My Delhi Trip

After twenty two years of me thinking about, dreaming about, researching, speculating, wondering and wishing, it is here. I came to delhi to see my daughter and my cousin family . In this Christmas season I made five days trip. Once in Delhi we saw some spectacular sights.Akshardam lotus temple and Qutb Minar amazed with their architecture. We went to India Gate. I saluted the soldiers who have shed their lives for the sake of country and people. Rashtrapathi Bhavan can be seen from India Gate. We went nearer to the Rashtrapathi Bhavan gate .Near Rashtrapathi Bhavan, we went to Secretariat Metro Station. This is one of the many Metro stations in Delhi. This station is under ground. The moment you enter the station after getting the tickets and security checks, you’ll see one of the technologically advanced metro networks in the world. The station is very clean and informative. Also, inside the train, there are display boards and speaker system. They announce upcoming station and which side door will open. Trains are very good and they maintain the timings. Also, it’s very clean. I felt like I’m in developed country.

Next to visit that day was Delhi Haat.Delhi Haat is a huge ground where you have craftsman and weavers from all around India exhibit their handicrafts & textiles; The best part is that each seller is allowed to exhibit only for few weeks, which guarantees variety and freshness. I didn't expect many people visiting such a place, but was surprised!. I was told that the main reason people come here is the sheer number of food stalls, you have stalls from almost all Indian States (Kashmir to Tamilnadu, Gujarat to Sikkim). This probably is the single largest variety of Indian Cuisines I have ever seen. When I left the place, I was certainly envying Delhiites that this place is not in my place. though I suppose it makes sense for it to be first created in the National Capital.

My cousin arranged travels for couple of days to visit Haridwar, Rishikesh, Agra, Mathura and back to Delhi. First we went to Agra fort, Agra Fort, located at a strategically important position, was the hallmark of Mughal political hegemony established under Akbar the Great (1543-1605). Akbar constructed this impressive fort, and it served as the power center till Shahjahan shifted the capital to Delhi. Agra Fort or the Red Fort is located on the banks of the Yamuna near the railway station, at a distance of less than 2 kilometers from the Taj Mahal.
In the afternoon we went to Agra. I had seen Taj Mahal in papers and television. I never felt it as magnificent monument. But, when I entered the premises and watched it, wow! It is truly a magnificent structure! We were the ones to visit it in peak winter season in blazing sunlight!!! As soon as you enter through the main entrance it’s a feast to the eyes. After getting our fill of looking at the Taj and when the eyes did wander a bit we were puzzled by the sight that met our eyes. The Taj we realized that one has to remove footwear and then go up to see the Taj. Since it was evening, cool air was breezing from river Yamuna. We spent almost 1½ hour here just watching Taj! We headed towards Mathura, birth place of Lord Krishna. After 2 hours journey, we landed in Mathura and went to Krishna temple. This temple is very big and beautiful. There were very strict securities checking while entering the temple. The icons of Krishna and Radha are very nice. Also, there was one big mosque adjacent to the temple. It looked like this mosque was built inside the temple premises.

Then we visit famous spots in Rishikesh. The shared auto dropped us at Ram Jhoola. From there, we took another shared auto up to Laxman Jhoola. At Laxman Jhoola, we waited for the bus to take us to Shivpuri. After waiting for 30 minutes or so, we found a bus. The bus started climbing up the hills. We could see the crystal clear Ganga flowing down the hills. When we reached Shivpuri, we were thrilled to find the amazingly clear transparent water. We could see the boulders and stones from the top of the Ganges water we headed straight for Laxman Jhoola What a sight Laxman Jhoola was! This jhoola connects two ends of Ganga without a single pillar in between. The bridge or the jhoola is held together by strong cables. When we set our feet on the Jhoola, we could feel the bridge moving. Even scooters and motorcycles run without fear over this moving bridge. There were langurs or white monkeys at the other end of the bridge. After Laxman Jhoola, we took a shared auto up to Ram Jhoola, our final destination in Rishikesh. Ram Jhoola is exactly like Laxman Jhoola; however, it was built earlier. Instead of going across Jhoola, we took a shared boat to go to other side of Ganges. We walked up to other side of the Ganges river through Ram Jhoola. The entire Gita Bhawan area was shining like a jewel. I wanted to stay in Rishikesh for few more days but time was not on our side. We took a shared auto to reach back to Rishikesh bus stand. We thanked God for giving us an opportunity to visit Rishikesh :) I never wanted to come back, it’s beautiful.

