Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
The lotus is India’s national flower, and one of the eight auspicious signs of Buddhism and Hinduism. As a holy symbol in Indian culture and a sacred symbol of Hinduism, the lotus is found throughout the Hindu scriptures. In many spiritual traditions, lotus flowers are especially sacred as an offering to the divine. Continue reading
Photo credits: Jithin Vijay
The Tibetan Golden Temple is situated in Kushalnagar Mysore, in the state of Karnataka. It is the second largest Tibetan settlement outside of Tibet and China. The Golden Temple is the main attraction in Kushalnagar; its walls are adorned with colourful paintings depicting gods and demons from Buddhist mythology. Continue reading
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
First Holy Communion is traditionally the most important and holiest festive occasion in a Latin and Roman Catholic family. It is the first time that a person receives the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which involves the consumption of consecrated drinking wine and consecrated bread. Most children receive their First Holy Communion when they are 8 to 10 years old. Special white dresses are worn the celebrate the event. Continue reading
Government funding for Hanging Rock will support the upkeep of picnic areas, wetlands and protection of plant and animal life. Photograph: John Crook/AAP
Fans of Peter Weir will be inclined to heed the call, if they can, to help ensure Hanging Rock is not spoiled:
Controversial plans to build a tourist resort at Victoria’s Hanging Rock have been scrapped after the state government committed $250,000 a year to maintain the landmark.
The funding, announced on Friday, will fund the upkeep of trails and signs along the rock, as well as the nearby picnic areas, wetlands and protection of plant and animal life. Planning protections in the area would be strengthened to shield the area from “inappropriate development in the long-term”, the Victorian planning minister, Matthew Guy, said.
Plans by the Macedon Ranges shire council to build a 100-room resort, eco-cabins, a “nature-focused adventure facility” and a day spa near the unique volcanic rock formation had divided the small community north-west of Melbourne. Continue reading
Photo credits: Jithin
Thrissur Pooram is the largest and the most famously colourful festival of Kerala, a stunning mixture of magnificence and spectacle celebrated every year during the Malayalam month of Medam, this year falling on May 9th. Called “the Poorams of all Poorams,” the festival is a grand assembly of Gods and Goddesses who make their visit to the Vadakkumnathan Temple premises on caparisoned elephants, together with majestic ensembles of chenda melam and panchavadyam. Continue reading
Photo credits: Renuka Menon
Kamakshi Amman Temple is the one of the three important temples to the Goddess Parvathi (Lord Shiva’s wife) in India. The temple complex covers an area of four acres, and is constructed in the Pallava style. Continue reading
Photo credit: Jithin Vijay
Akshaya Tritiya is a very popular festival that Hindus and Jains celebrate every year. Based on the Lunar Calendar, this year it landed on May 2nd. The Hindu community considers it an auspicious day and believes that any venture will be more likely to succeed. Akshaya Tritiya is associated with gold and many people wait for that day to make investments in or purchases of gold.
Photo credit: Ramesh Kidangoor
Dwajasthambam is the traditional Hindu temple flag pole placed between the temple gopuram (entrance) and the sanctum sanctorum. They are traditionally made of wood, copper sheets, and gold coating. A cloth flag with Hindus symbols, holy words and figures of Gods or Goddess is usually hoisted on the pole during temple festivals. Continue reading
Photo credits: Jithin Vijay
Arattupuzha Temple is located in the Thrissur district of Kerala. The annual festival, Arattu Pooram, is a grand ceremony. Arattu refers to one of the concluding rituals of the temple festival, which is a ritualistic bath in the Karuvannur river on the next morning of Pooram day (when the moon rises with the Pooram star). Continue reading
Photo credit: Shymon
The Velankanni Basilica is a Roman Catholic house of worship in the Nagapattanan district of Tamil Nadu, on the Bay Of Bengal. It is one of the famous pilgrim centers in South India. The Basilica commemorates Mother Mary, who is said to have appeared as a vision to people in the area. The building is also known as Our Lady of Good Health.
Most of our followers know we love coffee. We love how it grows. We love how it tastes. We love the settings where we can drink it. Which makes it all the more unfortunate that we’re in India and not in Amsterdam this weekend to experience Coffee Week NL 2014.
