What is Indian Culture?

A lot is opposed as being ‘against Indian culture’. What is Indian culture? #IndianCulture

Indian culture is a wonderful amalgamation of different food, clothing, festivals, religions, languages, dances, music, theatre, puppetry, art, architecture and I can go on and on! Culture refers to both the tangible and intangible aspects of our over five-thousand-year-old civilization. 

Tangible- Food, clothing, arts, crafts, architecture etc. are tangible aspects.

Intangible- Habits, mannerisms, dances, literature, music, theatre, oral traditions handed down since centuries etc. 

In fact, sense of appreciation for our tangible aspects of culture, is also its intangible aspect!

INDIA- A CULTURAL POT-POURRI!

India with 29 states and 7 UTs is a large country. Every state is considered a mini-India being a melting pot of people from different regions, religions, castes and so on. The majority group in one region mostly influences others’ cultural practices. Largely, this cultural pot-pourri has thrived successfully through continuous adaptation and suppleness. 

Noise of Silence

I
---

She comes

To answer

The questions

Yet all I hear

Is the noise

Of silence


II
---

Divine Neem Experiences

The first time I had pimples was when I was in Class IX. I felt like small volcanoes had come up on my face and they would erupt periodically with that thing I abhorred- pus. Often I would interfere and make them erupt knowingly, to get back my plain volcano-less face. But alas! This only created further trouble for the plains of my skin, as more volanoes came up. 

Source: Created in memegenerator.net

Good Girls

Define good girls... Everybody has an opinion about a good girl...so whats yours? #GoodGirls

 

 

Good girls are supposed to be a lot of things all at the same time. This is captured by the following DOs and DO NOTs such as.... 

 

DO NOTs :

 

a) Do not go to late night parties.

b) Do not smoke or drink or do drugs.

c) Do not use swear words.

d) Do not laugh or talk loudly.[as in- create noise pollution :P]

e) Do not spend long hours gossiping on phone or chatting on net.

One World, One Humanity

  

Is there power in writing? Can writers bring social change & change the world? #Writing

 

#Writing is a passion for many in the world. In my definition of #writing, I would like to make it more broad-based as including anyone who writes on any medium: social media (including tweets), print and television (includes journalists),  bloggers, content-writers of portals/ads, writers of books/journals etc.

Yes, writers wield the power of the pen/the keyboard/the touchscreen! They influence thoughts, beliefs and indeed, life itself.

Not just self-help and inspirational books which change people's lives considerably, but every such article which reports ills and injustices in society, or every blog or tweet which appeals to do good for humanity-spreads optimism; gives ideas for a safer, better world; explains fast-paced innovations; simplifies financial jargons; exposes corruption/ills; arises people to do more for the state, nation and world and makes life simpler, definitely changes the world for the better by making people more informed, aware, sensitive.

My Definition of 'Educated Person'

Education is not merely Stacking of Degrees but also Dressing up of one's Mind and Soul.What is Your Definition Of an Educated Person.And what is your opinion about Educated Illiterates. #Education


An educated person is one who has not just internalised study concepts learnt in educational institutions. More importantly this person must have good values embedded in him/her; be an aware local, national and world citizen; do right towards other human beings; be sensitive to Mother Earth; have a habit of solving problems and doing things pro-actively than whining; practice sustainable living and also be grounded in life than simply showing off position at work, salary or degrees.

CIVIC SENSE AND ENVIRONMENT:

In today's exhibitionist world, people love to flaunt their jobs, degrees and education. Meanwhile, it is utterly shameful that these same people have no basic civic sense such as not littering the road or saying no to plastics which clog our drains. Rather, if these same people will stay in USA or Switzerland, they will not spit or litter or urinate there, but when they stay in India- LET'S DIRTY OUR COUNTRY- WE HAVE THE FREEDOM- is their mantra! Disgusting.

