasp this great truth – that the Lord lives in each and every one of us, regardless of who we are – we will never be discourteous to others, we will never be unkind, we will never try to avoid people, we will always be glad to work in harmony with those around us. Then it becomes impossible to quarrel, to be angry, to hurt others, to move away. This

If life offers so many opportunities to practice this today, it is because all of us have been so conditioned to focus on ourselves.

Because of this, we have become so impatient that we burst out at the slightest provocation – not only mentally, not only verbally, but with our heart, our lungs, our whole nervous system. Not to be provoked, not to be frightened, not to retaliate requires a lot of stability inside so that these passing storms do not upset us.

Most of us refrain from lashing out physically when we are provoked, but I think our whole society would benefit immensely if we could all learn to use kind words. During my stay in this country, extending almost half a century, I have seen a sad deterioration in the way people express their opinions and frustrations. Millions of people today believe that unkind, hurtful language is a necessary part of communication.

I feel very deeply, but I never use an unkind word. I have very strong convictions, but I never express them in language that would be harmful. I think it is Gandhi who pointed out that those who get angry when opposed or contradicted have no faith in themselves. When you have faith in your convictions, you won’t get angry. I can listen to opposition with sympathy, and yet I will stand by my own convictions whatever the opposition is.

Nothing we do could have a more beneficial influence on those around us than remaining calm and considerate in the midst of ups and downs. It’s a challenging career that lasts a lifetime, and there are opportunities every day. When people are impolite to you, that’s the time to be exceptionally polite.

When people are discourteous to you, that’s the time to be more courteous.

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India Diaries

by Marina Marangos

Life in the Balance

Photo: Catherine Harte, USA

Living in India needs a certain kind of temperament for a successful ongoing life. Those in the know recognise what I am talking about. Not surprisingly, therefore, a lot of us look for some form of spiritual and physical guidance to help us deal with our daily conundrums.

Perhaps the most familiar of all is yoga, which concentrates on the health and purity of the body through exercise, breathing and meditation. The oldest yogic teachings are found in the Vedas followed by the Upanishads and the Bhagvad Gita, and finally in the classic period with the Yoga Sutra written by Patanjali.

Yoga was brought to the West in the late 19th century and has never looked back. So when I heard about a Yoga class happening early in the morning in a neighbourhood not far from me, I was naturally drawn to it. My teacher was Morag Morrish. Her story is that she was taken to a Dru Yoga* class by a friend, the friend eventually left, but Morag stayed and enjoyed it so much that soon she was learning how to teach it. She spoke of how yoga helped her with her transition because it allowed her to work on her emotions, her anger and resentment at being brought to a foreign country. She achieved this by using yoga is because there is a body and mind connection when you practice yoga. Without having to talk about it, you allow your body to look at the issues and decide what is important to you. When she teaches, she is connecting to all those around her, and she is allowing herself to grow and examine her emotions.

In those hour-long sessions, in her living room or under the sky on her roof, Morag put us through the paces of Dru Yoga from the simple stretch to the more complicated contortions, but always coming back to the salutations, the prayer to the sun and to the worship of the being. *Dru Yoga is one of UK’s leading yoga teacher training schools.

Some form of meditation is a part of yoga. The name itself denotes a “connection”, an “application” or as some person aptly described it as “the cessation of the perturbations of consciousness”. Total relaxation and emptying of the mind was part of my yoga experience.

Sessions ended with deep relaxation when we lay on our mats with our eyes closed and were urged to think of pleasing scenes and flowing water.

I would be dishonest if I said that this state was achievable every time I went. It was more a question of being unable to rid myself of thoughts that I have to pick up some mince from PigPo, before going to the market for the fresh vegetables, but needing to hurry home in time for the air-conditioning man who promised to visit, and before the landlady came round with instructions for the gardener.

So, actually ridding your mind of these mundane thoughts even for a few minutes every day is a massive achievement and one that does have significant benefits. I learnt to relax, I learnt to empty my mind and concentrate only on what was pleasing or calming. Others did it with equal success and perhaps more so. On occasion, loud snores would start up at the end of our session when one or other of the women had relaxed and fallen into deep sleep.

Is it something that I would recommend? I think the answer is a whole-hearted “yes” because even if you are unable to keep going to the classes for whatever reason, the discipline and the exercises that you learn can be recreated in the sanctity of your bedroom with the assurance that for those special moments in the day, you are connected to your inner being and are at one with your mind and your body. Of course, it also prepares you somewhat for what Mother India might throw in your path.

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At Global Adjustments

by Usha Ramakrishnan

Strength in the Storm This title, for an interactive weekly workshop for caregivers of cancer patients, is Inspired by a book from the Blue mountain center of meditation...

At Global Adjustments Foundation, we look forward to Fridays, as we visit The Apollo Speciality Cancer hospital to make a difference to inpatients well enough to participate and their families. When times get tough, serious illness and its consequences make the lives of the affected traumatic.

And it is easy to go on a downward spiral. Our sessions provide the antidote. We facilitate inner strength-building for caregivers whose emotional wellness enables well-being for the patient too.

The fifth floor of a hospital lobby on Friday afternoons turns into a wellness center - filled with music, art therapy, mindfulness and engagement programmes conceived and conducted by our Foundation. Handing out a page with an outline of the India map, participants are asked to fill the shape with the “magic word” of faith from a religion they follow. Soothing music accompanies this artwork. The hour of linking and learning includes watching inspiring videos and pair and share activities. Guided meditation enhances calm positivity.

one basis while in the hospital.

“A welcome session that has increased my hope,” says Mr. Subratho Roy, undergoing cancer treatment.

“Very useful thoughts, makes me feel good,” says Purnima who is helping her husband cope.

When people face tough times, what they need most is positivity and unconditional reassurance from people around them. At GA Foundation we are committed to bringing back smiles of true hope.

Greetings of “All is Well” fill the air as we end sessions.

Patients are also offered our volunteer services who conduct soothing chanting, absorbed reading, passage meditation and discussion for practical living on a one-on-

Chitra, Kala and Alagu are cancer conquerors who facilitate sessions along with the GA Foundation team

If you wish to volunteer or support women and students’ advancement, contact us today at usha@globaladjustments.com or call 98405 20394.

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