The rumour came to surface Tuesday morning, after Rahul jumped out of the “Bigg Boss” house along with the other existing participants – Raja Chaudhary, Zulfi Syed and Ashutosh Kaushik. It was shown on Monday’s episode.

The four men requested “Bigg Boss” organisers to send them a pre-cooked or ready-to-eat meal. When their request wasn’t met, they protested by escaping from the “Bigg Boss” house.

The prime rule of the ‘Bigg Boss’ house is that no contestant can leave the house and the four contestants broke that rule. They protested when just six days before the grand finale where the winner will get prize money of Rs.10 million.

According to television reports, while the others apologised for breaking the rule, Rahul said that he won’t say sorry because he wasn’t guilty for what he did. As a result he was asked to leave the show.

As of now, the channel is not ready to confirm or deny the news. A spokesperson of Endemol India, the production house of the reality show, said that an official press statement would be released later in the day.

Former participant Monica Bedi, who was evicted out of the show last week, told IANS: “I believe Rahul has been evicted, but I am not 100 percent sure as I have only heard it from the media. I have not yet been told by the production house or any reliable source.”

Monica, who shared a close relationship with Rahul on the show, conjectured that the four men might have jumped off the wall due to mental pressure and lack of food.

“Rahul had lost almost eight kilograms till I was there. It is very tough to stay there without food. So I am sure they tried to flee to get something to eat. Otherwise, Rahul is such a patient person,” she said.

It has been more than three months now since these men were locked inside the “Bigg Boss” house under 24-hour camera surveillance.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20081118/914/ten-is-rahul-mahajan-out-of-bigg-boss-ho.html

For many more Sambhavana sixers watch the video.

http://www.buzz18.com/interviews/videos/one-tight-slap-for-payal/87671/0

Shurpakarna, Lambodara,Dhumra varna, Ekdanta

The enlightened soul of Upanishads and Vedanta

Let me pray and pledge

To spread and seek knowledge

From the worlds greatest epic,

That truth wins, every dawn and dusk

Which you wrote with your broken tusk.

When kartikeya rode on the peacock

Travelling the universe in a flick

You with intelligence and trick

Encircled your parents thrice

Spell-bound the scholars and the wise

Neither hymns, gospels nor the verses

Could challenge your brainpower in the universe

Vakratunda, vinayaka, Vignaharta, Vigneshwara

Through mischief taught Kubera

Never to vigorously ride

On the horse of never ending pride

Your body is a message to mankind

For thousand of devotees to find

Carry the strength of an elephant

But never to harm even and ant

Be calm and humble

For wealth and power do crumble

O Ganesha, Gananayak, Ganaraj, Ganapathy

In this hi tech world of communication

Please do not ignore this telepathy

O Gauriputra, O mighty son of Parvati

From desires and greed set me free

Let through your conch, virtue flow

Passing through my mind and blow

Into the thousand heart and soul

And like lamp each face glow

With love, peace and fun

With radiance of a million sun,

May your blessing shower on us,

O Gajamukh, Gajaraj, Gajabadan, Gajannan !

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Importance of Lord Ganesha can be known very easily, for you will never find a single temple without a Ganesha idol , a prayer without lord Ganeshas name in the beginning and add to it, ‘Grah pravesh’ ( house warming ) without

Prayer to Ganapathy is impossible.

In southern part of India, a child never goes to school, till a ritual to pray Ganapati and followed by Saraswati (Goddesses of learning) is performed.

Lord Ganapathy is the representative of good luck or the ‘luck factor’ which we mortals needs for our wishes and actions to bear fruits.

Though there are several mythological stories connected to Lord Ganesh, I would like summarize and inform a few required for my poem.

Ekdanta – the name means ‘one with a single tusk’

Lord Ganesh lost his tusk for several reasons –

1. He fought a battle with Parshuram (an incarnation of Mahavishnu)

2. Chandra (moon –god) was cursed by Lord Ganesha for teasing and

In anger he broke his tusk and threw it on the moon, which they say resulted

In waxing and waning.

3. When the great sage Vyasa wanted someone to write the greatest epic Mahabarathta non stop and with due understanding of the story, Lord Brahma the creator of the universe suggested Ganeshas name.

When Ganapati started writing the greatest epic with the pen-stick, the tip of the stick broke, and then he broke his tusk to continue writing without breaking the sequence and kept his promise to sage Vyasa.

4. Once Kuber (treasurer of heaven) in his pride to flaunt the wealth he owns invited all the gods and goddesses for a meal. Young Ganesha was also invited. It’s said that

All the guest had filled up the stomach and walked happy rejoicing, but Ganesha demand for the more and more food left Kubera with nothing as, later Ganesha started eating up everything that Kuber offered the plate , utensils and then ready to eat up his wealth and finally the host himself . Poor Kuber had to find shelter in kailasa.