Treasured Assets

Why is the world so focused on physical assets- bank-balance, material-possessions, external beauty/body/cleavage...? What's the value of good thoughts, clear heart, inner beauty & values like honesty, discipline etc. today? What is important to you? #TreasuredAssets

 

I like this topic. Because it gives me a chance. To reach out to all and sundry. And to scream- DON'T FALL INTO THE MATERIALISM ABYSS! Never let anyone's dress, job, body, bank-balance or material things make you feel inferior. Coz each of us is elegant with whatever we are and have. It is paramount that we be proud of the way God made us; that we have patience, ambition and work hard in our chosen fields- not to overtake Mr.Sharma the neighbour or Mr.Tata the businessman but because we love our work so much and want to exceed limits of possibilities. Remember? In blockbuster movie 3 Idiots, Aamir says- "Work such that success chases you, & not vice versa"!

SPECIAL STRESS ON "EXTERNAL BEAUTY": 

 

Human beings are naturally given in to senses. An attractive female grabs eyeballs of everyone-male or female. The problem occurs when she is judged on the basis of that only- then none gives attention to her intelligence or talent.

Charity or Empowerment?

Charity or Empowerment? Are charitable donations to feed and house the poor really the way out of the mire of poverty or do NGOs need to focus more on skill development? Should we as donors be more proactive rather than merely donating money? #CharityorEmpowerment


NGOs (Non Governmental Organisations) are set up by very motivated and driven people, who want to bring about definite social-economic-political-ecological changes in society. As far as this thoughtful topic goes, there are four possibilities in my opinion:

(a) Charity
(b) Empowerment
(c) Empowerment through charity
(d) Charity through empowerment

(a) Charity:

Situational: This sense of 'only charity' is seen in most disaster situations, where various NGOs step in to distribute people's donations of clothes, shoes, blankets etc.. Much needed.
Charity as objective: However, there are also NGOs set up to do only charity as an organisation. In this case also, it helps the most destitute in immediate terms like NGOs taking care of leprosy patients, mentally-challenged, orphans, old widows, drug addicts or other such socially-isolated groups. Such people may not be able to be productive even if skills are taught due to inherent physical/mental/emotional weaknesses.

#DoRight for Talented #Raghurajpur Artists in #Odisha

Natural colours filled delicately on unique eco-friendly canvasses,

Exquisite work of Raghurajpur artists of Odisha is a treat to the senses!

Be spellbound by the magnificence of their marvellous art,

Buy directly from them the masterpieces which touch every beholder's heart....

The right thing for all of us to do,

Is to visit this artists' village of great heritage,

And see for ourselves their art and hard work,

And pay them the right price then and there....

Artists crouch for hours to create the most brilliant art pieces in Raghurajpur

Else unfortunately middlemen meddle,

To make hefty gains at their cost...

To do right is to recognise the arts' true worth,

To never make these uber talented artists feel lost... 

My #TravelSmartWithSkyscanner Destination: Singapore!

I woke up with a start. A most beautiful lady dressed in shiny golden robes with a heavenly smile, belonging to some country of South-East Asia stood there doing 'Namaste' to me. Exactly like I had seen in picture postcards of Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia and Malaysia.

Source: Wiki Commons

She said nothing- simply smiled with a most bright halo around her head. Simultaneously I saw multicoloured lights twinkling from behind the closed doors of my cupboard. It was surreal- my room was flooded with brilliant lights and I was absorbed in a spell of magic.

#DovePlay :: How I play with my hair!

A woman's ornament is her hair. Beautiful, long, shiny, dandruff-free hair is every woman's dream! And needless to say- for a man- one of the prime attraction factors in a woman!

Watch this lovely Dove Play Video first to see how model Aditi plays with her hair:

No, I don't curl my hair, straighten it, color it as per my whim! I love my hair to be natural- the way God wants it to be! Long, black and wavy!

Generally, I make a nice long bouncy ponytail! And fun games with my ponytail is played by a natural agent- the Wind- with me giving this playful friend a free rein- allowing it to go crazy!

Kanya @ Kanyakumari: I love the Wind playing with my Hair!