Posts from July 2009

National Indian Calendar

Posted by kunthra 7 Comments
Jul 30 2009

The Gregorian calendar is used alongside the national Indian calendar. Like the solar calendar, the Indian calendar has tweleve months. There used to be dozens and dozens of Indian calendars all centered around each region’s religious festivals. Luckily, now there is only one standard Indian calendar. I have the Indian month which corresponds to a Gregorian month, so that you have some idea of when the Indian months take place.

Chaitra (चैत्र) starts around March 21

Vaisakha (वैशाख) starts April 21

Jyeshta (ज्येष्ठ) May 22

Aashaadha (आषाढ) June 22

Shraavana (श्रावण) July 23

Bhadrapada (भाद्रपद) August 23

Ashwin (अश्विन्) September 23

Kartik (कार्तिक) October 23

Margashirsha (मार्गशीर्ष) November 22

Pausha (पौष) December 22

Magh (माघ) Janurary 21

Phalguna (फाल्गुन) February 20

 

Indian Solar Calendar

Posted by kunthra No Comments
Jul 27 2009

Indians have various calendars. 1) There’s a solar calendar or Gregorian calendar 2) There’s the national lunar calendar used alongside with the Gregorian calendar 3) There’s also a special calendar for religious feasts.

For now, let’s look at the Gregorian calendar. Keep in mind that all three calendars have different dates set aside for the months.

January (जनवरी) janvari

February (फरवरी) farvari

March (मार्च) marc

April (अप्रैल) aprail

May (मई) mai

June (जून) jun

July (जुलाई) julai

August (अगस्त) agast

September (सितम्बर) sitambar

October (अक्तूबर) aktubar

November (नवम्बर) navambar

December (दिसम्बर) disambar

 

Rath Yatra

Posted by kunthra No Comments
Jul 24 2009

Rath Yatra is a famous celebration held every summer in India. Rath (रथ) means chariot and Yatra (यात्रा) means procession. Rath Yatra is celebrated in the city of Puri in the state of Orissa. On Rath Yatra, all three deities are paraded throughout the city for Darshan (दर्शन) or for public worship. The deities are, Jagannath (जगन्नाथ) also known as Krishna (कृष्ण), Balaraama (बलराम) the elder brother of Jagannath and Subhadraa (सुभद्रा) the half sister of Jagannath.

The three deities are wheeled on a wooden cart. The carts are made by skilled craftsman who come from priviledged craftsman families. The sewers of the fabric take painstaking care to make sure everything is made according to religious standards. The chariots are designated by different colors. Usually the white cart stands for Balaraama (बलराम), the red one for Subhadraa (सुभद्रा) and the black is for Jagannatha (जगन्नाथ).

Usually the deities are held in the interior of the temple. Only people of Indian descent can enter the temple and view the deities. However, on the day of the festival, everyone has a chance to view the deities. The festival is a commemoration of the day Jagannath returned to his hometown. The day of the festival is normally a happy and exciting day for the crowds that line up to see the deities. However, in the past, there has been instances where it has turned dangerous and bloody. People have been known to be trampled under the carts and children have been known to lose their parents amist the noise and crowdedness.

The great thing about this festival is that everyone participates. People of low and high born status, people of Hindu and Muslim faiths, men, women, children, they all participate. It’s simply all of India together, regardless of any of the differences between people.

Guru Puurnimaa

Posted by kunthra No Comments
Jul 21 2009

Towards the end of the month, a festival called Guru Puurnimaa (गुरु पूर्णिमा) is celebrated in parts of India. This is a day where students offer puja (पूजा) or worship to their teacher or guru (गुरु). A puja (पूजा) is a religious ceremony performed by Hindus. It’s thought that by performing this ceremony, the student will receive a blessing or word of encouragement from the teacher. It’s India’s version of Teacher Appreciation Day.

A puja (पूजा) can be very elaborate to very simple. Some Hindus designate a special place in their home to perform a puja (पूजा). This part of the home will usually contain an image/photo of the teacher. For famous teachers with lots of followers, the puja (पूजा) may be held at a temple.

Guru Puurnimaa (गुरु पूर्णिमा) is the day of Vyaasa’s (व्यास) birth. Vyaasa (व्यास) is accredited as the one who wrote the Mahaabhaarata (महाभारत). The Mahaabhaarata (महाभारत) is a text that has a combination of Hindu mythology, history and religious teachings. Followers of this text perform a routine where they get up at four in the morning and meditate.

At noon, the followers feed their teachers and wash the feet of their teachers out of respect. This is also a day where followers can be inducted into the sannyasa (संन्यास) organization, which is basically a group of hermit monks. It’s also a day where followers determine the turning point of their lives, which is to lead a life wholly devoted to spiritual resolutions.

Extended Family Words

Posted by kunthra No Comments
Jul 18 2009

The vocabulary of the last post dealt with the immediate family, but as you know, Hindi families can be quite extensive. Today’s vocab will cover the extended family members.

Grandfather (on father’s side) – दादा (daadaa)

Grandmother (on father’s side) – दादी (daadi)

Grandfather (on mother’s side) – नाना (naanaa)

Grandmother (on mother’s side) – नानी (naanii)

Grandson (son’s son from the view of the grandparent) – पोता (potaa)

Granddaughter (son’s daughter) – पोती (potii)

Grandson (daughter’s son) – नाती (naati)

Granddaughter (daughter’s daughter) – नातिन (naatin)

Aunt (from mother’s side) - मौसी (mausii)

Uncle (from mother’s side) – मामा (maamaa)

Aunt (from father’s side) - बुआ (buuaa)

Uncle (from father’s side) – चाचा (chacha)

Son-in-law – दामाद (daamaad)

Daughter-in-law – पतोहू (patohu)

 

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