Gita Press, Gorakhpur (Crisis and Solution)

Dear Friends,

Last year, I came to know about the ongoing problems in the workshop of the famous publishing company Gita Press, the news also mentioned the possibility of closing down of the publication... I was really sad hearing about it as they have been doing such a wonderful job in spreading the Scriptures to all. I have so many books of Gita Press- Bhagwad Geeta, Shri RamCharitManas, Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuraan, Shiv Puran and soooo many of such books. Their price is so nominal that it is almost unbelievable in today's world which is dominated by new and new market catchy bestsellers every year!... Gita Press is responsible to bring the valuable ancient texts to the masses, that too in so many different languages!!

 I was thinking that some solution should be found by all of us and by the Government to save this house of treasure, so that Gita Press can emerge comfortably from the crisis. 

I also want to thank the 'SavetheGitaPress' hashtag in Twitter and Zee News. They are the reason that general public came to know about this issue. And also to many more websites who published the news.

One such post is here:-

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/08/28/save-gita-press-92-year-old-hindu-publication-house-evokes-me/

Some of the books of Geeta Press which I have-

The last update is that they have resumed work. I also went to their shop in Delhi and Sealdah Rail Station recently and purchased books. I was really happy to find their stall at the Delhi Book Fair this year. 


Lots of Best Wishes to the revered publication house.


Jai Shri Krishna.

'Michchhami Dukkadam'

Few years back, I came to know about a festival called - 'Michchhami Dukkadam', it is a festival according to Jainism. It means- "may all the evil that has been done be fruitless". This is celebrated on the annual day, that is the last day of the Jain year.

Such a nice concept! I was so happy knowing about it! In today's world, mostly peole are not ready to accept their mistakes. And here we have a festival where people actually admit their mistakes, ask for forgiveness and also wish their wrong deeds to go in vain. Very very higher concept and liberating! Really amazing to know such a festival which asks us to be aware of our wrong doings, admit them and try to nullify them.

Nice way to inculcate values in us :). It shows the importance of forgiveness in our life, which we all need to remember always.

TV Report on 'Simhasta' 2016 on Doordarshan

On 22nd May 2016, after the programme 'Mann ki Baat', Doordarshan National showed a report on Simhasta, the Kumbh Mela at Ujjain. I really loved to watch the programme. It presented many long shots of the ghats of the river Shipra, which were full of devotees. Many scenes of early morning, even before sunrise :) :). Loved those scenes.

1st Shaahi Snaan was on- 22nd April, 2016

Then the 2nd Shaahi Snaan on- 9th May, 2016, 

Special snaan dates were also there like 3rd May, 2016, on the occasion of Varuthini Ekadashi.

Last Shaahi snan was on 21st May, 2016.

Many pilgrims appreciated the arrangements made by the State Govt and the volunteers (/organisation in charge).

All the 13 groups of Sant Sampradaay participated in the Shaahi Snaan.

Around  5 to 7 crore people attended Simhasta this year, according to the state Govt.

The programme also showed the temple of Mahakaal which is the heart of Ujjain (earlier known as Avantika nagri in mythological texts).

Kumbh Mela takes place once in every 12 years. This year the celebration was from 22nd April to 21st May.

One spiritual leader explained how the Sanskrit word ‘nadi’ has come from the word Neer, which means water, and how 'Naraayan' is directly related to this concept. Water is an important part of archan, tarpan- all these religious  activities.

This programme reminded me of one song from Ramanand Sagar's ‘Shri Krishna’, where Krishna and Balaram travel to the aashram of Guru Sandipani on the banks of Shipra, at Avantika nagri, to receive education. Here is the lyrics of the song -

Shiksha praapt karne ko chale hain brahmachaari

Mathura se Avantika chale hain Brahmachaari

Sevak hain sang me na sang hai sawaari

Shiksha praapt karne ko chale hain brahmachaari

Mathura se Avantika chale hain Brahmachaari

Pag pag chalna bhumi pe sona

Sanyam se vichalit nahi hona

Bhiksha maangke bhojan pana
Bharmacharya ke niyam nibhaana

Bharatiya batukon ki parampara hai nyaari

Shiksha praapt karne ko chale hain brahmachaari

Mathura se Avantika chale hain Brahmachaari

Sevak hain sang me na sang hai sawaari

Shiksha praapt karne ko chale hain brahmachaari

Mathura se Avantika chale hain Brahmachaari

Om Namah Shivaay

Jai Mahakaal param kripaal

Shambhu namaste

Shambhu namaste

Swayambhu namaste

Jai Mahakaal param kripaal

Shambhu namaste

Punya bhoomi Mahakaal ki

Avantika shubhnaam

Sapt puri me ek yeh paap moksh ka dhaam

Kshipra teere upvane Sandipani ka vaas

Sarva kalaa jinko sulabh

Sadgun inke daas

Shishyon ko gurudev den ved vihit sanskaar

Guru sang milke sab karen Vidhivat mantrochchaar

And here is the video- 

This report on Sinhasta was a pleasant surprise for me, giving a taste of a Kumbh Mela :), which we could not attend, still felt like taking part in it, after watching the programme.