We had a superb road and a series of flyovers from Delhi to Gurgaon, the malls in this place are too good. Absolutely world class. Finally, I look up There is always something going on and anything you want you can have for the right price. However, there are people everywhere, and you have to fight to get what you want and find the things you want even if you are willing to pay for them. It's an incredible city. Diverse, like any big city. In Delhi though, all of those different ethnicities, social groups, economic classes, and lifestyles coexist, literally, side by side. There is no one "nice" part of the city, and any one area that is the "other side of the tracks." No wonder, India would become developed country in future... it was time to say good bye to Delhi.

New Year History and Origin

If you look long back into the history and origin of human civilization, you’ll find the New Year being celebrated on different dates by different groups of people across the length and breadth of the globe. Celebrating January 1 as the New Year’s Day is only a matter of the last few centuries. History states that the New Year celebration is the oldest of the holidays and is believed to be first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. This New Year festivity lasted for eleven days in Babylon.Some even hold that in 153 B.C, it was the Romans who first observed the first day of January as the beginning of a New Year. But this wasn’t for any seasonal or agricultural reasons; the Romans chose it simply for civil reasons; it was the day when the newly elected consuls would assume their new positions in the Roman Empire. Prior to this, the day of the vernal equinox, March 25, was their New Year Day.

There were not any significant reforms in the calendar until 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII introduced further changes in the calendar system and finally gave shape to the today’s system of calendar calculation and division of the year. Not just that, he also reinforced January 1 as the New Year Day, its pre-Christian connotations notwithstanding. This Gregorian calendar, based on the Roman model, was soon adopted by the Catholic countries. However, it took a little time for the Reformists to follow suit. Great Britain and its American colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar in the year 1752 and before long, this came to be recognized as the official calendar in all countries over the world.

New Year has both religious and secular aspects. The Roman Catholics observe New Year Day as a day of obligation, while the rest of the Christians around the world celebrate New Year as a day of worship, followed by merry-making at night .But with gradual spread of Christianity, the church started its own way of outwitting pagan celebrations—they observed their individual religious observances for the occasions. New Year was no exception. Hence, the New Year Day is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some Christian denominations.

At different places around the world, different kinds of people have their own unique ways of New Year celebrations while most countries celebrate New Year on January 1, some countries like China and Iran celebrate it on different dates. The New Year celebrations of the Iranians are in March to welcome spring. Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year is celebrated in late September or early October.

In India, New Year is celebrated at the beginning of each season. Diwali which is celebrated at the beginning of autumn is also known as the ‘festival of lights’. Hundreds of diyas (small handmade oil lamps) are lit in each house and firecrackers are burnt to drive away the evil and welcome the good. Baisakhi is the New Year celebration at the beginning of spring. It marks the beginning of the Hindu solar year. The festival sees a lot of merrymaking with firecrackers, wearing of new clothes, feasting and dancing.New Year customs and traditions that are followed today have their roots way back in the ancient societies. In the ancient societies, the number of harvests determined the number of New Year they had. New Year over the years has always symbolized a new beginning and the New Year customs and traditions are a result of prevalent customs and traditions of New Year across the world. If you look closely, you will notice that the customs and traditions we follow today on New Year are modified versions of these ancient practices.

The Open House, which was started by George Washington, is yet another of the New Year customs and traditions that still prevails. It is the tradition of holding a feast to which all are invited. However in the past, the custom was exploited and many people took it as an opportunity to just eat and drink as much as they could, wherever they could. So slowly people began sending invitations and only the invitees were allowed at the feast. Hence it declined to some extent, but at a few places, it is still practiced.

* Previously it was believed that the fate of the whole year could be affected by what people did on the first day of the New Year. So they celebrated a lot during the first few hours of the New Year and this custom is happily followed even today with people partying into the late hours of the night on New Year’s Eve and New Year Day. The food that people have on New Year is often symbolic too. Anything that is circular is customarily the item of choice as it is a representation of ‘the coming of the full circle’.The New Year customs and traditions have become a part of the celebrations during New Year in the United States of America as also in the rest of the world. Go ahead and enjoy the brand New Year ahead with all its fun customs and traditions.

WISH YOU ALL HAPPY NEW YEAR

A NEW YEAR DAWNS…
IT BRINGS IN
NEW ASPIRATIONS,NEW HOPES
NEW RESOLUTIONS A WHOLE NEW BEGINNING
MAY ALL YOUR DREAM COME TRUE
MAY YOU BLESSED WITH JOY ALL THROUGH
HAPPY NEW YEAR...

