Posts from March 2010

The particle भी means “also” or “too”.

Rāmu also went – रामू भी गया 

रामू  = Rāmu. भी = also. गया = went.

भी can also be used after a pronoun

I came too - मैं भी आया

मैं  = I. भी = too. आया = came.

Here are other pronouns that you can substitute with “I… too”

We also – हम भी

You as well – आप भी

He/She as well – वह भी

They too – वे भी

भी can be added with other words to form new words:

भी with indefinite pronoun कोई (any) will become “anyone”

Nobody – कोई भी नहीं

Anything – कुछ भी

The word जब (when) with भी will be जभी or “whenever”

The word तब (then) with भी will be तभी or “even then”

Whatever – जितना भी

Whoever /whichever – जो भी

Rāma Navamī (राम नवमी) is a festival that celebrates the birth of Rāma. Rāma is considered one of the incarnations of Vishnu (विष्णु), the chief god of gods. In some places, Rāma is celebrated with his wife Sītā (सीता), his brother Lakshmana (लक्ष्मण), and an ardent devotee of Rāma named Hanumān (हनुमान्). The festivities may last up to 9-10 days, which includes reciting prayers, observing the marriage of Rāma and Sītā and drinking a sweet drink called Panakam.

Here is a video showcasing the festival:

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Here’s a video on how to make the sweet drink made of jaggery and peppers:

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Here’s is an organized chart where you can compare the devanagari numerals with the arabic numerals. For more on Indian numerals, go to http://www.transparent.com/hindi/ and type the word ”numbers” in the top right corner where it says, “enter search terms”. Then scroll down and you’ll see the Indian numerals as well.

Arabic Numeral Notation Indian Numeral Notation Pronunciation
0 शून्य
1 एक
2 दो
3 तीन
4 चार
5 पांच
6 छः
7 सात
8 आठ
9 नौ
10 १० दस
11 ११ ग्यारह
12 १२ बारह
13 १३ तेरह
14 १४ चौदह
15 १५ पन्द्रह
16 १६ सोलह
17 १७ सत्रह
18 १८ अठारह
19 १९ उन्नीस
20 २० बीस
30 ३० तीस
40 ४० चालीस
50 ५० पचास
60 ६० साठ
70 ७० सत्तर
80 ८० अस्सी
90 ९० नब्बे
100 १०० सौ

When a masculine word ends in , , , , , it does not change in the plural :

So बाल (child) will be बाल (children)

When a masculine word ends in , change it to to make it plural :

काला (black singular) = कालो (black plural)

When a feminine word ends in or , change it to एँ :

रात (dark sing.) = रातों (dark plu.)

When a feminine word ends in या, change it to याँ :

कुटिया (shack) = कुटियाँ (shacks)

When a feminine word ends in or , change it to इयाँ :

बिल्ली (cat) = बल्लियाँ (cats)

When a feminine word ends in , , change it to एँ :

गौ (cow) = गौएँ (cows)

Some singular words don’t change in the plural :

मामा (uncle) = मामा (uncles)

There are some masculine words that don’t follow any rules when they change in the feminine form :

पिता (father) = माता (mother)

Last week, in many different regions in India, people celebrated the New Year according to the various Indian calendars.

New Years to the Sindhis (सिन्धी) is called Cheti Chand. This day also marks the birth of a river deity famous in Sindhi lore. Here is a clip of some of the festivities:

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New Years to the Telegu people is called युगादी. On this day a mixture called Pachhadi is consumed. Pachhadi is a concoction of six different tastes that include, sourness, sweetness, tanginess, spicyness, saltiness, and bitterness. This is supposed to represent the idea that life is a mixture of emotions like sadness, happiness, anger, etc. Here is an easy recipe of how to make Pachhadi :

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Gudi Padwa (गुढी पाडवा) is also New Years for people in the regions of Goa and Maharashtra. More info about this celebration is here: http://www.transparent.com/hindi?s=gudi+padwa. Along with a video:

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