Diwali to be Celebrated Globally also President Barak Obama observed Diwali

Diwali also known as Deepavali occupies an important place as the festival of Lights, prosperity and happiness.



Diwali is a five days Hindu festival, and Diwali is celebrated not only in India but all over globally, where ever there are Indian's they make a point to celebrate Diwali. Also US President Barack Obama who is now known as a President seeking world peace after winning Nobel, uses a candle to light a 'diya' to observe Diwali at the White House.

US President Barack Obama celebrated Diwali by lighting the ceremonial lamp at the White House and becoming the first US President to personally grace the occasion.

"I think it's fitting that we begin this work in the week leading up to the holiday of Diwali, the festival of lights, when members of some of the world's greatest faiths celebrate the triumph of good over evil," Obama said in his remarks on the occasion at a White House function held at its historic East Room recently.

Mostly when Diwali come people in general make elaborate preparations for this festival by cleaning and decorating their homes, purchasing new clothes and fire crackers and preparing verities of sweets and distributing them to friends and neighbours and exchanging gift. On all the days of Diwali people decorate the area in front of their homes with colourful rangoli, light small earthenware lamps with cotton wickers and oil and hang kandeels (lanterns).



What is Diwali about In the five day long Diwali festival, the first day is called Dhanvantari Triodasi also called Dhan Theras (Danteras). The second day of Diwali is called Narak Chaturdasi. On this day Lord Krishna destroyed the demon Narakasur and made the world free from fear. The third day of Diwali is the actual Diwali. This is the day when worship of Goddess Lakshmi is performed (Lakshmi Pooja).



On the fourth day of Diwali, Govardhan Pooja is offered. This is the first day of Lunar New Year. On this day old business accounts are closed and new account-books are opened. The fifth day of the Diwali is called Bhau Beej. It is a day dedicated to sisters and brothers visit their sisters and give gifts to them.

One of the most common stories about Diwali is the return of Lord Ram and his wife Sita to Ayodhya after their fourteen year exile after defeating and killing the evil king Ravan of Lanka. After this victory, the entire city of Ayodhya was decorated with garlands and flowers in celebration for the arrival of Lord Ram. Ram returned to Ayodhya with Sita and was greeted with joy and celebrations and the people lighted rows of clay lamps to welcome him. The day Lord Ram destroyed Ravan was called Dasara and the day on which he returned to Ayodhya was called Diwali.



Let this diwali burn all your bad times and enter you in good times.Wishing all of you a very Happy & Prosperous Diwali

Dates of High Tides in Mumbai this Monsoon - Please Note it !

This monsoon we may have sleep less nights....
Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) published the 19 days of high tide as Red letter days in the rainy season between June 22 and September 21 for this year, this means when the crest of waves at high tide is over four meters and there is heavy rain at same time, the possibility of the city flooding is very high.

Sluice gates, which funnel flood waters from the city to the Arabian Sea, are also closed on these days, increasing the possibility of flooding if there are heavy rains. Please be alert if there are heavy rains during the afternoons.

The metropolis would experience one of the highest tide of 5.05 m in the last 100 years on July 24, 2009. Additional Commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Kishore Gajbhiye said this.

''Mumbai will experience probably the biggest high tide. In July 2005, when the city had experienced floods, the high tide was of 4.85 m. On July 24 this year, the high tide will be of 5.05 m. This year, the city will experience high tide on 22 days during the Monsoon,'' Mr Gajbhiye said.

''On July 23, the high tide will be of 5.01 metres. If the high tide will be accompanied by heavy rains, the city will witness floods. In such a situation, people should take due care and not leave their homes,'' he said.

A meeting of the Disaster Management department of the BMC for pre-Monsoon preparations took place recently. Officers from police, government, army, CRPF, Meteorological department, Central Railway, Western Railway and other government departments attended the meeting. Monsoon preparations by all the departments are in full swing. De-silting work of the Mithi river had been completed 80 per cent by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), Mr Gajbiye added.

On 26th July 2005, combined with the high tides, an unbelievable 944 mm of rainfall, contributed to over 400 deaths in Mumbai region. It would be good to take note of the below dates and review your entities plans & preparations to meet any contingencies this monsoon season.



Days to watch out for this monsoon, with expected level of high tide in metres. The danger level, says the Disaster Management Cell, is 5.05 m high tide on July 24



Citiziens should not Panic and spread rumours, they should not move out of the house unless very urget on this days. Don't hesitate to call 108 for any information on the rains, compile all necessary documents in a file and keep it handy. Citizens risiding on ground floors should keep their belongings at heights, park your vehicles on high ground, where there is no water logging.

Prisoners can stand for an election in India but can not vote

World describes India as The world's biggest democracy, may be this is a reflection of what India wants. I doubt it ???.

India's people want to look ahead, but our politics and policies hark back to the past. Major national political parties sounded the bugle for the forthcoming elections over the weekend, it was depressing to see none of the them articulate a vision for India going forward. If one party invokes Gandhi, the other invokes Nehru and Indira. We still have time to alter the agenda for the elections. And I hope the discussion will be about next 5 years rather than previous 60. Because India deserves better.

New agenda in ongoing General Election 2009 - Prisoners can stand for an election in India but can not vote. Does This make any sense? The Constitution of India and the representation of the Peoples Act provide basic foundation of the Electoral System in India. Since India is a democratic country, the office of the Chief Election Commissioner plays a vital role in the election system of the Nation. It is very common to say but it is a fact that a person, who is not convicted and who is simply under trial, simply a prisoner cannot caste his vote from jail or otherwise from a place where he is detained but he can very well contest election from jail. Is it not a flashy or mockery of law that who cannot caste his vote but he can become an M.P. M.L.A. or Minister.