(COLLECTION FROM NET)

Happy Christmas

Hare Rama Hare Krishna

Team Spirit

Team spirit From last article we not only learn of the reason for the V formation of geese in flight but also learn the importance of team work that nature teaches us. This demonstrates that ‘No man is an island’. We need to not only work together but support each other to achieve a common goal. Also, working as a team, encouraging and supporting each other lets us accomplish amazing goals with much less effort.
Sharing the same direction and working as team, get us to the destination quicker and easier by helping ourselves the accomplishments are greater!
By standing in time and united beside those who are going in the same direction, the effort will be less. It will be easier to pleasing to reach the goal, every one will be inclined to accept and give help.
To share the leadership there must be mutual respect between us at the time….
Sharing the hardest problems and tasks….
Gathering our abilities and combining our facilities
Talents and resourses….
When there is courage and encouragement
The progress is greater…
A timely word of encouragement, always motivate, helps and strengthens…
It produces the best of benefits…
Let’s stay beside each other
No matter what the differences…
Specially in the time of difficulty and great challenges…
If we bond together and support each other…
If we make true the sprit of team work…
Regardless of our differences, we can rise to meet our challenge.
If we understand the real value of friendship…
If we are aware of the feeling of sharing… Life will be easier and the passing years more fulfilling...
Why can't we be like these geese?
(Ref from inspirational books)

Why do geese fly in a "V" Formation?

Why do geese fly in a V formation?

I am always good observer of nature. In Morning and evening I saw birds flying in group in 'v' formation .I always amazed to see it . While reading I understand the scientific reason and their team spirit. That I am sharing...

Most of us based on our geographical location might have seen large groups of geese migrating while flying in a V formation. Other of us might have only seen this in books or on the television. This formation can be seen when they migrate from their summer homes. You may have wondered why they choose this particular regular V-shaped formation pattern. Everything in nature was done for a particular reason even though we might not see the obvious reason for such. Nature teaches us many things, and if we could only just take some time out of our daily busy schedule to ponder, learn and understand things around us whether it is an ant, a plant, a bird, our general surrounding and so on, we would be much more wiser individuals and leaders in this world.
This article will therefore answer the question above and also quickly look at how we can learn and apply this natural phenomena to better our daily lives.So, why lines. do they fly in this particular formation? Over the years scientists have came up with theories of why migratory birds such as geese fly in a V-shaped formation. A study done sometime back also shed some light on this particular V formation. This study discovered that birds flying in a V format had lower heart rates than bird flying alone. Why? The aerodynamic V shape formation reduces the air drag (air resistance) that each bird experiences when in flight in comparison to a bird flying solo. This allows them to cover longer distance (thousands of miles) with much less effort. For example, geese can achieve a greater distance of about 70 percent when flying in groups than each flying solo, using the same amount of energy. In this formation, the bird in the lead position will experience a greater air resistance and will have to work a little harder, however, when the lead bird is tired it falls out of position and goes behind into one of the V position Another bird from behind will then quickly move forward into the leading position thus, maintaining the V formation.

The same happens for those birds in trailing positions especially those at both extreme ends of the V formation since they tire more quickly than those in the middle. This cycle continues as they travel to their destination. Thus each bird gets the opportunity and responsibility to be in the lead position as well as enjoying the middle position since less air drag is at this position. This enjoyment of less air resistance comes as a result of the birds in front creating and improving the aerodynamics of the others behind which continues along the line of V. In other words, this formation breaks up the air, which then flows over the rest of the group more easily. This means all birds benefit individually while working harmoniously as a team. Working as a team means less work for each bird because flying requires a lot of energy especially for birds traveling a very long journey. This formation therefore help migratory birds such as the geese to use their energy efficiently and effectively to achieve one goal - to reach there destination. All members of the team plays their part and mutually benefits from this. How do they keep this formation? If a bird should shift out of position then that bird will suddenly feel the air drag of going solo and quickly get back into the line of formation. This demonstrates how team work plays a very important and useful role in nature.

There are other benefits of flying in this V position. Every bird in the group fly in the field of vision all other members. This helps in keeping track of each other in the group. This also makes it conducive to the members in the group to communicate with each other while in flight. For example, if one bird should become sick or had been injured by some means such as being shot, then, that bird will fall out of formation. This will then result in two other geese falling out with the wounded goose to help and offer protection and will remain until that bird recovers or dies before rejoining the others. It is important to note also that military jets fly in this V formation for the same reasons. Each fighter pilot can see, communicate and help each other while in flight working as a team. In addition, NASCAR racecar drafts another car to reduce the air resistance on their car.
From this article we not only learn of the reason for the V formation of geese in flight but also learn the importance of team work that nature teaches us.

There is a lot we can learn from nature if we only take the time to be more observant. We need to not only work together but support each other to achieve a common goal. Also, working as a team, encouraging and supporting each other lets us accomplish amazing goals with much less effort. “No man is an island”, and we do need each other for the human race to exist. All of us have a role to play in society and the world at large - “All for one and one for all”.

Festival Of Lights..