Thus Ganesha emptied up kuber’s pride!

5. Once Narada the sage entered kailasa with a mango (different fruits and food products are found to be mentioned) and there he found two tiny claimers for the gift,

Ganapathy and his elder brother Kartikeya

Narada kept a condition that the one, who could travel the universe three times and reach first deserves the gift.

Kartikeya jumped on his vehicle (peacock) and started moving

When he had covered two times and ready for the third time, Ganapathy got up and encircled around his parents thrice

Narada gave the mango to Ganapathy without any argument
Thus Lord Ganesha is the master of all logic and reasons

ASHTAVINAYAK TEMPLES

This is a set of eight Ganesha temples in situated in various districts of Maharshtra state in India. The word ‘ashta’ means eight and Vinayak is one of the names of Lord Ganesha

The journey of these temples can be completed in two days and comfortably in three days

These Ganesh idols are believed to be ‘Swayambu’ i.e. arise by accident or with a purpose as mentioned in Hindu mythology.

Though this journey can start from any of the points the most comfortable one which I found to be was as follows

Starting from Kalyan or Panvel district

1. Pali ( Shri Ballaleshwar )
2. Mahad ( Shri Varad vinayak )
3. Theur ( Shri Chintamani )
4. Morgav ( Shri Mayureshwar )
5. Siddhetek ( Shri Siddhi vinayak)
6. Ranjan gav ( Shri Maha ganapathy)
7. Ozhar ( Shri Vigneshwar )
8. Lenyadri ( Shri Girijatmaj)

Please note – the names of the villages, and in bracket, names of the Ganesh idols in various forms.

dear friends ……….I arranged this pics from the net in a sequence ……..so that ………there are many who DO NOT understand in words …………..our festivals , our culture , our tradition is important ………but equally, it is our responsibility to save the world , save the sacredness of our planet……………….
So let us change for better stop using themocol, plastic, clay and let us use decomposable items such as papers and cardbords , colors which are eco friendly …………….on this ganesh festivals let us avoid noise pollution and maha arti………..
let us pray that all such destructive set of people attain ’satbuddhi’.

GANAPATI BAPPA MORYA !

http://ajitnambiar.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/09/ganpati-bappa-morya.htm

And heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour – to quote blake

From this the age of reason seems to have taken over, mysticism relates more to romanticism.

The poet traherne claims, ”our enjoyment of the world is never right till the sea floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heaven… the sky were mine so were the sun and the moon and all the world were m and I the only appreciator and enjoyer of it” not the I but the inner eye is the reference here.

A more recent mystic poetry states

Dearly beloved!

Let us go towards union

And if we the road

That leads to separation

We will destroy separation

Let us go hand in hand

Let it be our judge

And impart its seal upon our union

Forever.

• The hushed tones of the Upanishad when it refers to the lonely tree silhouetted against the silent sky “vriskha iva stavdha divi tishthyeka”
• The reassurance of ratri suktam,
• The imagery of the usha suktam
• Kabir’s flight to manasarovar with swans

Yes nature has inspired. The traditions of the Aztecs was very clear, it was like the Musgrave ritual

“from the ones who have gone to the ones who are to come” I’m but the care taker of the land and its wealth. I do not own it – so there was no destruction of nature.

The age of reason has taken us away from this, we know not anymore to tend to the trees, they are sacred no more.

So nature has to protect her other children she will sacrifice the most dispensable one MAN—the famine is here, so are the floods, rivers walk away by drying up, mountains slide in tantrum,

Our body is creating chemicals and mechanisms to kill itself, unable to recognize its own from the invader.

Maybe it is time to sit up and take note, maybe its time to do amend,

Lets not repent like st.augustine.” too late have love thee, o thou beauty of ancient days, yet ever new, ”

http://parwati-singari.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/09/poetry-of-the-mystics.htm

Saas bahu aur saazish. Sounds familiar? A bit too familiar. After all, what can beat the surprising (unbelievable?) twists and turns, the constant battle (everlasting? I mean 500 episodes marathon) between good and evil, and the dramatic buildup to innumerable climaxes? You’ve guessed it right. Indian Politics!

Hot and spicy, our politics doesn’t lack a single ingredient to grab the title of ‘the best Indian soap’. Put on a news channel and you will be stared-shocked to see MPs waddling bundles of notes in parliament. Hypnotized, you will get glued to your sofa and gape at the faces of parliamentarians, catching the rehearsed words of their speeches. After a stressed wait and suffering much noise pollution, you will see a ticking scoreboard, and lo! Climax! The government has won the majority! But the soap is not over yet (Oh, how could you expect it to?).

