Author: authorsanjaychandra

A writer and an entrepreneur

Let’s Understand Our Festivals! by Vardhan V Dharkar

Deepavali

Historical Significance

Deepavali also called Diwali is India’s one of the most important festival. It is a festival that celebrates victory of Good over Evil, Light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance. Along with Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist also celebrate Deepavali. Widely observed among more than a billion people from a variety of faiths across India and its diaspora, the five days of Diwali are marked by prayer, rangoli, feasts, lighting of clay lamps and Kandeels as also fireworks, family gatherings, and charitable giving. For some, it is also the beginning of a new year.

Deepavali/Diwali word is derived from the Sanskrut word “Deepavali”, which means “row of lights,” Diwali is known for the brightly burning clay lamps that celebrants line up outside their homes.

The dates of this festival are based on the Hindu lunar calendar, which marks each month by the time it takes the moon to orbit Earth. Diwali begins just before the arrival of a new moon between the Hindu months of Ashwin and Kartik which typically falls in October or November of the Gregorian calendar. In 2022, the five days of Diwali begin on October 22 and conclude on 26th October

Hinduism which is considered to be the world’s oldest living religion, dating back to the second millennium B.C .there are several versions of Deepavali/Diwali that vary among geographies/communities. These, however, are all epic tales of victory won by men who were considered incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu, regarded as the sustainer of the universe, and whose role it is to restore the balance of good and evil in times of trouble.

In northern India, Diwali commemorates Prince Ram’s triumphant return to the city of Ayodhya after 14 years of exile and after slaying demon King Ravan in a battle to rescue his wife Sita who was kidnapped by Ravan in Treta Yug

Dhantrayodashi/Dhanteras

Dhanvantri Trayodashi or Dhanatrayodashi or Dhanteras, marks the commencement of Diwali celebrations across India. It falls on the 13th lunar day (Trayodashi Tithi) of Krishna Paksh or Dark Fortnight. On this day people buy utensils, jewellery, vehicles, and home/kitchen appliances, as they believe that the festival of Dhanteras is auspicious for buying metals. Devotees worship Goddess Lakshmi on Dhanteras for happiness, prosperity, and wealth. Dhantrayodashi is associated with a few popular Hindu mythological anecdotes. Many people dedicate Dhantrayodashi to medicine Lord Dhanvantri, while others spend their time worshipping Lord Yama raj and Goddess Lakshmi.

Story of Lord Dhanvantri:

Dhanvantri is considered the god of Ayurveda and Medicine. It’s believed that he was the one who imparted knowledge of Ayurveda to mankind and helped them get rid of diseases. On Dhantrayodashi, devotees pray to Lord Dhanvantri for curing chronic illnesses through Ayurveda.

Dhanvantri was a manifestation of Lord Vishnu and was born via Samudra Manthan, or the churned sea, with a book based on Ayurveda and an Amrut pot in his hands.

Story of Goddess Lakshmi:

Another legendary story on Dhantrayodashi is associated with Goddess Lakshmi. Goddess Lakshmi emerged through Samudra Manthan in Sat Yug, sitting on a lotus, with a vessel stocked with gold, symbolizing good fortune, prosperity, happiness, and wealth. Devotees make beautiful rangolis at their main door and light up their homes with diyas to welcome Goddess Lakshmi and seek her blessings.

Besides, daughters are referred to as Goddess Lakshmi in Hindu families or as an embodiment of good luck. Rituals of Dhanteras and Lakshmi Pooja also manifest the belief that when daughters or daughters-in-law leave behind their foot impressions at the entrance of their house using ‘kumkum,’ the family is blessed with success and prosperity.

Story of Lord Yamaraj:

Lastly, the third and most interesting story is based on King Hima’s son, whose horoscope predicted that he’d die on the 4th day after his marriage because of a snake bite. However, upon hearing this, his wife made the decision to turn her husband’s fate around. She ensured that her husband didn’t sleep on the 4th day of their marriage by narrating stories and keeping him awake. To deceive the snake, she made a pile of all her coins and ornaments at their sleeping chamber’s entrance and lit several diyas. When the god of death, Yamaraj, arrived disguised as a snake, he couldn’t see anything due to the brightness of the diyas and the metals. It is believed that Lord Yamaraj stayed there the entire night and left the following morning silently, without killing King Hima’s son. For this reason, Dhantrayodashi is also known as Yamadeepdaan, where people offer earthen diyas to Lord Yamaraj to please him and pray for the long lives of their family.

