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Save Earth

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

There is  a cute small round press button at the bottom right corner of almost all  monitors: Please make use of this.

Stop printing out  Harry Poter, Jeffrey Archer and other e-books. This is a classic example  of paper wastage.

If you have  forgotten to give double-side prints, make sure you make use of the empty  sides as scribbling pads or for your kids’ imposition !

Take two  minutes from your busy schedule before hurrying back home to shut down the  computer.

All of us are big  time Googlers. Have you heard of the Blackle search engine? Blackle  (Google powered) is a search engine designed all in Rich  Black so that your system consumes less power.

So change your homepage.

Plastic bags  these days indeed come in bright and flamboyant colours and tempt us to  take them home with us. But the saying,  “Appearances are deceptive” holds true for these plastic things too. Next  time, hold back or go prepared to counter  temptation with a cloth bag.

Roses,  Jasmine, Hibiscus and Peas; All these saplings cost hardly between Rs 10 -  20 each. Can’t we afford to plant these in  and around our houses? Also, more importantly, caring and maintain them as  they grow?

Try to  segregate the different kinds of waste into Bio-Degradable (Fruit or  vegetable waste) , Recyclable (waste Paper, paper products)  and Electronics (Floppy disks, CD-ROMS ). Once you have segregated your  thrash, look for specialized  trash cans to throw them away.

Use  rechargeable batteries though it’s an expensive product, it’s one-time  purchase. Recharge when required. (Same applies to  cell-phones, MP3s, iPods and Laptops)

Remember to  close water taps before preening in front of the mirror. Of course you are  beautiful, but Water is precious resource!

Let’s not just  wake up and walk out of finished meetings and conferences with a sigh of  relief, let us remember to turn off the lights  and projectors too.

Take few  minutes to learn about topics like ‘Global Warming’ , ‘Air / Noise /Land /  Water Pollution ‘ etc apart from constant surfing of  News, Latest Gadgets, Movies and Music.

The Earth  has already become a dangerous place to live in for the animals and birds.  Soon it might be our turn. So let’s pledge to  save our beautiful planet so that you and your future generations can live  happily and peacefully ever after.

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Holi

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

Holi

In Vaishnava Theology, Hiranyakashipu is the king of demons, and he had been granted a boon by Brahma, which made it almost impossible for him to be killed. The boon was due to his long penance, after which he had demanded that he not be killed “during day or night; inside the home or outside, not on earth or on sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra nor by shastra”. Consequently, he grew arrogant, and attacked the Heavens and the Earth. He demanded that people stop worshipping gods and start praying to him.Despite this, Hiranyakashipu’s own son, Prahlad, was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. In spite of several threats from Hiranyakashipu, Prahlad continued offering prayers to Lord Vishnu. He was poisoned but the poison turned to nectar in his mouth. He was ordered to be trampled by elephants yet remained unharmed. He was put in a room with hungry, poisonous snakes and survived. All of Hiranyakashipu’s attempts to kill his son failed. Finally, he ordered young Prahlad to sit on a pyre on the lap of his sister, Holika, who could not die by fire by virtue of a shawl which would prevent fire affecting the person wearing it. Prahlad readily accepted his father’s orders, and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as the shawl flew from Holika, who then was burnt to death, while Prahlad survived unharmed, after the shawl moved to cover him. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi.

It is also said that later Lord Vishnu came in the form of a Narasimha (who is half-man and half-lion) and killed Hiranyakashipu at dusk (which was neither day nor night), on the steps of the porch of his house (which was neither inside the house nor outside) by restraining him on his lap (which is neither in the sky nor on the earth) and mauling him with his claws (which are neither astra nor shastra).

In Vrindavan and Mathura, where Lord Krishna grew up, the festival is celebrated for 16 days (until Rangpanchmi in commemoration of the divine love of Radha for Krishna). Lord Krishna is believed to have popularized the festival by playing pranks on the gopis here. Krishna is believed to be complained to his mother about the contrast between his dark colour and his consort Radha’s fair colour. Krishna’s mother decided to apply colour to Radha’s face. The celebrations officially usher in spring, the celebrated season of love.

There is another story about the origin of holi. Kamadeva is a god of love. Kama’s body was destroyed when he shot his weapon at Shiva in order to disrupt his penance and help Parvati to marry Shiva. Shiva then opened his third eye, the gaze of which was so powerful that Kama’s body was reduced to ashes. For the sake of Kama’s wife Rati (passion), Shiva restored him, but only as a mental image, representing the true emotional and mental state of love rather than physical lust. The Holi bonfire is believed to be celebrated in commemoration of this event.

On the first day, bonfires are lit at night to signify burning the demoness Holika, Hiranyakashipu’s sister.

On the second day, known as Dhuleti, people spend the day throwing coloured powder and water at each other. The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. Thus, the playful throwing of the coloured powders has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Ayurvedic doctors. A special drink called thandai is prepared, sometimes containing bhang (Cannabis sativa). People invite each other to their houses for feasts and celebrations later in the evening.

Rangapanchami occurs a few days later on a Panchami (fifth day of the full moon), marking the end of festivities involving colours.

Holi takes place over two days in the later part of February or early March. As per the Hindu calendar, it falls on the Phalgun Purnima (or Pooranmashi, Full Moon)

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