8 minute read

mont • st1va s

The current month of Shravan is an auspicious time in the Hindu calendar

For many of us when the word Shrav011 is mentioned we instantly relate it co die story of Shravan Kumar, the mydiological character mentioned in me Rat1Jtf)'OJI and for his notable devotion towards his parents. However Shravan is also Lhe name of a very auspicious month of me yea r.

This month is said co be ded icated entirely to Lord Shiva, and during this month man y devotees keep fascs (urats) to please Lord Shiva. Many of die JJl'tlf.r are carried out on a :Monday, as chis is considered co be che most auspicious day in me mond1 Many of those who do not fast, observe vegetarian ism duri ng mis rnondi.

le is said diac die churning of the oceans or che Samudro Ma11tha11 took place in mis month, during w hich the water was rid of all irs harmful qualities: me poison was consumed b y Lord Shiva which he stored in his diroat. The impact of mis turned his throat blue, hence the name Neelkantb (meaning 'die blue diroaced one').

ShmvatJ is che fifd, m onth in the Hindu calendar, and is considered to be me holiest mondi of die year as it come s w ith innumerab le religious festival s and ceremonies. This month p lays host to major festivals such as KrishJ/(J Jan111ashtami, which celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna and is ce lebrated with great joy a nd fervour, not ooly in India, bur

Raksha-bandhan, the festival celebrating the brother-s ister bond, falls in the month of Shravan across the world. RDksha Ba11dha11 also cakes place during diis month , which celebrates che rel ationship becween brothers and sisters, as a sister ties a rakhi (bond of proteccion) on her brother and he promises to protect her in all circwustances.

The celebrations and ceremonies do not end here.

Nagpa11cha111i is celebrated on die fifth day after /i111t11Y1sya in the mondi of Shrova11. On diis day many people worship die Nag (cobra), carrying out various ceremonies, prayers and offerings. In Gujarat, on die sixth day Ra11dh,111 Chath is observed in preparation for Shita/a SaMm, which is die next day This da y is when women. in die family prepare a variety of food such as pmi, bhqjfya, a variety of curries and somed1ing sweet such as doodh pak, srikhand or nm; for die next day and once all the cooking ba s been done they light a divo by the cooker. The nexr day on Shi!ttla Sata111 cold meals are eaten and prayers are offered co the goddess Shila/a (goddess of measles and pox) for the we l fare and escape of chil dren and others from measles and small pox.

Another very auspicious clay celebrated during the month of Shmvan i s No1i-11e111, which is celebrated on die ninth day. This ceremony and 11ml is carried out by women, mainl y m other s On this day women offer prayers for the safety, good health and overaU deve lopment of dieir children. The inceresti ng part of this festival is diat die wo rship is directed towards a mongoose. Th e stor )' goes that when by acciden t, a young infant ,vas left home alone, a deadly sna ke got into the cot. A mongoose clo se by engaged the snake io a fight and

''It is said that the churning of the oceans or the Samudra Manthan took place in this month

''saved the child. The mongoose, dien on, became the model of die protector of i nfants. Us uall y a Brahmin is asked to make a mode l of a mongoose, which the wome n worship, out of j111varflo11r and ha/di. Normally on this day meals consist of rnm1g beans, grams and rotlt1 made from jmvar or htljri

Shravan begins at different times in different parts of India. Generally t here i s a 15 day difference, depending o n die calendar followed. In the following scares the lunar cale nd ar is followed: Andhra Pradesh, Maharashca, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. While in the n ordiern Indian states of Rajasdian, Urrar Pradesh, Madlia Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar; the p11mi111t1JJt calendar is followed.

This year for those following the p11mi1t1011t calendar shrava11 began on Tuesday 23rd July and will ended on Wednesday 2 1sc August. Meamvhi.le for those following the lunar calendar, shmva11 began on Wednesday 7th August and will end o n Thursday Sm September.

Indian Link Radio broadcaster PRIYANKA TATER takes us behind the scenes of some of her hit interviews

S11/aa111, 11a111aste, sal srfyakaa!. Zvlai11 boon aapki dos/ a11r host Pr!J,mka Tate,:

The line with which 1 kick.started my very fu:st show on Indian Li11k Radio, is the one I choose to begin this article with.

It's been almost two years presenting on -air for Indian Link and the journe y has been an absolute roller coaster. I bet you'd agree that radio can be cathartic for those listening as well as for those presenting. And one of the most appealing things about the voice without a face (that is, the radio presenter!) is that the vo ice gets the opportunity ro speak the hearts and minds of the "com.moo man" out there. The personalised tmich of radio can never be replicated by any other form of media.

Now before you conclude that this piece is a thesis on the radio, Jet me get back on track sor r y, no soundtrack chis time!

1 like to keep my shows fun, fast and full of entertainment, with the right dose of information, discussions and interaction. Wearing your thinking caps is an option!