Narak Chaturdashi

In Dwapar Yug, on this day Shri Krishn killed the demon Narakasur. It is believed that Narakasur had imprisoned 16,000 women in his palace and meted out harsh punishments to any of his subjects who dared stand up against him. Enraged by this, Satyabhama, wife of Sri Krishn requested him to kill Narakasur. On the day of Chaturdashi, Sri Krishn and Satyabhama killed Narakasur. The dying Narakasur asked Shri Krishn for a boon, “On this day (tithi) the one who takes an auspicious bath (Mangalsnan) will not suffer in hell.” Shree Krishn granted him the boon. Consequently, the fourteenth (Chaturdashi) day of the dark fortnight of Ashwin also came to be known as Narak Chaturdashi. On this day when Shrī Krishn returned home at dawn, after slaying Narakasur, adorning a spot (Tilak) of Narkasur’s blood on His forehead, Nanda gave Him an auspicious bath. The women expressed their joy by moving lit lamps around His face (ovalani) and on that day people started bathing before sunrise

Bali Pratipada:

Demon king Bali was a grandson of Bhakt Pralhad. Although he was a demon, he was fair, ethical and a good administrator of his kingdom. He was also known as very charitable king. However with his immense power he started harassing Gods and started defeating them. All the Gods went to Shree Vishnu and requested him to punish and defeat Bali. Shree Vishnu took the Avatar (Incarnation) as Vaman (Dwarf) and went to Bali. Shree Vishnu requested Demon king Bali to give him land equivalent to three paces. Bali agreed to the request. Vaman them transformed himself into a giant form. In his first two steps, he occupied Pruthvi (Earth) and Swarg (Heaven). Then he asked Bali for the space to take the third step. Bali offered Shree Vishnu his head to keep his feet. Shree Vishnu then banished Demon king Bali to Patal (Netherworld) by keeping his feet on the head of Bali. However Shree Vishnu granted Bali a boon that on the day of Pratipada, people will worship him for his generosity and kind nature.

The day is also celebrated as ‘Diwalicha Padva’ in Maharashtra. This is a celebration of togetherness of husband and wife and love shared by them. To mark the occasion wife does ‘aukshan’ of her husband and husband gives a special gift to his spouse.

Lakshmi Pooja

Lakshmi Pooja is on Amavasya (no moon day). . Goddess Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth Even though the night is dark, with hundreds of clay lamps; it gets brightly illuminated for Goddess Lakshmi to bless us with prosperity. She likes cleanliness and she blesses those who practise cleanliness.

Bhau Beej (Bhai Dooj)

Bhau-Beej is celebrated on the second lunar day of the Shukla Paksh (bright fortnight) of the Kartik month. The occasion falls on the last day of the five day long celebrations of Diwali. It is also celebrated as “Yama Dwitiya” in the southern parts of India.

According to the one legend, Lord Krishna visited his sister, Subhadra after killing demon Narakasur. Her sister gave a warm welcome to him and made the occasion really special through flowers and sweets. Subhadra also applied the ceremonial “Tilak” on the forehead of her brother, Krishna and hence the festival of “Bhau Beej” was born.

Another legend revolves around the story of Yama, the God of Death and his sister Yamuna. It is believed that he met his beloved sister on Dwitiya, the second day after the new moon after ages. Hence Yamuna was very happy and she welcomed him by applying Tilak on his head and offered various sweets to him. Yam raj was very pleased with this welcome and declared that henceforth whoever shall celebrate this festival with their brothers/sisters will be given the boon of long life, thus the occasion began to be celebrated as “Yama Dwitiya” across the country from that day.

Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists, three minority religions in India, have their own Diwali stories. For Sikhs, whose religion arose in the late 15th century as a movement within Hinduism that is particularly devoted to Vishnu, Diwali commemorates the release of the 17th-century guru Hargobind after 12 years of imprisonment by Mughal emperor Jahangir.

Jains, whose ancient religion dates back to the middle of the first century B.C. and also share many of the beliefs of Hinduism, observe Diwali as the day that Lord Mahavir, the last of the great Jain teachers, reached nirvana.

And Buddhists, whose religion emerged in the late 6th century B.C. in what, some describe as a reaction to Hinduism, celebrate it as the day the Hindu Emperor Ashok, who ruled in the third century B.C.converted to Buddhism.

