Archive of Selected News and Photo Galleries of Last Years

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Hermitage Museum complex. From left to right: Hermitage Theatre – Old Hermitage – Small Hermitage – Winter Palace ("New Hermitage" is situated behind Old Hermitage).

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..• Photo Gallery: Nrsimha Caturdasi 2010, Simhacalam, Germany

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.(Full Image) Radha Madan Mohan in Goloka Dhama in Abentheuer, Germany. Travel Information


Huffington Post: The Birth of Krishna: When God Came To Earth
- Krishna means "all-attractive" and avatar means "descent of the divine." Today is Krishna Janmastami, the birth or descent of Krishna, the god worshipped by millions of Hindus around the world. Krishna appeared on this earth, at midnight, approximately 5,000 years ago in Mathura, located in Northern India, 91 miles south of New Delhi. Krishna is God as never seen before. He wore many hats: child, friend, servant, romantic lover, cowherd boy and killer of demons. For someone coming from a Western paradigm and even for some Hindus, Krishna can easily be passed off as a mythological figure created by a fiction writer for the purpose of entertainment. However, hundreds of millions of people will perform severe fasts, engage in extended rituals and worship, recite extensively his activities and also the verses of the Bhagavad Gita for the purpose of remembering him and his activities on this day and throughout the year. (more)

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- Base jumpers leap from the 421-metre Kuala Lumpur Tower during an international event there, in which more than 100 jumpers took part. (Full image)


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• Travel Journey to India: Affordable Hotels • Merian: Luxury Hotels • The Hotels of the Captain

..Photo Gallery: London: Dawdling on the Thames

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.• MERIAN Travel Journal: India Photo Gallery


.• MERIAN, Taj Hotels Photos: Indian Decadence

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.» The Atlantic

Indian Festivals
Sep. 23, 2011

Hindus around the world -- from South Asia to Britain and beyond -- observe many colorful holidays throughout the year. Recent festivals include the Ganesh Chaturthi, celebrating the birth of the elephant-headed deity, and Janamashtami, the birth anniversary of the god Krishna. The range of experiences at these celebrations runs from joyfully loud and spectacular to solemn and contemplative. Each devotee celebrates in a distinct, personal way even while joining the larger community. Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion; the majority of its one billion adherents are concentrated in India, but sizable communities exist all over the globe. I hope you enjoy these vivid, intriguing glimpses of Hindu festivals photographed over the past few months. (39 photos total)




- Indian married women perform rituals around a Banyan tree during the festival of Vat Savitri in Ahmadabad, India, on June 15, 2011. Vat Savitri is celebrated during the time of the full moon, when women tie cotton threads around a banyan tree and pray for the longevity of their husbands. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

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.» Boston Globe

Scenes from India
Sept. 22, 2008

India is home to over 1.2 billion people of wildly varying religions, cultures and levels of wealth. Only 61 years since declaring its Independence from English rule, modern India is still defining itself, sometimes against the friction inside and outside of its borders. Here are some photos of scenes in India. (34 photos total)


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- Indian Krishna devotees pay their respects after pouring milk water onto an idol of Lord Krishna at the Shivala temple in Amritsar, on August 24, 2008, on the occasion of the "Janmashtami" festival, which marks the birth of Lord Krishna. Devotional songs and dances mark the celebrations of the festival all over northern India. (Narinder Nanu/AFP)
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Links and Information
Wikipedia: Ganesh Chaturthi
Wikipedia: Kashmir conflict
Topics page, NYTimes.com: India

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‘Mosaru Kudike’ has a long history
By Raviprasad Kamila, Aug. 22


.› high res. › India Forums


Maangalore - People have been coming to the streets supporting Anna Hazare. But this Monday evening people will be on roads in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi for a different reason. It is to celebrate “Mosaru Kudike” festival on the occasion of Sri Krishna Janmashtami. “Mosaru Kudike” is called “Vittal Pindi” in Karnataka and “Dahi Handi” in North India, and is celebrated in different parts of the country. The “Dahi Handi' has drawn the attention of the Maharashtra government which has decided to patronise it. Maharashtra's Tourism Minister Chhagan Bhujbal announced at a press conference in Mumbai on Friday that the government will support, promote, and publicise “Dahi Handi” festival from this year onwards.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) will promote it as “The Govinda Festival” to attract tourists. The Minister went on record that it will be promoted at the national and international level as a part of Maharashtra's cultural heritage. According to H.K. Sureshacharya, Principal, Sri Madhwasiddantha Prabodhini Sanskrit College, Mosaru Kudike festival in Udupi has a history of 775 years. It is observed in Mathura, Brindavan, and Dwaraka. A. Suresh Babu, president, Sarvajanika Sri Krisna Jayanthyutsava Samithi, Attavar, Mangalore, says the event in Attavar is more than a century old. It observed the centenary year of the festival in 2009. The samiti is celebrating its 102nd festival on Monday.


.(Full Image) › Scribd.com: Rituals and Customs of Janmashtami

- Breaking pots: A file photo of people forming a human pyramid, as a boy dressed as Lord Krishna reaches out to break a ‘Dahi Handi’.