Now the focus is on the embittered Left. Defeated and humiliated, it seeks revenge. Its first victim is the good old Somnath Chatterjee. DEFIANCE! The judgment is pronounced. Somnath gracefully exists from the drama (or does he leave only to return later?).

Left and Right’s respective tails are on fire. And what’s burning is Amarnath. BJP wants drama, Congress doesn’t. We zoom in on their faces a hundred times from all angles possible. Congress tries to woo the Left, but like a spurned lover, Left displays all the tantrums. What’s next? Will the Congress lose Hindu votes? Will the Left join the UPA to cripple the BJP. All that and more in the next episode!

Till then, we have got tapes to entertain you. No, not tapes of soaps. Tapes of sting operations! Stung by the sting media, our politicians are incredibly busy making tapes. Fabricated, obviously, but they get real news, prime time. What can be better?

To avoid impeachment, let me clarify that the government is the saas, the opposition bahu and all that goes between is saazish. And the everlasting drama continues.

http://thatswrite.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/09/tv-soaps-and-politics.htm

Following my post the state of music in Ramayana, there was some discussion about Sama and its relation to music. I was asked to say a little more about the music in Sama Veda; hence this post.

1. Sama Veda samhita

1.1. Sama Veda is linked to music through yajna. It was customary to invoke and invite deities by singing their hymns; and to recite the mantras while the rituals were being performed. Those who sang were designated: Udgatru .They selected those riks (mantras) from Rig Veda that could be sung. And, they compiled such selection into a collection; and that collection came to be known as Sama Veda Samhita. Out of the 1,549 mantras in Sama Veda, as many as 1,474 mantras are taken from Rig Veda. It is explained, SA stands for rik, while AMA stands for various notes (Brihad Up: 1-3-22). Sama Veda is thus, virtually, a musical rendering of the selected mantras from Rig Veda. In other words, Sama took maathu (words) from Rig Veda; and provided dhathu the musical substance to those words.

1.2. The Sama Veda Samhita was two segments. The first segment is called Sama – Yoni (adhara) mantra Samhita, meaning that it is the basic text. This segment contains the selected mantras as they appear in the Rig Veda .This, virtually, is the source book. The second segment called Sama –gana text, details how the selected mantras are to be sung. This is the text for singing; expanding each mantra of the first segment with notations. This is the Sama Veda as it is generally understood and sung.

2. Sama-gana

2. 1. As regards the styles of singing, Patanjali says that there were a thousand ways of singing of Sama “sahasravartma samvedah“. That might be just a poetic way of saying there were many styles of singing Sama. Of these, only three recensions Viz. Kauthumiya, Ranayaniya and Jaiminiya have survived. The Kauthumiya and Ranayaniya carry the same set of mantras; but they are grouped differently and there are variations in svaras (accent) too. The Jaiminiya is said to be different from the other two, in both the aspects.

2.2. Udgathrus , the singers at the yajna , for whose guidance the Sama Veda came to be compiled , are usually a group of three singers; and the group together renderers the mantras in five stages:

Prasthava: The initial portion of the mantra is sung by an Udgathru designated Prasthothru. He starts with Huuum sound (Hoon Kara).

Udgita: He is followed by the chef Ritwik (designated the chief Udgathru) who sings his portion of the rik. He commences with an Om Kara.

Prathihara: the mid-portion is sung loudly by Prathiharthra.

Upadrava: The chief Udgathru sings again; and

Nidhana: the final portion is sung by all the three together.

When a mantra, as per the above format, is sung three times, it is then a stoma.

3. Elements of chanting

3.1. The shiksha branch of Veda deals with elements of chanting and phonetics. According to Taittereya Upanishad (1. 2) , the elements of chanting includes six factors : Varna (syllable);svara(accent);maatra(duration);balam(time-duration);sama(even tone ) ; and Santana (continuity).The first four deal with correct pronunciation of individual syllables; and the last two with the pronunciation of the entire line or the verse.

3.2. Briefly, Varna is the correct pronunciation of every isolated syllable, combination of consonants and ovals and compound letters. Svara is how a syllable has to be pronounced in one of the three accents (udatta, anudatta and svarita).Maatra is the time duration for pronouncing a syllable. There are four types: hrasva- a short one-duration for short ovals; dhirga- two unit-duration for long vowels; plutam- longer than two –unit duration; and, the fourth is ardha- maatra, half unit, meant for consonants not accompanied by vowels.

4. Sama music

4.1. The music, based on Sama mantras was classified into:

(i). Grama_geya gana: was sung amidst people of the society. It was a natural way of singing.

(ii).Aranya gana: Sung in contemplation, in the woods and groves. This was also a natural singing.

(iii).Uhaa gana: Sung during the Soma yajna. The singing here followed a rather complicated pattern. And,

(iv).Uhya gana: secrect or singing within oneself.