There are several instances in our country, where people have contested elections, while in jail, and some of them have also won
and become M.L.A.'s or M.P's, very strange to hear though.....

If u know Mohammad Shahabuddin, one of India's most notorious Criminal-Politicians, is the Member of Parliament from Siwan, Bihar, with the Rashtriya Janata Dal party of Lalu Prasad Yadav. He is currently serving a life sentence for kidnapping with intent to murder, and is facing trial in more than thirty criminal cases including eight of murder, twenty of attempted murder, as well as kidnapping, extortion, etc he is part of the ruling United Progressive Alliance government of Manmohan Singh. So question here is why this was allowed then... are the laws in India made for common man ? or for criminals ...

Close to 2 lakh citizens in the country are eligible to vote but cannot. And it is not because they do not have voter ID cards. It is an irony in our election law, which states that You can contest elections in India behind bars, if your conviction is less than 2 years. But you cannot vote. And that is because the Representation Of People Act under Section 62(5) does not allow prisoners to exercise their franchise. Of the 3 lakh prisoners in the country, only about 30 percent have been convicted and are serving sentences. The rest are undergoing trial.

The ban on voting strangely does not apply to those under preventive detention. So for instance, a notorious person detained under the Goondas Act, can cast his ballot. But a person imprisoned for a relatively minor offence cannot vote. It defies the constitution. It defies common sense. And how can you treat those under preventive detention differently from under trials ?? it makes completly no-sense.

Its really a very hard time for India, to stand on its toes, otherwise days are not so far to see situation like in Pakistan here. An MP should have leadership quality and should be approachable. I would say there should be a law to qualify for contesting election, otherwise country would face serious leadership problem. Many people are there to represent our contry with vision. A need for the youth is the need for country. Our PM and President should act not just to manage their chair.

It is no doubt true that the criminalization of Politics is a matter of hot discussion throughout the Nation and all attempts are being made to check it and ensure that at least no criminal should be allowed either to contest election or to caste his vote. Very recently, pushing ahead with its agenda of keeping criminals out of politics, the Election Commission has suggested that any person convicted of a crime for more than six months be debarred from contesting elections for six years. Hopes so it gets in paper soon.

I guess one day India will get clean image MP's and MLA'a, When we say clean image, we mean corruption as well as no criminal
background. In the present case we don't seem to have too many leaders who qualify to be the PM of our country.

Happy Makar Sankranti - "Til gul ghya, god god bola"

"Til gul ghya, god god bola" -(henceforth, let there be only friendship and good thoughts between us).

Makar Sankranti marks the commencement of the Sun's journey to the Northern Hemisphere (Makara raasi ), signifying the onset of Uttarayana Punyakalam, and is a day of celebration all over the country.

The day begins with people taking holy dips in the waters and worshipping the Sun. Traditionally, this period is considered an
auspicious time and the veteran Bhishma of Mahabharata chose to die during this period. Bhishma fell to the arrows of Arjun. With his boon to choose the time of his death, he waited on a bed of arrows to depart from this world only during this period. It is believed that those who die in this period have no rebirth.

The Indo Gangetic plain begins this day with taking dips in the Ganga and offering water to the Sun god. The dip is said to purify the self and bestow punya. Special puja is offered as a thanksgiving for good harvest. According to folklore, girls who take the holy dip get handsome husbands and boys get beautiful brides.

Til and Rice are two important ingredients of this festival. In the rice-eating belt of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, people have a special rice-centric meal on this day. Also known as Gangasagar Mela, on this day, people come from all over India for a ceremonial cleansing in the river Hooghly, near Calcutta.

Maharashtra - when two persons greet each other on this festive day, they exchange a few grains of multi-coloured sugar and fried til mixed with molasses and say "til gul ghya, god god bola" (henceforth, let there be only friendship and good thoughts between us).

Gujarat - the pandits consider Sankranti as an auspicious day to grant scholarships and certificates of merit to students who have successfully completed their studies in philosophy. In a Hindu household, new utensils are purchased and used for the first time. Brightly coloured kites dot the skies on this day.

Karnataka - men, women and children attired in colourful tunics visit friends and relatives and exchange pieces of sugarcane, a mixture of fried til, molasses, pieces of dry coconut, peanuts and fried gram. The significance of this exchange is that sweetness should prevail in all the dealings. As part of the festival, cows and bulls are given a wash and the horns are painted with bright colours and decorated with garland, and are taken in a procession in the village to the accompaniment of pipes and drums. In the night a bonfire is lit and the animals are made to jump over the fire.

It is a big event for the Tamils and the people of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugus like to call it 'Pedda Panduga' meaning big festival. The whole event lasts for four days, the first day Bhogi, the second day Sankranti, the third day Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma. One month preceeding Sankranti is called Dhanurmasam and is also an auspicious period. People wake up early, take bath and go around the streets singing devotional songs. Houses are whitewashed and farmers clean their warehouses. Colorful rangoli (muggulu) are drawn in the front yards of every house during this month. These artistic floral designs are drawn on the floor with rice flour or fine powder from limestone. These patterns are decorated with marigold placed on cowdung balls. Colorfully dressed young girls go round them singing songs.