But when it's an interview with anybody who is a 'somebody', I try and make sure chat thry put on that cap and don't gee away easy!

We as presenters are a voice of our listeners and it is a given that we act as the bridge to gee the message across from both ends of the spectrnm.

So let me take you behind the scenes of some of my interviews.

Yes interviews can be tricky, especially when you have some controvers ies to tackle. Like rhe one chat I did wich Neville Roach, AO. r ow chis was abom the annua l Gandhi Oration at die UNSW 2013 which had Sir Michael Kirby make some controversial remarks about Maliatma Gandhi And yes, 1 happened to question chem. :Mr. Roach, as patron of the Australia lndia Insrimte at UNS\X'; is one of the brains behind the annual function What happened can be best described as a robust discuss ion and was certainly stimulating for all those tuning in.

As a newbie in Australia, I got a chance straight up to relive my career as an entertainnient reporter on Indian television, on an early assignment for lndian Link Radio: an interview with Vidya Balan. She was here for rhe Bollywood Pilm Festival AU the journos, including yours truly, waited patiently for our respective mrn to interview India's favourite actress. Since I had interviewed her earlier on various occas ions in lndia, Vidya recognised me as soon as she walked in. Calling our to me, she started a conversation.

Alright, so r had an edge over others io room and I could sense that my interview would go off smooth! Take it from me, if the celeb is comfortab le with the interviewer, half the job is done.

Bur it's nor always the celebrity who di ctates the terms. More often than not l have found, dJe celeb's PR and managers and assistants are the ones who lay the rules Often they are the ones who decide when the imerview starts and when it needs to finish, which question is "too personal", where the interviewer is crossing the line and when ther need to chip in co cut shore an otherwise smooch

Aowing conversation

It was no different th.is rime with Vidya Balan's manager After the interview when l requested Vidya co record a message for Indian Link Radio (something along di e lines of "Hello

Australia, diis is Vidya Balan and you are listening co Indian Link Radio") . I was rudely stopped by her manager: it was rime for photo ops, thank you. So Vid ya, like an obedient child followed her manager and posed pretti ly for the shutterbugs, while my team from Indian Link Radio packed up quietly. And just as we were abour to leave, I heard a voice.

"Priyanka, you ,vanted an ID for your radio 11aa, lee's do it now".

That was the adorable Vidya Balan , winning our hearts with her humility. She most definite ly challenges the norrm both in reel and real life.

\'{lhile you heard that interview on-air, I got to rake a b it extra with me, some behind the scenes experiences and memories. Ah! These are some of the perks of the job!

And yet some i n terviews can be quite a challenge, just getting one at that. The powerhouse singer Sukbwinder Singh chose ro wear his heart on his sleeve on -air and it felt li ke l was just chatting with a buddy, who had allowed me and the listeners a free tour into his mind and heart. Bm only God, eelam Vasudevan (our Creative

Director) , Ashish Chawla (our 1vlarkering Manager in Melbourne) and myself, know how we skipped a few heartbeats when the singer just did not pick up the phone for a live -on -air interview! So it was me calling him , his manager calling, and then die promoter of his show, and then me trying again co call and repeatedl y call the singeL The interview chat was supposed to go on air at 7pm finally kicked off at 8pm. Those 60 minutes in between the less said of them, the better!

As ic mrned our, our star singer happened to be taking a shower and you see, you don't question stars or d1eir idiosyncrasies You just go with the flow!

\Y/idi no pretensions of modesty, I'd admit that diere is a lot of sweat and blood which goes into each show d1at we bring to you, our listeners , as you are die reason for our existence on radio. And I can vouch for myself and pretty much all my colleagues, char we love every b it of it. \Y/e love m chat with you on -air and off-air.

\Y/e love ir when you share your joys and we cry our best to share your sorrows. We try to bring smiles to yom faces

I li ke to keep my shows fun, fast and full of entertainment, with the right dose of information, d iscussions and interaction

That was the adorable Vidya Ba Ian, winning our hearts wi t h her humility. She most definitely challenges the norms both in reel and real life and be your stress bus rers.

Jaatejaate ek geet I/Jeri taraf se t1ap sun Ima: 1'tm hi k.Gtja'!)•ega safar saath chr1l11e se (I-fom Hai Raabi J?y aar Ke)

Toh Jilhaaa/ a(lpki dost at1r /}{/.r/ Pr!:yanka Tater leti hai aapse ijaazat. Stay tuned and enjoy the music and tbe masti! Catch me live every Tuesday and Tbursday between 6pm co 9pm on your very own Indian Link Radio l11dia11 Liuk can be heard wireless by subscriptiun radio in Sydney and Melbottrne, on the internet (iudianlink com.au) or download ourfree opp frum iTunes or the Android phon e market place

This article is from: