இணைய தள காதல் - முதல்நாள் திருமணம்; மறுநாள்,"டைவர்ஸ்'

இணையதளம் மூலமாக அறிமுகமாகி திருமணம் செய்த காதல் ஜோடி, கருத்து வேறுபாடு காரணமாக, திருமணமான அடுத்த நாளே, பிரிந்த, பரபரப்பான சம்பவம், ராஜஸ்தானில் நடந்துள்ளது.

ராஜஸ்தானை சேர்ந்தவர், சங்கர் லால். அசாமில், வர்த்தகத்தில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளார். இவருக்கும், ராஜஸ்தானை சேர்ந்த, சீமா என்ற இளம் பெண்ணுக்கும், ஒரு மாதத்துக்கு முன், திருமண ஏற்பாடுகளை செய்து தரும், இணையதளம் மூலமாக அறிமுகம் ஏற்பட்டது.இதையடுத்து, ஒருவரை ஒருவர், நேரில் பார்க்காமலேயே, சமூக வலைத் தளங்கள் மூலமாக, தகவல்களை பகிர்ந்து கொண்டனர். அடுத்த சில நாட்களிலேயே, இருவருக்கும், காதல் மலர்ந்து விட்டது. இதையடுத்து, திருமணம் செய்ய, முடிவு செய்தனர்.இரு வீட்டாரின் சம்மதத்தின் பேரில், சமீபத்தில், ஒரு கோவிலில், இருவரும் திருமணம் செய்தனர். அதற்கு, அடுத்த நாளிலேயே, இருவருக்கும் கருத்து வேறுபாடு ஏற்பட்டது. இது, தகராறாக மாறியது. பொய்யான தகவல்களை கூறி, சங்கர், தன்னை ஏமாற்றி விட்டதாக, சீமா புகார் கூறினார்.

பதிலுக்கு, சீமா, தன்னை ஏமாற்றி விட்டதாக, சங்கரும் புகார் கூறினார். ஆத்திரமடைந்த, சீமாவின் பெற்றோர், கற்பழிப்பு புகார் கொடுக்கப் போவதாக, சங்கரிடம் எச்சரிக்கை விடுத்தனர். பதிலுக்கு, சங்கரும், மிரட்டினார்.

தகராறு முற்றியதை தொடர்ந்து, இரு தரப்புமே, போலீசில் புகார் தெரிவித்தனர். பின், போலீஸ் ஸ்டேஷனிலேயே, இரு தரப்பினரும், அமர்ந்து பேசி, சுமுக முடிவுக்கு வந்தனர். இதன்படி, இரு தரப்பினரும், புகாரை வாபஸ் பெற்றனர். சீமாவும், சங்கரும்,"ஒருவரை ஒருவர், சரியாக புரிந்து கொள்ளாமல், அவசர கோலத்தில், திருமணம் செய்து விட்டோம். எங்களின் திருமணம் செல்லாது. ஒருவரை ஒருவர், பிரிகிறோம்' என, கடிதம் எழுதிக் கொடுத்து விட்டு, பிரிந்து சென்றனர்.திருமணம் முடிந்த அடுத்த நாளே, அவர்களின், திருமண பந்தமும் முடிவுக்கு வந்தது.

(தினமலர், 30/04/2013)

Have a holiday wedding

Have a holiday wedding

NONA WALIA
27 September 2009, 12:00am IST



Welcome to the world of unconventional, made-to-order celebrity weddings. If you’re not a celebrity, just break the convention, as wedding planners woo India’s young couples with adventure-packed, glitzy, showbiz or destination weddings.


Tying the knot has never before taken such an unconventional twist. Young couples in love are thinking of creative ways to get married, simply because a wedding may still be your best chance to act out your fantasy. Here are some current themes: Bohemian, eco, barefoot, royal, Moroccan, Winter Moon.

If you’re a celebrity, hold your heart and open your purse strings, as weddings become big attention-seeking Page 3 events. And if you’re not, beat the predictable. Like Bangalore-based Tushar Kanwar, all of 30, who is planning his wedding with bride-to-be Kunthavi, in Goa.

Their wedding planner, Mehr Sarid, is creating the sets for their big day. “They actually don’t want a pundit. Imagine that,” says Mehr. But why? “Maybe we’ll have him for symbolism,” says Tushar, “But I don’t want to have the pheras. We’re having a Bohemian wedding on the beaches of Goa. We’ve restricted the wedding ceremony to 20 minutes. We’ve tried to give our own interpretation to symbolisms of a wedding,” adds Tushar.

The lavish ornateness of Indian weddings has been replaced by the romanticism of destination weddings. Take Priti Paul’s lavish wedding at Udaipur, with a ‘peacock-theme’ sangeet night, Vikram Chatwal’s Pakeezah night also in Udaipur, Seema Lohia’s daughter’s wedding in Bali, where Akshay Kumar danced with 13 Bollywood heroines and the much-hyped wedding of Abhishek and Aishwarya. Samit Garg of Efactor Entertainment, who organised these mega-celebrity weddings, believes couples want an unforgettable experience. “It’s about creating mega memories, experiences that will stay for a lifetime.” Malini Murjani, New-York based designer agrees, “I wanted to get married far from New York, but Udaipur was just so romantic.’’

Take this: the Indian wedding industry is worth an estimated Rs 14,000 crore and, depending on the size and grandeur, a wedding can cost between Rs 10 lakh-50 crore. But if you have a destination wedding, you can cut down the costs. There’s a rise of ‘weddingmoon’ as couples combine wedding and honeymoon into one big getaway - usually with friends and relatives. Wedding planner Vandana Mohan agrees, “I think destination weddings grant control of the event to the couples. The savings come from having to entertain fewer people.”

It seems Hollywood also wants ‘made-in-India’ weddings with a difference. Los Angeles-based actor Ione Skye and Ben Lee, Australian singer-songwriter came to Vellore to get married. In fact, Skye, the star of hit film Say Anything chose a South Indian traditional wedding. Similarly, Conrad Roesky and Michelle Alexander of South Louisiana chose to get married in Agra’s Mughal Sheraton overlooking the Taj Mahal. “We had the pundit, along with a translator, who interpreted the rituals. Our wedding dinner was on the rooftop overlooking the Taj on a moonlit night,” says Conrad.

Though India has been a hotspot for weddings for a while for foreigners, now couples are choosing off-beat destinations, like Ambi Valley, Leh and Mussorie to get married. Says Geeta Samuel, wedding planner, who is currently conceptualising Shikhar Malhotra’s wedding to Shiv Nadar’s daughter Roshni, “Couples now believe in doing things from their heart.”

This year is about simplicity and elegance. We’ve had enough of elaborate themes. Destination weddings are popular. The hotspots are Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Goa. At the UdaiVilas in Udaipur, Vikram and Priya Chatwal, Priti Paul and Vanisha Mittal had their pre-wedding celebrations. “Couples are spurning the family to get married in far-flung destinations. The lavishness of an Indian wedding has just been scaled down, but it hasn’t lost its grandeur,” says Samuel, who has also designed the wedding reception of Swaraj Paul’s son, Ayaan Ali Khan’s Sufi reception and Vandana Luthra’s daughter’s wedding, where Mallika Sarabhai performed with her troupe to the theme of Shakti.

Even though weddings still flaunt showbiz, power and money, some couples are consciously trying hard to ‘keep it simple’. Like Taruna, daughter-in-law of Sterre and Captain Satish Sharma, whose wedding last year was attented by the Gandhis, “We wanted our wedding to be a simple affair. Our engagement had a Moroccon theme, while the wedding was a riot of colour, followed by a Winter Moon party just before the reception,” says Taruna.

Even Bollywood set designers are being involved in big weddings. Bijon Dasgupta, Bollywood set designer and the man behind the extravagant Devdas sets, created a Punjabi village or Dadayaan da Pind for Adish Oswal’s wedding in Ludhiana; while Umang, who created the sets of Black and Saawariya, worked with Efactor for the Bachchan and Lohia wedding. Sonali Thakore, vice-president of Efactor says, “Wedding concepts have never been so professionally managed. We’ve moved to a new level of managing weddings.”

There was a time when Bollywood entertainment was big. That’s passé. “Now, it’s about ‘real’ home entertainment. The décor is inspired from crafts like Benarasi or recreating the opulence of a Madhubani painting,” adds Vandana Mohan.

Yet, ornate bridal wear is something the bride and groom don’t want to compromise on. Says designer Namrata Joshipura, “The bride still wants an elaborate but modern trousseau.” But the secret for a perfect wedding, they say, lies in the detail. That’s why Kapil and Sandy Khurana, of The Entertainment Design Company, are experts at designing invitations, “We’ve done out-of-ordinary invites for the Mittals, Abhishek-Aishwarya, Princess of Bhutan, Fardeen and Natasha. We’re doing invites for Roshni Nadar’s wedding. It’s not just an invitation, it’s a piece of art. With the cards, the Mittals gave ladoos, Vaderas gave mithai. For us, every card is important, we work out an invite especially for you.’’

A wedding with your signature style, is just made-to-order for you!



http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/man-woman/Have-a-holiday-wedding-/articleshow/5054848.cms

India's Passion for Gold Wanes as Prices Surge to Record Highs

India's Passion for Gold Wanes as Prices Surge to Record Highs


By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi, 19 September 2009


India is the world's biggest gold consumer, but the country's passion for the yellow metal is waning. Record high prices and the recent economic recession have taken away some of the glitter of gold.

India's main festival and wedding season starts in less than two weeks. It is the time of the year when Abhinav Malhotra usually saw his big jewelry shop in South Delhi packed with customers.

But, this year, there is barely a trickle of buyers for the glittering gold bangles, necklaces and earrings on display.

Malhotra says the number of customers is down by half, compared to last year, as surging gold prices and the global economic recession scare away people.

"It has impacted us, big time," he said. "In recession, when you expect prices of other items to come down like automobiles and electronics and many other things, gold is the only commodity where prices are going up like anything."

As gold prices top $1,000 an ounce - the highest price for the metal in the last 18 months - traders say they expect demand to dip drastically this festival and wedding season.

The World Gold Council says, in the first half of the year, India's gold imports slumped by 26 percent, dropping to their lowest level in six years. India is the world's biggest buyer of the precious metal.

The country's passion for gold is rooted in culture and custom. Gold ornaments are a traditional wedding present to brides and a gift of the precious metal during Hindu religious festivals augurs good fortune. It is a traditional gift on other auspicious occasions, such as the birth of a child.

But shop owners say now they only see "essential customers" - those who have to buy for the marriage of a son or a daughter. Even these buyers are scaling back on purchases. Some are passing on traditional heirlooms, instead of buying new gold. Others are cutting back on the quantity of gold they buy and opting for ornaments of lesser weight.

Usha Raina, whose daughter is getting married next month, says she nervously tracks the price of gold, everyday.

"I have to cut down ... It is an Indian wedding, so you cannot do without gold, so I have to give," she said. "But yes, the amount will definitely get reduced."

Gold is getting hit not just by the surging prices. In the big cities, the traditional affinity to the precious metal is waning, as trends change. The new status symbol of the country's affluent class is no longer jewelry, but expensive mobile phones, Ipods or designer labels.

The managing director of the World Gold Council in India, Ajay Mitra, says there is a move away from spending on gold in big cities, such as Mumbai and Delhi. He says rural India and smaller towns are becoming the mainstay of demand for gold in India.

"Close to 60 percent of our gold consumption happens in rural areas. And a large part of it is because I think the rural areas are still culturally closer to the core of our society, and the fabric," he said. "So they continue to practice rituals and norms that they have inherited whereas there is a bit of move away in the urban areas."

But this year, large parts of rural India have been hit by drought, reducing incomes and raising food prices. As a result, Mitra does not see gold demand picking up significantly in the next six months.

"It [gold demand] will continue to be soft, given the fact the rate at which there is price increase," he said. "And we all understand that there are fixed household budgets and also given the fact that generally prices of essential food commodities have taken a major increase."

However, in a country where the love of gold dates back centuries, jewelry shop owners say they will wait patiently for sales to pick up. As has happened many times in the past, they are hoping that customers will flock back, once they get accustomed to the higher prices.



http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-19-voa30.cfm

Wedding Traditions of Brazil

Wedding Traditions of Brazil

By Felipe Santiago

Epoch Times Staff Aug 18, 2009


Inheritor of the European Catholic culture, the common Brazilian wedding is a mix of old tradition and the modern way of thinking. After dating for several years, the couple will decide to get married, at an average of 25 years old.

They will spend the next two or three years choosing the guests, the church, the party house, the buffet, the costumes, everything, balancing what they dreamed about and what they can afford. In the past, her family would pay for everything as the dowry.

But nowadays things have changed and the couple will pay for everything on their own or both families will share the expenses.

In Brazil, it was custom to announce only to the brides’ and grooms’ families and friends. However, nowadays, the fashion to make a big party celebrating the engagement is a demonstration of good taste and glamour.

Civil marriage always precedes the religious. The church cannot, by law, perform the religious ceremony if civil marriage hasn’t been performed. For civil marriage, bride and groom must go to the office twice. The first time is for qualification that consists in a process of data analysis. The second time, thirty days later, is the ceremony itself.

The religious ceremony consists, essentially, in three stages: the procession of entry, in which the guests must be present before the bride enters, because together with the priest they represent the church that receives the couple for marital blessing; the liturgy, in which the priest pronounces holy words, blessing the marriage and there is also the signature and photos by the end; and the leaving of the participants.

In the Catholic Church, the liturgy may comprise two rituals: the mass and the marriage, or just the ritual of the marriage. The chosen date and ritual are fixed in the church by submitting the documents required by the Diocesan Curia.

The most famous churches in Brazil require that the reservation date for the wedding is made with more than a year in advance.

A solemn church full of guests, a small orchestra opening the ceremony, the place decorated with white or yellow flowers everywhere.

The nervous groom in a black tuxedo is waiting anxiously, when the trumpets announce the most expected arrival. Camera flashes go crazy.

Everybody stands up while the beautiful bride walks slowly through the saloon wearing her long white wedding dress and meets her loved one.

The priest pronounces inspiring sacred words, the couple makes their vows to each other and with the blessings of God they are declared husband and wife.

After the religious ceremony it’s party time. Everybody moves to the party house. A lot of food and drinking, family, new and old friends all together, good live music all night long and everybody shaking a leg.

Suddenly, the music stops. The bride and the groom are going to dance the Waltz. However, no Brazilian wedding would be complete without the sound of a good samba school playing their powerful drums in the end.


http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/21168/

ASTROLOGY IS NONSENSE

ASTROLOGY IS NONSENSE

Aditya Sinha


Ten days ago India witnessed a rare natural occurrence, a total solar eclipse that lasted around six minutes. In Chennai the eclipse was partial, yet the Tamil Nadu Science Foundation found that their 50,000 filter spectacles sold out in no time at all (five of them to my family). That sounds good until you mull it over: hmmm, they made only 50,000. Chennai’s total population is estimated at around 80 lakh. This statistic came to life during an immediate post-eclipse walk to Elliot’s beach. Most mornings the beach is abuzz with the elderly on their constitutional, huddled lovers, a team sport in progress, coconut hawkers, vegetable vendors, a couple of beggars, and several inquisitive dogs. This morning only the dogs were present. Nothing else moved (other than the higher-than-usual tides lashing the beach). Everyone was hiding from the Moon-hidden Sun.

People hid because thanks to those shameless confidence tricksters known as astrologers, they thought the eclipse would bring untold catastrophe. Of course there was a joint statement with Pakistan that few Indians seemed to like; there was a G8 resolution against nuclear trade with nations like India that hadn’t signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty; there was a visit from Hillary Clinton which left many with the same queasy feeling you get in a dentist’s waiting room; and there was a nuclear end users agreement that for many conjured visions of Americans marching into our secret nuclear labs and plants for unannounced inspection tours. But none of this heralded any global or even local catastrophe. Our prime minister forcefully told the country to stop fretting and leave business to him. The solar eclipse thus was astrologically an anti-climax. Otherwise, it was an awesome event: other than my surly sleepy-headed son, my family enjoyed watching it. You could say it was auspicious, even.

It may sound hypocritical for this columnist to lambast astrology since we carry a horoscope every day (and a full page on Sundays), but let me assure you that if it weren’t for the geniuses in the sales department who insist that the paper sells only because of the horoscope, we would drop it immediately. I rant against astrology not because I am an ultra-rationalist in the mould of Mr Kalaignar; indeed it can be argued that astrology has nothing to do with faith, even if its proponents would have you think that if you don’t believe in astrology then you are an ISI agent. Religion is about ethics, metaphysics and faith, but does not pretend to be predictive, the way astrology does.

Strangely, even as US President Barack Obama cites India when urging his nation’s children to study more science and technology, a large number of our own are still slave to this pseudo-science. It is a credit to our scientists that more and more people come out to view eclipses, but it is true that many scientists still depend on horoscopes when arranging marriages. Astrology is not our tradition or culture, and if it has been part of our social life for millennia, then it needs to be immediately discarded along with sati, child marriage, dowry and caste prejudice.

Biman Basu’s Astrology: Sense or Nonsense (NBT, 81 pages, Rs 50) demonstrates how astrology exploits ignorance and anxiety. The former editor of Science Reporter points out that though astrology preceded astronomy, it is the only “science” not modified in its practice since its formalisation. Astrology arose out of the study of the movement of heavenly bodies by the ancients with the naked eye. Since then technology has made our observations and measurements more precise — most dramatically with the invention of the telescope.

One of the inventors was Galileo Galilei, who proved Nicolaus Copernicus’s theory that the Earth was not at the centre of our solar system, and that it revolved around the Sun (and not vice-versa). This was so heretical that Copernicus did not publish his findings till he was on his deathbed; as for Galileo, the Church persecuted him. Still, it had a profound effect on Western thought: it modernised science and philosophy. Empiricism came to the forefront of knowledge; and man was no longer the central idea of the Universe. Strangely, astrology did not change a bit. Perhaps this rigidity contributed to the West marching ahead while India wallowed in backwardness and foreign subjugation.

Astrology is conveniently immune to testability or falsification, which the 20th century philosopher of science Karl Popper said were the hallmarks needed to distinguish genuine science from pseudo-science (his main target was psychiatry; he would not lower his dignity for astrology). Popper’s idea was that a science needed to have statements that if proven, would falsify the theory. Unfortunately, you cannot see whether an astrological prediction is false: astrologers make predictions that are so general in nature and vague in time that if nothing happens, the public forgets the prediction, and that if something does happen, the astrologers are able to shove the event into their broad prognostication. And woe to the fellow who makes a wrong specific prediction; other astrologers will not jump to his rescue. Rather, in a poor esprit de corps they dump their fellow professional and accuse him of ignorance of the proper practice of astrology.

Basu prefers a concrete attack on astrology rather than a conceptual one. Sense or Nonsense uses specific astrological terms to demonstrate the study’s obsolescence. “Retrograde” movements, for instance, are actually caused by Earth’s vantage point and are not an example of a planet’s sudden backward movement. Mars, which has a larger orbit around the Sun and has a different orbital speed, will occasionally seem to reverse direction, when actually the Earth is “overtaking” it in relation to the Sun. It is not just a matter of nomenclature but of ignorance. Similarly, the notion of rising constellations is also wrong-headed.

Sadly, some of our scientists or IT professionals take up astrology and this is shown to be proof of its intrinsic strength as a system of study. All that this proves, however, is that those individuals are worried about their future. Also, drawing up charts and the periods of dashas and mahadashas with the use of computers does not prove that astrology is scientific. That is akin to throwing a widow into an electric crematorium and saying that this is proof that sati is a modern practice.

The pervasiveness of this superstition was in evidence during the solar eclipse on the empty rooftops surrounding ours, and it was depressing. People were missing out on a wondrous miracle of nature because of a superstition. Superpower status is not going to be a consequence of the right actions at an astrologically propitious moment. It is going to happen, as former President A P J Abdul Kalam says, as the consequence of national determination to build a knowledge society. A knowledge society is based on knowledge. By no measure can astrology be called knowledge.


editorchief@epmltd.com

About The Author;

Aditya Sinha is the Editor-in-Chief of ‘The New Indian Express’ and is based in Chennai

Comments

I challenge this super scientist to now espouse his scientific bent of mid. Jesus the mythical self proclaimed prophet claimed the earth was just 64 miles square and that firt Terorist of Kali Yug Mohd said the Sun hid behind a swamy far to the West. Let him now debunk the two utterly contemptible books the Bible and the Quran. A challenge to this heroic editor. Does this son of a Mohd (sorry I don't want to belittle female dogs) have the guts?
By Bashir 8/10/2009 9:14:00 AM


Ranjit is right about the dogs who bark at Astrology- the mother of all Sciences. If the recent Total Solar Eclipse is just an even how come all the Swine flu deaths are in the region of the the Total Solar Eclipse? How come the real swines (journos) have not got it yet? Are they the ones who spread it?
By Narasimha Rao 8/9/2009 5:01:00 PM


This science and mathematically challenged fools ante was raised and penned this article out of frustration because I had questioned his knowledge of science and maths in another context. This fool had allowed one his cub blackmailers sorry journalists had filed a report of a 4000M high peak in Kerala. And since I had supported Astrology elsewhere this fool has opened his mouth and confirmed his idiocy. Well this is not an astrological prediction but a surmise. This fool Sinha will leave NIE in disgrace by November 2010. and that is a curse. Christians like de Silva are primed by the pulpit to reject any knowledge that is not born out of the myth of the Bible or the greater myth of an imaginary prophet called jesus. Who the hellis Clarke to comment on Astrology. Astrology does not require any certificates . Let the dogs bark
By Ranjit 8/8/2009 7:08:00 PM


Once I asked Arthur C. Clarke what he thought of Astrology. He quipped, 'asshology.' Although one might call his attitude tyranny of authority, I respect the intelligence of the eminent fiction writer who commanded respect from many an astrophysicist including Dr. Stepthen Hawkings. Astrology has always been a controversial subject, and will continue to be so. Having gained parity of status with genuine science at a time when there was no distinct demarcation between the two fields, astrology continues to fascinate her loyal followers with horrorscopes. One only laments the fact that there were no more men like Dr. Abraham Kovoor, a Malayali who settled in Sri Lanka, to take on the pseudo-scientists called astrologers.
By Sherman de Silva 8/7/2009 8:10:00 AM


For the Kind Attention of Mr. Adithya Sinha; I am a professional 'Astro Meteorologist'. I did forecast the failure of 2002 Southwest monsoon, 2004 'Tsunami',2005 and 2008 floods in TN,Killer Earth Quake in China in 2008 and the current years failure of Southwest monsoon months/years ahead. I have proof of my forecast published in local tabloids. It's utterly immature on your part to condemn Indian astronomy/Astrology without doing the basic study of the subject. I am willing to share the proof from my side and also willing to give my forecast for next couple of years to make you realise your shortsidedness in writing a nonsense article.
By S. RAMACHANDRAN 8/6/2009 9:58:00 PM


The whole world evolves on faith only.We have to find the unknown from the known.Everything is of cyclic in order, and hence need repeated search for finding the truth.Even God is unknown except thru' experience of ones own actions. Sivaproactive
By V.Sivasubramaniam 8/6/2009 9:43:00 PM


These are the words of T.S.Elliot: The endless cycle of idea and action, Endless invention, endless experiment, Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness; Knowledge of speech, but not of silence; Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word. All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance, All our ignorance brings us nearer to death, But nearness to death no nearer to GOD. Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries Bring us farther from GOD and nearer to the Dust.
By Sundararaman 8/6/2009 9:15:00 PM


Further to my earlier post. I have studied astronomy in college. I did not read Basu book/article which your ignorant in chief quotes. In astronomy we calculate and plot the position of all celestial bodies with respect to the observers position on earth. The terms used are exactly same or similar in astrology. Retrograde motions are very clearly stated in astologers as the relative movement of the planet wrt a place on earth. Nowhere in our scriptures it says that planet is actually moving reverse way in the orbit. It is unfortunate that we also have "Aditya Sinhas" and "Biman Basus" in the field of astrology who has very little or no knowledge of astronomy. Only they would make such a ridiculous statements. As far rising constellations are concerned, may I ask your ignorant-in-chief, how would you then address rising of the sun and setting of the sun ? Let me enlighten further, it is common knowledge that earth goes around the sun. But for given place an observer would see sun rising
By onenonlyone 8/6/2009 8:02:00 AM


Your Editor in chief seems to be also ignorant in chief. He quotes Copernicus and Galileo whereas he seems to be completely ignorant about the volumes of astronomical information available in our scriptures. All these are much later in time proved to be correct by modern astronomers. Even Albert Einstein has sung praises about our ancient mathemeticians and astronomers. Zero was invented very much in India. Without which no maths, science would have existed. The rant of you ignorant-in-chief, exhibits all the bias of the left pesudo intellectuals, pseudo secularists and anti nationals who abhor anything that is ethnic in India. A person who himself has not researched a subject should not comment on it. I strongly recommend that along with Sati etc., your newspaper should discard the nonsense that is written by your ignorant-in-chief.
By onenonlyone 8/6/2009 7:45:00 AM


uttar pradesh and bihar was once seat of high culture and knowledge now produces people like our great Sin ha . shooting off the mouth without using the head is not the way to go especially if you are in public sphere
By mohan 8/5/2009 2:22:00 PM


If so, how come all the minute statements about me are correct as the horoscope prediction by astrologer. I am also rational, but believe in astrology, as other plannets have influence on earth. Even on Full,new moon days, satellite moon has effect on the sea's high waves and the reaction in men. Science cannot create an independent organism or plant or stop earth. So believe in correct astrology and don't generalise by some incorrect predictions.
By Raj 8/4/2009 11:16:00 PM


Not only astrology , then God itself is a big bullshit if we think in the way the author thinks . How can one prove God , who ever it is might be Christ or Rama or Alla . It means 90% of the world population are mindless in this fast moving technical world .
By krishnachaitanya 8/4/2009 3:40:00 PM


I am not very sure if Aditya Sinha himslef ever read any Astrology treatise himself, but personally, I feel the mistake is partly due to the low quality of media as well. Earlier, during the good old days, quality of content and repute of contributors used to be quite high. But now a days, it is plummeting to ever deeper depths. Only STAR NEWS played a responsible role, they forecast an interview with the great Astrologer Sri KN Rao, wherein he dispelled the myths about Solar Eclipse that astrology quacks indulge in and terrify ordinary people. In that interview Sri KN Rao clear that Eclipses do not have anything to do with Hora, only Medni Jyotish deals with Eclipses. So from Astrology perspective an individual has nothing to do with Eclipses, forget fear them. One example of low quality media that is exploited by zealous opportunists is this particular webpage where there is an advertisement "One sexy stomach rule" with a couple of obscene images which are quite unsuitable for viewin
By Karan 8/4/2009 1:54:00 PM


be it scientific or otherwise without prior study of that branch is nothing but a mudslinging habit of the uneducated mind. When Halley, Newton's pupil criticised his teacher on Newton being an astrologer, Newton replied, "I have studied these things and you have not." Perhaps Sri Sinha is unaware of what Pscyologist Carl Jung said. Jung: "Western civilization, by ignoring Astrology, gains little and may be losing much". There are many wise comments about astrology made by both Indian and western intellectuals. Perhaps it will do good to Sri Sinha to examine evidence and read up on the subject before making pouring scorn. Sri B V Raman's quote to un-investigative critics like Sri Sinha is worth pondering. Sri Raman says, "Is your disbelief based on investigation or only on a passive second-hand acceptance of fashionable skepticism based on the prestige of science and technology?". Sri Sinha, go read on the subject before pouring vitriol on any subject. --Vande Mataram.
By Bharata 8/4/2009 11:37:00 AM

For further continuation of comments, please refer the link:

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Astrology+is+nonsense&artid=/UthzWfwQkI=&SectionID=oHSKVfNWYm0=&MainSectionID=oHSKVfNWYm0=&SectionName=aVlZZy44Xq0bJKAA84nwcg==&SEO=Hillary+Clinton,+Mr+Kalaignar,+Biman+Basu,+Galileo

How to get good results using Muhurta

How to get good results using Muhurta

By Dr Prajarao


Vedic astrology has a utilitarian value to see success in human efforts by using auspicious times for good activities. It may not be possible always to wait for an auspicious time for routine activities; but it is prudent to elect a good time if option is there. Vedic astrology has abundant information about electional astrology or muhurta. For electing a good muhurta or auspicious time to start an activity like marriage requires extensive calculations and in depth professional expertise.

Vedic calendar system consists of Years Ayanas, Rutus, Masas or months, Pakshas and panchangas of tithi vaara nakshatra yoga karanams. All these components have dos and don'ts for a specific activity. There are further derivative functions, which define a bad muhurta, based on combinations of the above components of panchangas - even if the individual component is acceptable for muhurta. These are complex and require professional expertise. Also the Muhurta is functional specific – A Muhurta suitable for one purpose may not suitable for other purposes.

Human life is supposed to occur as a result of debt owed by us. There are three main debts one has to clear before progress or elevation comes to the soul. All rituals are meant to clear these debts as duties. These are Pittru Runam (Father mother and ancestors) Deva Runam (Gods) and Acharya (Guru or Society from where knowledge and skills are acquired). The Muhurta assumes a concerted and concentrated effort to clear these debts and hence does not allow mixing up of rituals in paying back these Runam or debts. Hence a day devoted for rituals to ancestors is not suitable for other rituals including special puujas to god even.

Each component of the calendar - year, seasons, months, panchangas of tithi vaara nakshatra yoga and karanams and their derivative combinations and their role in avoiding a particular activity is well documented. The derivative components include many subdivisions of a day like Tyajyam rahu kalam etc.

These basic components of Vedic calendar vary with place. Three dimensional astronomical calculations are needed for planetary positions. The sun set and sun rise also need to be calculated for the place.

Selecting a good time depends on year, seasons, months, each component of panchangas and many combinations of panchanga components. Many of these vary with local cultural history. For eg some years are linked with rivers (Kumbha mela) and marriages are prohibited in that year near that river. Similarly in rainy season pilgrimage is prohibited. Certain months (whether it is solar or lunar month) are not suitable for marriage. As narrated in Mahabharata Bhishma has to wait till Uttarayana for his demise even when he was mortally wounded. The derivative functions of panchaga are so complex that only a professional can select a good Muhurta – which is specific for each activity.

Only God decides the result of a muhurta – human effort with competent professional knowledge should be used wherever possible to elect a good Muhurta- specially if the activity can be done at a convenient time.



http://sify.com/astrology/fullstory.php?id=14902000

Do traditional weddings have a place in the 21st century?

Do traditional weddings have a place in the 21st century?

By Ryan Pangilinan
Northwest Asian Weekly

Weddings: They can be a dream, but they can also turn into a nightmare.

There are plenty of stereotypes and expectations attached to a wedding. While some people focus on the bride, the groom, and their everlasting devotion to one another, most people will look to add in their two cents on the matter.

For Asian Americans, a wedding can hit traditional cultural trademarks, be a simple, Judeo-Christian ceremony, or combination of both, providing a truly ‘Asian-American’ experience. By perusing the Internet, someone can find websites dedicated to the various characteristics in traditional Asian weddings, be it Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Vietnamese, or Hmong.

Weddingbee.com is a wedding blog that has several features on a couples’ mixture of a Sri Lankan and Indian wedding, baring the satirical title “Our Big Fat Brown Wedding.”

Looking over the entries for this particular wedding, it is clear that the couples’ individual religious and cultural backgrounds were important enough to have them combined in their ceremonies.

“[We] have figured out a way to make a smooth transition from the Poruwa ceremony to the Hindu ceremony,” wrote blogger Charmi Wijesekera.

A 10-minute YouTube video featured on the blog, as well as several detailed posts, suggested that they were able to pull off both traditional ceremonies. For some couples, however, there can be a bit of a compromise.

For Seattle University graduate Anna Dumo Navarro, having both her and her husband be Filipino wasn’t quite enough to have a traditional wedding.

“Phil is Catholic and I’m Baptist, so we couldn’t get married in a Catholic church. Not that it was even an option,” she said.

The couple eventually used the chapel at Bastyr University as the venue for their wedding.

“Bastyr was a good compromise,” Navarro said.

While a majority of Filipinos are Catholic (80.9 percent, according to the CIA Factbook), Filipino-Americans have taken on other forms of Evangelical Christianity, such as the case with Navarro.

For her wedding, Navarro included one element of a traditional Filipino wedding, the cord and the veil, in which a rope is draped around the couple forming an infinity symbol.

“I guess normal Filipino weddings are Catholic, so we just did the cord and veil because I wanted to add something from our culture,” she said.

Though Navarro was able to add a bit of Filipino flair and tradition, some people aren’t as lucky.

Lizzie Oberlander, an Indonesian-American, found that it was difficult to even have a traditional wedding ceremony, let alone a traditional Indonesian wedding. Her and her husband’s families were too spread out.

“My family is mostly in Missouri and also Indonesia,” Oberlander said. “[My husband’s] family is in California and also Illinois. My grandmother and his grandmother couldn’t travel.”

The Oberlanders instead opted for a small ceremony with a judge and celebrated their union with a reception that allowed their respective families to join them.

“The reception was more of a get together,” Oberlander said. “My mom made traditional food.”

Despite the difficulties of getting their families together, Oberlander said that a traditional wedding would’ve been just as nice.

“I absolutely would’ve loved to have a traditional wedding. In Indonesia, the [ceremony and celebration] lasts a couple days,” she said. “But it wasn’t practical at the time.”

While people can look to a film like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” as a bit of an insight to how a traditional ethnic wedding can go (albeit in a slightly exaggerated manner), it can be said that what matters most is their affection for each other. ♦

Ryan Pangilinan can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.



http://www.nwasianweekly.com/wp/2009/07/do-traditional-weddings-have-a-place-in-the-21st-century/

LOVE, kal aur aaj

LOVE, kal aur aaj

Mon, Jun 29 05:55 PM

You have changed; you are altogether a different person; you take me for granted?' Are these the sentences, and countless like them, part and parcel of your little love nest? If you think marriage has brought an unimaginable change in your partner's attitude towards you, then may be it is an assumption, a truth, a reaction, or... Let's do a litmus test and find out how much of 'marriage kills the lovers' euphoria' is exaggerated. Sona Sinha, auditor.

Married for three years: Things definitely change the way your man looks at you [after marriage]. When I was dating my hubby, he was all dewy-eyed comparing me to Rani Mukherji one day, and Cindrella the other. Though, I knew none of it was true, but the fact he made an effort to pamper me was worth acknowledging. But soon after marriage, I was like a regular woman he would have overlooked while going to the office or at a market. From a Cindrella, I was a plain Jane. Dheeraj Kumar, a banker.

Married for two years: When we [my wife and I] were dating, my friends called me Brad Pitt, and she used to swell with pride thinking that she is dating the hottest hunk around. But now after marriage her preference has changed. She no more likes Brad Pitt. Before marriage, all she wanted to was be with me all the time. But now her 'mom's home fixation' seems to have blurred her memory. I am just another regular guy."Life is an evolving process, and it does involve wear and tear of various tissues along with our memory cells. So, we should give our partners that much of reason to fall back upon," says Dheeraj, who otherwise has lots of things to say about his 'changed' wife. This is perhaps called 'change' of heart - FOR GOOD.

Chetna Joshi Bambroo

http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20090629/1074/tod-love-kal-aur-aaj.html

Don't marry the toy boy if you want lifelong union

Don't marry the toy boy if you want lifelong union

Sun, Jul 12 10:15 AM

Sydney, July 12 (ANI): Want to have a lifelong marital union? Well, then don't marry a man who is nine or more years older than you or is two or more years younger than you are, revealed some of Australia's top demographers.

In fact, they have suggested that the secret to a lasting marriage is to marry a man who is about your own age, or if your parents are still together, marry a man whose parents are also still together.

Rebecca Kippen and Bruce Chapman, from the Australian National University, and Peng Yu, from the Department of Families, Housing Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, have traced the marital fortunes of 2482 Australian couples over six years to see what factors lead to compatibility, and what to divorce and separation.

They have advised that one should exchange vows with someone more or less like you.

However, surprisingly, similar education levels, attitudes to religion, and country of birth are not important when it comes to lasting matrimony.

In fact, age is the biggest factor in deciding if a couple stays together or not.

Marriages in which the husband was nine or more years older than the wife, or two or more years younger, had a separation rate of 17 per cent compared to about 10 per cent for their more age-compatible peers.

"Age captures a range of things about being in the same place in life, at the same time," News.com.au quoted Kippen as saying.

In addition, couples in which the husband's parents had divorced, but the wife's parents had not, were almost 90 per cent more likely to separate than pairs where both sets of parents were together.

It also helps if the husband is over 25 when one gets married, and if neither partner has children before getting married, because it is also important to have a similar attitude to wanting children or another child.

The data was drawn from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia, survey with an initial sample of 7682 households.

The findings will be presented at the HILDA conference in Melbourne next week. (ANI)

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090712/385/ten-don-t-marry-the-toy-boy-if-you-want.html

Live-in lovers more likely to have 'unhealthy' marriage

Live-in lovers more likely to have 'unhealthy' marriage

Tue, Jul 14 11:50 AM

Washington, July 14 (ANI): Couples who live together before they are engaged are more likely to get divorced than those who wait until they are married to live together, or at least wait until they are engaged, according to a new study.

In the study, researchers at the University of Denver (DU) also found that couples, who lived together before engagement and then married, reported a lower satisfaction in their marriages.

The study was conducted by Galena Rhoades, senior researcher, Scott Stanley, research professor, and Howard Markman, professor of psychology.

"We think that some couples who move in together without a clear commitment to marriage may wind up sliding into marriage partly because they are already cohabiting," Rhoades said.Stanley added: "It seems wise to talk about commitment and what living together might mean for the future of the relationship before moving in together, especially because cohabiting likely makes it harder to break up compared to dating."

The study appears in the Journal of Family Psychology. (ANI)

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090714/385/ten-live-in-lovers-more-likely-to-have-u.html