Lots of Thanks to Doordarshan for airing it.

Jai Shri Krishna.


(Photos taken from internet. Credit goes to the uploaders. Used only for the purpose of appreciation.

Video from Ramanand Sagar's 'Shri Krishna' used for the sole purpose of spreading devotion. No personal profit intended.)

Mahalaya- The Auspicious Day!

Yesterday was Mahalaya. As usual we woke up at 4 am with the great 'Mahisashura Mardini' on All India Radio :). This presentation is a legend in the true sense of the term. All Bengalis feel the emotions, songs, and all the related associations of childhood - while listening to the programme.

A pious day indeed! End of Pitripaksha and the beginning of Devipaksha. The ritual of the 'tarpan' of the ancestors are also done on this day.

After the completion of Mahisashura Mardini on radio, almost all the tv channels presented 'Mahalaya' in some way or the other. On this day, I love to watch all the programmes/ dance/ drama offered by all the channels. I keep on watching all of them by changing the channel frequently :). This day has an unique charm, which conveys itself through all these enactment of the glories of Ma Aadi Shakti.

Here I am giving the list of programmes aired today on various channels-

* Star Jalsha- 'Abhaya Mangal' ( Stories from Chandi Mangal)

* Zee Bangla- 'Maatri Rupena' (covering the stories of- Kali

                                                                            Shatakkhi

                                                                            Chaamunda

                                                                            Durga

                                                                            Parvati

                                                                            Kaushiki

                                                                            Annapurna

                                                                            Chhinnamasta

                                                                            Kaalraatri

                                                                            Mahisashuramardini)

                 - 'Dugga Ma er Chitra Katha' (animated short film for children)

* DD Bangla- 'Mahisashuramardini' (dance)

                - 'Shokal Shokal' (Guest Raja Bhattacharya discussed many stories related to Durga Puja and sang related songs. He also sang famous stotras like - 'Na Taat Na Maat' and 'Nirvaanshatak' by Adi Shankaracharya)

* Aakash Bangla- 'Raat Phalo Shaarod Praate' (very unique attempt by the channel- discussion/ adda throughout the whole previous night to the dawn of Mahalaya, i.e.- 11 pm - 7 am, with many eminent artists :) )

                     - 'Good Morning Aakash' had Sriradha Bandhyopadhyay and Srikumar Chattopadhyay as guests.

* Star Ananda- 'Mahalayae Mahisashuramardini' ( Discussion/ Adda with many famous personalities)

* News Time Bangla- 'Gouri Esho' ( Discussion and Songs by guests)

* Chobbish Ghonta-  Dance on Mahisashuramardini with Chhou and Kathakali artists, Tamnay Bose was also seen in the music team)

* Zee Bangla Cinema- 'Nabarupe Nabadurga' (presentation of the nine forms of Aadi Shakti. Dance - Koel Mullick and anchored by Aditi Munshi. Re telecast of last year's Mahalaya dance programme of Zee Bangla, which was very good in its content.)

* Colors Bangla- 'Gonudada'r Durgapujo' (animated programme for children)

                    

                     - 'Durga Durgotinashini' [this one presented a family reunion story-  where a Saadhika (Rimjhim Mitra) comes to a house and brings joy with her- also, with the main Mahisashuramardini story, through narration and dance]

Also all the news channels were airing Live telecast of the 'tarpan' ceremony or any other religious ceremonies being performed on the banks/ ghats of Ma Ganga. I enjoyed all those images.

Last year Mahalaya was on 12 October. I was remembering that I could not write a post last year on this day, so just mentioning some of those programmes in this year's post :). Last year we watched Mahalaya on Zee Bangla, Colors Bangla, Rupashi Bangla, DD Bangla, CTVN and so on. Also we watched the animated programme – ‘Chhotoder Dugga Thakur’. Programmes were there in almost every channel. All of them were very nice. Only Star Jalsha presented the story of Ramayan - the incident of 'alaakbodhan' by Shri Ram. That was very unique :), as most of the other channels focused their programme on Mahisashura Vadh by Ma Durga.