My interpretation of what Deepavali represents

Deepavali is a festival of Lights. The lamps each one of us has to light are the lamps of
* Knowledge,
* Compassion
* Fairness
* Truthfulness and
* Generosity

Dhantrayodashi tells us to invest in health. We have to invest in improving not only physical health but also in mental health. Wealth without health has no meaning.

Narak Chaturdashi tells us to cleanse ourselves not only externally, but also more importantly to cleanse our minds by getting rid of bad habits

Bali Pratipada teaches us to be humble and not to use power for wrong means but only for the welfare of society.

Lakshmi Pooja teaches us to Pray to Goddess Lakshmi for abundant wealth. In the olden days, people used to invest in gold or silver. Today we should add investments in
* Life Insurance policies
* Health insurance policies
* Sovereign Gold Bonds as also in
* Mutual funds

However the wealth is not only the monetary wealth but it includes wealth of
* Knowledge and also
* Health

While we are praying for abundant wealth, we have to pray not only for ourselves but also for family, community and society at large.

Padva and Bhau Beej tell us the sanctity of relationships, nurture them and grow them.

So let us celebrate Deepavali, the Festival of Lights, in the right spirit by spreading knowledge, fighting inequality, nurturing relationships and spreading “Wealth”!!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Deepavali!

22nd October 2022
आश्विन १२, १९४४

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Book Reviews by a Pioneer: Sone Chandi Ke Buth by KA Abbas

This was another interesting translated semi-non-fiction that I read this year in August. The reason for the unusual genre classification – one section of the book, out of the three in which it is divided, consists of short stories. These stories are based on the life of some personalities from the film industry, obviously with changed names. If you are conversant with the lives of the celebrities from around 1950 to the 1970s, then you just might identify them.

Part 1 of the book covers 10 articles by Abbas, each covering one or the other great from the industry across diverse aspects of filmmaking. These are the people who Abbas came in contact with, and who influenced him. These are producers, directors, music directors, lyricists, and actors. As you read the articles, you can feel the admiration that the author had for these personalities.

The last section consists of articles that Abbas wrote as a film critique and other miscellaneous subjects about films, covering diverse aspects of filmmaking. The articles are witty at times, poignant at other times, and make you visualise a period that many of us may not even have read about.

Since this work is a translation from Urdu, I do not know if the translation does justice to the original writing. But for me the book was a wonderful looking back into the past.

I only wish that the translators come up with more volumes covering other artists from that era. There is only one issue that I had with the book – the author comes across as biased in favour or against certain filmmakers. An example – while he justifies the changes that Raj Kapoor made to his script in Bobby, in the same breath he condemns the interference by Dilip Kumar in the films that he acted in later years. But to give credit, he praises the latter as a great actor. And as I mentioned earlier, many of my favourite actors are missing. Maybe he did not find them mention-worthy.

An interesting read.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of The Gymnast.

Contact sanjaychandra59@gmail.com for book reviews, author show, guest blog, and creative writing workshop.

Let’s understand our festivals! By Vardhan V Dharkar

Vijaya Dashami (Dasara)

A) Historical significance Vijaya Dashami (Dasara)

Vijaya Dashami means Victory on the Tenth day. Vijaya Dashami is tenth lunar day of a Hindu calendar month Ashwin (आश्विन). It signifies victory of Good over Evil. On this day, Ma Durga killed Mahishasur and Shri Ram killed Ravan. In Eastern and north eastern parts of India, it marks the end of Durga Pooja. In northern states it marks end of Ram Lila celebrating victory of Shri Ram and death of Ravan.

Vijaya Dashami is one of the three and half most auspicious days as per Hindu religion. On this day, there is no need to check the auspicious time (मुहुर्त). Full day is auspicious. As per traditional Hindu astrology, the Sun (Surya) and Moon (Chandra) are astrologically believed to be at their most exalted position on the day.

B) My interpretation of what Shri Ram and Ravan represent

First let us understand what Ravan represents. He was a great ruler and a great devotee of Lord Shiv. Earlier it was said that his ten heads represent his mastery over six Shastras, Yog-Shastra, Nyay-Shastra, Dharma-Shastra, Koka or Kama-Shastra and Moksh-Shastra, and four Vedas, the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. However, subsequently the ten heads came to be associated with the flaws in his character.

