Bhutan Traditional Dance

If you are looking to get away from the crowded world all around you for some real peace, you cannot do much better than paying a visit to the tiny mountain kingdom of Bhutan. Nestled in the lap of the Himalayas and sporting a centuries old Buddhist culture, the land of the peaceful thunder Dragon or “Druk Yul” is a travel destination that should definitely be on your list.

Bhutan has a single International airport at Paro. Flights from the national carrier Druk Air operate from nearby countries and regions to bring travelers down to Bhutan. Roadways into Bhutan are available from India, the most popular being from Phuentsholing in west Bengal. However, it is important to know that the tourism policy of the Bhutanese government states that foreign travelers  must either enter or exit the country using Druk Air.  So you cannot arrange for both ways via road.

Bhutan has quite typecast travel and tourism arrangements not offering you to the freedom to just pack your bags and set off. Once inside the country, daily charges for the tourist are fixed at a hefty $200. However, this gives you complete peace of mind as it includes accommodation, food, travel and even camping and hiking equipment! All tour operators out of Bhutan have to follow this same package, giving the tourist a uniformity that is helpful.

Places to visit abound in plenty, with almost the entire country being a giant tourist spot. Snow clad as well as green mountains, forests, rivers and waterfalls make the sights and sounds a treat for the senses. Thimpu, the capital is a picturesque town, possibly the smallest and most picturesque capital in the world. It is considered by many as a Shangri- La of the eastern Himalayas! There are fortresses or Dzongs in plenty all over the country like the Trashi Chhoe Dzong. There are lots of Monasteries and memorials scattered all over the country as well.

When visiting Bhutan, leave your worries of life behind and just relax and take in the scenery. The peace is sure to penetrate deep into you.

Mothers have always fulfilled the primary role in raising children, and in order to commemorate and celebrate their undying and selfless endeavors, Mother’s day is celebrated on various days in many places around the world.

Mother’s day is not about commemorating the biological mother or a birth of a child. On the contrary, it is to symbolize the presence of mothers and their importance in social parenting. In the current fast-paced and dynamic world, when it has become inadvertent to overlook contributions, Mother’s day provides everybody with the opportunity to express the very reason of social standing for each of us.

In most countries, the Mother’s day celebration is a recent holiday, being created at the start of 20^th century, derived from the original US celebration. However, it should not be confused with the early traditions of honoring mothers, like the Mothering Sunday holiday in the UK.

Traditionally, people observed Mother’s day by attending church, writing letters to their mothers, and eventually started celebrating this special day with cards, gifts, candies, flowers, eating out and family gatherings. The celebration is increasingly becoming commercialized around the world with innovative ways to impress mothers and make them feel the specialty of their role and presence in the society.

Irrespective of differences of the social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, a healthy connection between a mother and a child form a secure base, from which the child may later readied venture forth into the world. With this realization, Mother’s Day has increasingly flourished as a special day for honoring mothers and their role in building every child’s future.

Mother’s day is celebrated through out the world to salute the spirit of mothers who have nurtured us and helped us to take the first step towards our future. Thus it is not out of gratitude but love that we need to celebrate this day every year and make them feel special and wanted. A nice message, flowers, or a gift can be a good way to show our affection to our mothers. And while we celebrate this day we share love and warmth with our mother.

The rosogolla is perhaps the most famous among all Bengali sweets. Sandesh comes a close second. Made from chhana, fresh cottage cheese, rosogolla and sandesh are examples of the uniqueness of Bengali sweets. Did you know the person famed for preparing sandesh for the first time was Nakur Moyra? Or that the sweet ladikeni was named after Lady Canning, in whose honor it was first prepared?

The classic examples of sweets from Bengal include those prepared in the household kitchens. The women of the house were expert cooks and were known for different kinds of sweets like patishapta (a roll made from rice flour with a filling of khowa kheer), payesh (kheer with rice), chandra puli (half-moon shaped sweets made from coconut), narkel naru (ladoos made from coconut) and so on.