Truly a blissful day :), which always makes us look forward to Durga Puja :)

Joy Maa Durga!

'Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik'- A Talk Show on Indian Mythology on Epic Channel

This is a talk show on Epic Channel where 'they bring Indian mythology to our home', as the tagline of the show truly says.

The anchor is Himanshi Chaudhury and the expert is Devdutt Pattanaik, who is known to all through his writings in various subjects. In any book shop we find his books now a days. He is writing in this field for many years now.

Each day they take one or more topic from Indian Mythology and discuss about it along with some related topics.

I like the programme because of its content. These days, one or more mythological serials can be found very easily on almost every channel of the television but a discussion on such topics are quite uncommon. This show deals mainly with information, analysis and symbolism of various mythological topics, without going much into the devotional aspect, (which is often the main focus of normal spiritual/ religious channels). In this way, this show is slightly different from them. I feel, The element of spirituality is not the focus of the show. Devdutt Pattanaik talks about real world around us.

Sometime I feel a more detailed explanation was needed and do not agree completely with the views presented in the show but that can happen in the case of any other show also, as many times in our life we all have our own different interpretations of the same event. And sometime I learn something new from the show or get a new angle of a certain incident.

This show deserves praise because of its unique content, that is, discussion on such topics. 


I came to know just recently that this is Season 2 of this programme, they also had it last year. As the vidoes are not available on YouTube, Epic Channel has come up with the published book with the same title of the show, which covers the content of Season 1 of this programme.

Good work by Epic Channel. Looking forward to more such programnes in future.

Cappadocia: Turkey

Recently Travel XP channel aired a programme 'Bliss' on Cappadocia area of Turkey. It is a hilly place, having the colour white in the hills and land, which has made it so unique. 

I was amazed to see the natural beauty of the place! It is so so different from other places! Because of its colour as well as its structure of the city on the hilly area. As if they have converted the caves into rooms and stay there. 


The lifestyle of the people of that area are so basic that we realise that to lead a peaceful life we actually do not need many items. Without all the extra/ artificial objects, the place retains its basic natural flavour. 

                                  

They have this 'Balloon Trip' to see the whole area from the sky, which is so memorable! 


Really a nice place to visit or at least to know about :)

Thanks to Travel XP for letting us know about this unique place.

(Pictures taken from the internet. Credit goes to the original uploaders. Used only for the purpose of appreciation.)

Olympic Games, Rio 2016

Olympic 2016 just completed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Enjoyed all the Live Telecast in the 4 channels of Star Sports. Indeed the coverage was great! And throughout the whole day, they aired repeat/ highlights and many more programmes on Olympic, so that the audience do not miss anything interesting which has happened in all those arenas. Any time of the day we just needed to switch on the TV and surf those 4 channels to know what has happened in the previous day. Also they have this Hindi commentary on channel 2, which is very helpful in understanding any new sports. Some of the commentators were Ravikant Singh and Nirmala Kotnis. The programme 'Rise' was also good, anchored by Kamal Sidhu. The 'Pre Show' programme, everyday before the starting of the day's events as well as all the discussions during breaks or before/ after the match/ any competition (about all types of games- hockey, gymnastics, badminton and so on)- were also very good. These programmes also came in both Hindi and English on channel 3 and 2 respectively. Star sports has done very very good job in covering the Olympics.

I also enjoyed the 'Daily Report' programme on Olympic which was aired on FM Gold at 7 am each day for half an hour. They gave the details of interesting events, analysis about the matches and also many information about the Olympics. Everyday morning I waited for the programme after the completion of RamCharitManas which comes from 6:50 to 7 am. The anchors/ reporters were Shivendra Chaturvedi, Anupam Pathak, B Shiv Kumar and many more.

Kolkata Doordarshan also aired special Programme named- 'Olympic Ek Nojore', everyday at 3 pm, which was also good. I watched the programme daily after taking lunch.

And yes, the name without which this writing will be incomplete is ‘Times of India’. Each day they had these columns named- 'Indians in Fray', where the names of our participants plus their sports along with the timing were there. Also they had this column named -'Worldwatch' where remaining interesting sports and their timing were covered. This list has been very helpful each day in deciding when to watch out for a particular match.

These are the programmes I enjoyed during Olympics or the things which I read. Now coming to the performances, a lot has already been written about it. Enjoyed all the performances and felt motivated too. Need another post for it. So maybe sometime later :)

With best wishes for success in future.