Mr. Sureshacharya says Mosaru Kudike is nothing but demonstrating and imitating naughty actions of the then young Krishna and his young gopalaka friends. They were said to have sneaked into homes in Gokul like thieves to drink milk and curd. Unable to bear them, women hung the pots in the ceiling. He says Lord Krishna was born at midnight. Hence Mosaru Kudike is observed the next evening to celebrate his birth by imitating the actions of Lord Krishna and gopalakas.

But it has got a philosophical meaning, says G.N. Bhat, a Sanskrit scholar and Principal, Canara College, Mangalore. Mr. Bhat says the pot represents a body which is made of pancha mahabhutas (five gross elements). Curd or butter inside the pot represents atma or soul. If a seeker wants to achieve self-realisation to attain atmananda, he or she has to learn to break the shackles of these five elements. Mr. Sureshacharya says forming human pyramids to break pots hung on long wooden bars or ropes is a recent development. In olden days, those who wanted to break the pots used to dress as gopalakas. Now this vesha has disappeared.

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• Guardian: Hindus celebrate Krishna Janmashtami festival in Mumbai • NDTV: How she became a Govinda in 21 days • Dahi handi has become ‘The Govinda Festival’

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.(Full Image) • Burma Ballon Tourism: Easternsafaris.com

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India celebrates Sun god
November 1, 2011


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- Nepalese woman worship the sun as they stand in the Bagmati River during the Chhath festival, which honours the Sun God, in Kathmandu. People pay their respects to both the rising and setting sun during the Chhath festival when people express their thanks and seek blessings from the forces of nature.


The Chhath Puja has concluded in Bihar, Jharkhand and other parts of the country today with oblations to the rising Sun on Wednesday morning. During puja worshipper did fasting of 36 hours. AIR Patna correspondent reports that amid traditional chhath folk songs devotees started gathering at various ghats of rivers, ponds and water reservoirs in wee hours to pay offerings to the Sun God. Roads and Ghats were tastefully decorated with flowers and lights of different colors. Crackers were burst at the time of oblations to the rising Sun Lakhs of devotees standing in knee deep water on the banks of various rivers including Ganga Gandak and Kosi paid oblations to the rising Sun. A large number of devotees performed Chhath puja celeberations at Sun temples in Deo of Aurangabad , Bargao of Nalanda and Pandarak in Patna districts of the state. Large number of people including women and children attired in sparkling garments turn up at the ghats to perform ritual.

In Uttar Pradesh, on the second and last day of chat puja thousands of people gathered at Various Ghats of Ganga river in Varanasi and Allahabad early this morning for worshipping rising sun for the well being of their family. Devotees, especially women in large numbers performed their rituals at the bank of Ganga River and nearby temples.The chhat celebrations and gathering of people were seen in other eastern UP districts of Gorakhpur, Ballia, Gazipur and Azamgarh also. The women who were observing fast for last four days also broke their fast after paying their obeisance to the Sun God. Most of Women were seen in traditional yellow dress and offered prayers with family in the midst of folk songs and drum beats. From: (newsonair.com)

.Photo Gallery: Bowing to the Sun • ToI: Chhath pooja gains popularity in city, devotees throng riverbanks‎ • Wikipedia.org: The Chhat Puja in India

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.....Hindustan Times Photo Gallery: Bowing to the sun

- Nepalese woman worship the sun as they stand in the Bagmati River during the Chhath festival, which honours the Sun God, in Kathmandu. People pay their
respects to both the rising and setting sun during the Chhath festival when people express their thanks and seek blessings from the forces of nature.


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Rabri Devi worships Sun God in New Delhi.........- Prisoners celebrate Chhath Puja at Dhanbad jail in Jharkhand.


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- A Nepalese woman worships the sun as she stands in the Bagmati River during the Chhath festival, which honours the Sun God, in Kathmandu, Nepal.

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.» The Atlantic

Scenes From India
Jan. 18, 2012

Diversity is everywhere in India, from its religions and languages to its economy, and climates. The second-most populous nation in the world, India is home to more than 1.2 billion people. Most are Hindu, but seven other religions -- including Islam, Christianity and Sikhism -- make up nearly 20 percent of the population. January 26 will be India's 62nd Republic Day, marking the date in 1950 when the country's constitution came into force. Collected here are recent photos from across the vast nation, offering only a small glimpse of the people and diversity of India. (41 photos total)




- A Hindu woman offers prayers to the setting sun during the festival of Chhath at the Arabian Sea, in Mumbai, India, on November 1, 2011. During this ancient Hindu festival, rituals are performed to thank the Sun god for sustaining life on earth. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

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..» Boston Globe

Kalachakra: A festival of teachings and meditations

Kalachakra is an ancient ritual that involves a series of prayers, meditations, dances, chants, vows and the construction of a large sand mandala - all with the aim to bring world peace. Kalachakra 2012 began January 1 and lasted for ten days in the northern Indian state of Bihar. The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Spiritual Leader, gave teachings and participated over the course of the festival. -- Paula Nelson (41 photos total)


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- Buddhists queue to enter the Mahabodhi temple, where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment, before the Kalachakra Buddhist festival in Bodhgaya, Bihar state, India. (Altaf Qadri/AP)