The festival collaboration with the Allegra Foundation makes participation all the more enticing:
50% of all ticket sales to The Amsterdam Coffee Festival will go towards Project Waterfall, the charitable components of NL Coffee Week. Continue reading
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoo
Sapthaha Yagnam is among eighteen ancient puranas (stories) that are still told today, and one of the most important in the Srimat Bhagavatha Purana (Holy Book of Hindu), which deals with Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna temples host a ritualistic event of intense tradition in which this text is read. Continue reading
Photo credit: Ramesh Kidangoor
The Dutch cemetery in Fort Kochi, which is about 290 years old, is an authentic record of hundreds of Europeans — despite its name both Dutch and English — who arrived in India to expand their colonial empire. It is considered the oldest European cemetery in India. Constructed in 1724, the cemetery has over a hundred tombs.
Photo Credit: Renjith
Pesaha Appam is a traditional food made by Kerala Christians only during Maundy Thursday, the Thursday of holy week. The eldest member of the family blesses and cuts the Appam and distributes it to the rest of the family members. Continue reading
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
In Kerala, Palm Sunday is called Hosanna Njayar. Celebrated by Christians the world over on the Sunday before Easter, which fell on April 13th, in 2014. Churchs have special services and ceremonial processions attended by hundreds of believers carrying tender palm leaves to be blessed by the priests. Continue reading
Arugula plant beds inside The Plant, a vertical farm operation in Chicago. Plant Chicago, NFP/Rachel Swenie
Thanks to National Public Radio (USA) for this story on their weekly program called The Salt:
From plant factories fueled by the magenta glow of blue and red LED lights, to the 30-foot tall Ferris wheel for plants in Singapore, we’ve shown you the design possibilities for growing vegetables up instead of out.
But critics ask, what kind of stresses does that put on the plant? And how do you feed this kind of intensive cultivation without spending more than what you get back in the harvest? Continue reading
Photo credits: Jobsun
The Bappiriyan Theyyam is mostly performed in the Kannur district, a major center for Theyyam in the north of Kerala. The most significent aspect of this Theyyam is that the performer climbs to the top of a coconut tree, sometimes even dropping a couple of coconuts when he’s there. Continue reading
As we finish up our development of Spice Harbour and think about how to sculpt our space into one hospitable to both people and art the flow of news about the second edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is welcome. We’ve written about art in many facets on these pages, including the connection between art and technology. It’s an amusing coincidence that just about a year ago I shared interactive links about the then new, and still very cool, Google Art Project.
So what fun to learn that the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2012 had “made the cut”, so to speak! It actually isn’t really news, but the good folks at the KMB 2014 website know their social media, and they popped it onto their Facebook page for followers like to me to find, like a wonderful sprinkle of breadcrumbs toward the next edition.
Do you want to revisit and experience the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2012? Thanks to Google Art Project potentially millions of people across the world can now virtually discover and explore India’s first biennale. With this the Kochi-Muziris Biennale becomes the world’s first and only biennale to be archived and digitized by Google Art Project which has till date only collaborated with museums and other permanent exhibitions. Continue reading
Photo credits: Ajalraj
Similar to the Theyyam dance, Thirra is a ritual dance performed in Goddess temples of the North Malabar region of Kerala.It is believed that the puny frame of the performer draws the strength to support the massive headgear from the loud clothing, ceremonial facial paint and the dance movements themselves presented in front of the deity the Goddess.This art form is performed by the artists of the Peruvannam community. Continue reading
The day has come. Come! During the last month of food trials at 51, we were looking forward to the day–yesterday–when the doors officially opened and we could invite both vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends to dine, and in particular feast on a roasted vegetable dish rooted in Malabar Coast vegetables and Eastern European foodways. Thanks to another of the Young Creatives for this encouragement on getting non-vegetarians to pledge to add more vegetables to their diet–all it takes is better-tasting veggies, we think, and some creative promotion:
With this playful painting, illustrator Nikki Miles is urging us to make a pinky promise to go easy on the meat and its carbon consequences and enjoy some veg instead.
“I don’t eat a lot of meat but I’m not strictly a vegetarian either,” says Nikki. “I have tried being a vegetarian in the past but I found it to hard to give up the odd bacon sandwich or roast dinner with beef gravy. I only eat meat around once or twice a week because vegetables are yummy too! Eating more veg and less meat is a simple way to make a big difference to your health and the environment.” Continue reading
Organikos 