The ten flaws in his characters representing ten heads are:

  • Kaam (Lust): Ravan’s lust for a married woman (Sita) led to his end.
  • Mada (Pride): This means loving one’s perfect self. Ravan was knowledgeable but he was too proud about his intellectual and military prowess.
  • Ahankar (Ego): Ravan was full of ego and failed to see what he was doing was wrong.
  • Moha: (Attachment to possessions): He was too much attached to his possessions and chose to cross all boundaries to keep them.
  • Lobha (Greed): He was overpowered by his greed and decided to abduct Sita.
  • Krodh (Anger): Ravan used to get angry at not getting what he desired and that is what destroyed him.
  • Maatsar (Envy): He used to envy others for the things they had and wanted to possess those things by all means.
  • Jaddata (Insensitive): He never cared about other people’s feelings and always gave priority to satisfying his own ego.
  • Ghrina (Hatred): He hated other people. It was his hate that destroyed him eventually.
  • Bhaya (Fear): His fear of losing his possessions was the cause of his sinful deeds.

Now let us understand what does Shri Ram Symbolise?

Shri Ram, in the words of Swami Vivekananda, is “the embodiment of truth, of morality, the ideal son, the ideal husband and above all, the ideal king”. He is a symbol of the victory of right over the evil. Lord Ram characterizes how a man should fulfil his moral commitments and should strictly follow his limits so that social order can be maintained. It is precisely due to this fact, he is known as “Marayada Puroshattam” (मर्यादा पुरूषोत्तम) or “The man of limits”.

Journey from becoming less of a “Ravan” to more of a “Shri Ram”

Both Shri Ram and Ravan are present within us. All of us have the ten flaws in varying degrees that resulted in Ravan’s downfall. These flaws if not controlled and destroyed will eventually lead to our down fall. It is equally true that we also have all the qualities that Shri Ram had, again in varying degrees. Unfortunately, most of the time, these good qualities get overshadowed by the flaws in our character. If we don’t take corrective action and discard the flaws or bad qualities and consciously cultivate and grow good qualities, we will never attain true happiness and will continue to experience the hell in this life itself. On the other hand, if we overcome the flaws and imbibe the good qualities, then we will experience the heaven in this life. The choice is ours!

On this auspicious day of Vijaya Dashami (Dasara), let us start the journey of discarding the bad qualities in us and acquire the good qualities, a journey from becoming less of Ravan to more of Shri Ram!

Wishing everyone a very happy Vijaya Dashami/Dasara

5th October 2022
१0आश्विन शके १९४४

Book Reviews by a Pioneer: The First Year Fiasco by Angandeep Chatterjee

Aratrika Roy joins an engineering college in Panagarh enjoying the new-found freedom away from parental control in Kolkata. Jayashis Dey is another first year student who looks and sounds mysterious.

I have also lived in a hostel in teenage years. I can vouch that walking out of your room to the common toilets through deserted corridors in the dead of the night does get spooky sometime. You look for shadows where there are none.

Aratrika sees actual shadows lurking in the dark. She also overhears whispers not meant for her ears. Then there are deaths on the campus, which let us say, do not appear natural.

This is the detective thriller that the author has woven out of 17-year-old young characters (contradiction is intended). The narrative keeps you on edge till almost the end, as you keep guessing about the killers.

The author has created wonderful and sometimes spooky surroundings in great detail which adds to the mystery.

I am looking forward to solving more mysteries with the young detective and the young assistant.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of The Gymnast.

Contact sanjaychandra59@gmail.com for Book Reviews, Author Show, Guest Blogs, and Creative Writing Workshop.

Book Reviews by a Pioneer: Adventures of a Countryside Boy by Dr. Thomas T Thomas

I did not know what I was getting myself into when I first picked up this book by Dr T3 (Dr Thomas T Thomas). That it was a memoir – I could make out. What I did not realise was that it was a roller coaster ride in the life of this young boy from small town Kerala as he navigates an exhilarating journey to be a doctor.

These are anecdotes from the life of T3 written in a simple language. The narrative is fluid and you keep turning page after page to learn what new adventures this boy would get into. The book is also a commentary on the social and political milieu of the times. But it does not feel like you are reading non-fiction.

Incidentally, the author is a General Practitioner, who worked in rural dispensaries and government hospitals by choice. Even if he is only half as interesting as his writing in real life, his patients would indeed be a happy lot.

It is a good book to have on the bookshelf.

The review is by Sanjay Chandra, author of The Gymnast.

Contact sanjaychandra59@gmail.com for book reviews, author show, guest blog, and creative writing workshop.