Mishti doi, or sweetened yogurt, is considered one of the essentials of the dessert sections on auspicious occasions. Special occasions in Bengali households also mean the preparation of an array of special sweets. The most common among them is the malpoa. Made from semolina and flour, malpoas are fried and then dipped in thickened sugar syrup for that particular taste.

And who can forget the taste of pithes prepared by our moms and grandmas on special occasions? The wrapped pithes were usually made from rice flour and the filling inside ranged from sweetened khowa to a thickened coconut filling flavored with jaggery. Pithes were often accompanied by sweetened kheer or light liquid jaggery. The variations also included shapes like stars, crescent, and so on.

Bengali cuisine is known for its wide variety. This same variety is evident in its dessert section as well. Bengali sweets are known for their variety and also for the ways, in which the diverse ingredients were used, be it chhana or coconut.

Herbs and spices

The term Ayurveda was coined from a couple of Sanskrit words, namely ‘ayus’ which when translated meant life and ‘veda’ or science. Thus taken together Ayurveda implies the science of life. This centuries old form of medication and healing originated in India and gradually spread across different parts of the world. Today it has evolved as a form of alternative medicine around the world and is becoming popular with each passing day.

The earliest roots of Ayurveda can be found during the Vedic period and was propounded in books like the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita. Ayurvedic medicines have the potential of curing the most difficult ailments through medication, Yoga and massage

This branch of medicine is based on the belief that the human body, like the universe, is made up of five different elements. These include fire, water, space, air and earth. These are collectively known as Panchatatva. The human body comprises seven elements or Saptdhatu, namely blood, fat, marrow, semen, bone, chyle and flesh. For the well being of an individual, it is believed that there should be a balance between the Tridoshosh or the three doshes which include bile or pitta, kapha or phlegm and wind or vata.

The theory of Ayurveda is based on the premise that an individual is a combination of certain ‘doshas’ or faults and ‘gunas’ or positive qualities. It aims to maintain a good metabolic system, proper digestion and effective discharge of body wastes.

Ayurvedic treatment is carried out through eight different modes or disciplines which aim to get rid of the harmful and the toxic elements in the human body. These include Pediatrics or Kaumarabhrtyam, internal medicine or Kaaya chikitsa, Aphrodisiacs or Vajikaranam, Demonic possession or bhuta vidya, cure of diseases related to the clavicle or Salakyam, developing immunity or rasayam, surgery or shalya-chikitsa and toxicology or agadatantram.

Proponents of Ayurveda believe that one can stay healthy and fit by following a proper regime that includes rising up early in the morning, proper bowel and bladder movement followed by half an hour of exercise, implementation of proper breathing techniques and a good ayurvedic oil massage. Avurvedic medicines and oil are made of natural ingredients like the barks of trees and certain herbs and they go a long way in treating several incurable diseases.

Kerala - God's own country

Welcome to Kerala “God’s own country”. It is a place of sheer beauty and its every sight gives your eye a treat. Rarely do we find a place with such vast topographical differences. If you love hills and your spouse likes sea then Kerala is the right choice for your travel destination as it has velvety hills on one side and rich creamy beaches on the other.

Kerala provides a wide variety of travel destinations such as Kochi, Munnar, Kumarakom, Kovalam, Periyar, and Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala. Each of the location has several holiday resorts of a range of prices to choose from. Adventure lovers can go for trekking on the hills; wildlife sanctuaries are one of the major attractions of Kerala where one can watch animals and birds in their natural surroundings.

Most of the tourists come to Kerala to see the backwaters. There are more than 900km of interlinked waterways such as rivers, lakes and inlets which make the Kerala backwaters. The scenic beauty and the calmness of these backwaters provide a soothing balm on our body and mind. One can hire a boat and cruise along the backwaters and see several towns and cities while witnessing the smooth blend of old and modern cultures. Cochin, Alappuzha, Kasargod, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kumarakom, Kuttanad, Thiruvallam, and Thiruvananthapuram are some of the key backwater destinations.

If, you are not much of a travelling person and relaxing is your main mantra then opt for a resort that gives ayurvedic therapy. Ayurveda is an ancient method used to heal body and mind. One of the most popular forms of ayurveda is its massage therapy with essential oils and extracts of different kinds of herbs which are used as basic ingredients for making a wide range of oils. The ayurveda masseur is an expert in providing relief to people suffering from sprains, spondylitis, backaches, joint and muscle injuries etc.

Kerala can be an ideal spot for honeymoon couples as well as for tourists of all ages. One can bask in its breathtaking beauty which gives solitude and complete relaxation. Its tropical climate and great infrastructure makes Kerala the ultimate travel destination.

The film describes the poverty, inequity and corruption which are vividly evident in India in a visible manner. The film Slumdog Millionaire is regarded as the symbol of hope for the people living below poverty line in most of the third world and so called developing countries. The film’s popularity made the rest of the world apprehend the types of problems India is facing and numerous hardships borne by the poor Indian people, living in the cities. Slumdog Millionaire represents the modern aspiring India, facing the full fury of the global economic spin. It’s an explosion of color and light with the darkness ever ready to invade. This film reveals the shocking reality of dreadful brutality, a romance which is disturbed by sexual abuse, a desire of amassing wealth that is due to the crushing poverty.

The plot of the Slumdog Millionaire revolves around the life of an illiterate kid called Jamal, his brother and his girl friend Latika from the slum areas of Mumbai and he goes on to win the Kaun Benega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The road to the victory was not a bed of roses. He had to go through a lot of hardships. Most interesting part of the film is that the story telling process follows a flashback format. The answers of the questions asked to him at the game show came out of bizarre incidents in from his own life.

During the game he was captured by the police after being dubbed as a fraud. Even after repeated efforts the police officer failed get out what he was looking for, so he was sent back to the show to answer the last question and win the jackpot.

Both the director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy brought out the maximum drama based on the book by Vikas Swarup called Q & A.

The tradition of celebrating Naba Barsha started with Emperor Akbar. During his reign, people were asked to clear all their debts and taxes by the last day of the last month, Chaitra. On first of Boishakh, landlords treated them with sweetmeats. In course of time, festivities and fairs were added to the celebration and gradually, Poila Boishakh celebration became a part of Bengali life.

Chaitra Mela heralds the onset of new beginning when the stock clearance sale reminds that Bengali New Year is here and it is time for cleaning spree. Also, it becomes evident that you need to clear all your dues with the shops as they will close all old accounts and start new ledgers.

Bengali New Year starts with cleaning of houses and decorating the entrance with flowers and ‘alpana’, motifs drawn on floor with rice flour. People wear new clothes and start the day with temple visits. In many places, Poila Boishakh starts with Prabhat Pheri or morning procession. The bright sunny day outside seems to welcome the New Year whole-heartedly.

Sumptuous meal of traditionally Bengali cuisine is the main attraction of Bengali New Year lunch. In this era of air dash, the authentic Bengali delicacies are on the verge of extinction as no one has time or temperament to cook them. Lots of Bengali restaurants offer special package of lunch and dinner which constitute these delicacies like bhetki macher paturi, chital machher muithha or mutton daak bunglow.

Any Bengali description is incomplete without mentioning sweets. Bengal and Bengali is known for sweet fetish. On the first day of Bengali New Year, people enjoy different varieties of sweets like sandesh, kheer kadam, rasmalai, and not to forget, rasogolla. The earthen pot full of rasogolla has become the perfect logo for this community.

Evenings of Poila Boishakh are booked by the cultural activities. People of every age group participate actively in these celebrations. Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrulgeeti fill the sky with a flavor of festivity. Different plays, dance-dramas etc are practiced for days to be performed with perfection. After Durga Puja, Bengali New Year is the only occasion which is celebrated with so much of zeal and enthusiasm. Till date, Poila Boishakh reminds us to celebrate our rich and age old culture, tradition and values and that we should preserve it.