4.2. In the beginning, Sama-gana employed only three notes called Udatta, Anudatta and Svarita. The lyre (Vana-Veena) accompanying the singing had only three strings, one for each note.The songs were perhaps like Ga Ga -Re Re -Sa Sa Sa. This kind of singing might have suited for chanting hymns.

The three notes were differentiated depending on whether it was produced mfrom above or below the palate (taalu).

Udatta refers to sound produced from above the palate; and is acutely accented (uchchaih) .

Anudatta was gravely accented (nichaih); produced from below the palate.

Svarita is a combination of udatta and anudatta, with udatta in the first-half. It is called a circumflexed accent.

In the written/printed texts of the Rig Veda, Udatta is not indicated by any symbol; Anudatta is indicated by underlining the syllable; and Svarita is indicated by a vertical line above the syllable.

The Sama –gana texts, however, indicate udatta by writing the Sanskrit numeral –one above the letter; anudatta by writing the numeral –three above the letter; and svarita by writing the numeral –two above the letter. In sama text , the syllables that have symbols are called prachaya.

5. Sama svaras

5.1 .But, the scale, gradually, over a period of time, expanded from three to seven notes Narada Shiksha explaining the Sama music states: there were: seven notes (svaras); three gramas; 21 moorchanas; and 49 taanas in Sama music. It also gives the relation between the Sama notes (Sama svara) and notes on the flute (Venu svara):

In the later Sama texts, it became customary to write the numerals (one to seven) on top of the Sama mantras to indicate their note- delineations (Sama vikara).

5.2. Naradiya Shiksha (1.5.3; 1.5.4) explains that each sama-svara was derived from the sounds made by a bird or an animal in its appropriate season. For instance, bulls roar was Rishabha; kraunchaka’s (heron) cry was Madhyama; elephant’s trumpet was Nishadha; and koel’s (cuckoo) melodious whistle was Panchama and so on. Please see the table below.

http://moviebollywood.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/08/jade-goody-is-not-a-participant-of-bigg-boss-now.htm

http://cyberparee.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/08/monica-in-reality-show.htm

http://www.groundreport.com/Arts_and_Culture/Its-Really-Unforgetable-Help_1

DD Sports again has been extremely disappointing with the quality of its broadcast. Once again a mega sporting event, once again the craze and the hype surrounding it and once again the broadcaster is not up to the task. The government either needs to tighten up its owned channels or needs to let others bid for the rights.

I came back from the hospital and sat down to watch the Olympics broadcast on DD Sports. The 250 km cycling road race was in its final stages and the lead was continually changing hands. The race had 19 km to go and just then the broadcaster decided to switch on to a game of “WOMEN’S FOOTBALL” which was just into the first half. The presenter said that there were still 20 minutes left for the road race to finish and they will get back to it. After showing football for a few minutes the channel started showing an interview of the IOA chairman Mr. Suresh Kalmadi. With all due respect to Mr. Kalmadi, that interview could easily have been recorded and shown after 10 minutes. And, so the road race finish was not televised live.

After the interview, the presenter said that they were going to take a break but suddenly the channel started showing the recording of the road race with 11 km remaining. At that time three cyclists were ahead of the others. But when just one kilometer remained and six bikers were clubbed at the head, the channel switched to the studio to show the medals tally. It was only on a news channel where I got to know that all the six leading bikers finished at 6 hrs 23 minutes and 49 seconds and had to be separated by milliseconds and it frustrated me even more.

Then the channel started showing Rhythmic Gymnastics. The action was quite breath taking and the teams were into the final of the six rounds. A Brazilian gymnast had just scored an outstanding 15.95 points and the action was its peak and just then the channel switched to a women’s football match between USA and Japan.

Even in the inauguration ceremony yesterday at some points the commentators were busier reading the quotations and phrases that they had brought prepared rather than describing the unfolding events. The commentators struggled to identify many star players even those like Kobe Bryant and Andy Murray. They just read out the names of the flag bearers from the information booklet they were given.

I think many others have at some point in time felt the frustration of having to watch and miss sporting action due to poor broadcasting on Doordarshan. We all have criticized it at our homes and discussed it with friends and family. The only thing is that nobody has bothered to comment about it in media.

The government feels that it is necessary to give the rights to its own channel so that such events could go to a larger audience free of cost. But some consideration needs to go into the quality as well and the system needs to be revamped. The most appreciable solution would be to raise the quality of these channels. The other solution for the mean time could be to simultaneously allow another sports channel to broadcast such events.

What do you people think? Please let everybody know, what other solutions are feasible?

http://drmohit.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/08/does-dd-piss-you-off-too-what-s-the-solution.htm