Thirunakkara Arattu

Kerala has always been quoted God’s own country; its lush green surroundings give a cool and soothing sight to everyone. There is harmony among all the communities of the state. Its rich culture and heritage is a pleasure.

Kerala is the land of high festivities and cheer. Many festivals are celebrated in this beautiful land. One of the famous temple festivals, Thirunakkara arattu is celebrated at Thirunakkara Mahaeva Temple located in the heart of Kottayam district of Kerala. Mahadeva is the presiding deity of the temple.

The passionate celebration continues for ten days and concludes with the bathing ceremony of lord Mahadeva called ‘ARATTU’.

A string of nine majestically ornamented and decorated elephants accompany the idol of the lord Mahadeva for bathing in the noon.

They are accompanied by drummers and dancing flock of people.

The mystic traditional dance of Kerala, Kathakali forms an important part of the celebrations. The beautifully and colourfully dressed and masked Kathakali dancers perform all night long on third and fourth night.

Other dances like Mayilattom (peacock dance), Velakali and motif processions are also showcased in the temple compound.

The fêted Mahadeva Temple is situated on the Thirunakkara Hill of the Kottayam town and is one of the important Shiva temples famous for its historical importance, antiquity, sanctity and also for its magnificent traditional architecture.

The grand festival "Arattu Utsavam" starts from the 1st day of Meenam month of Malyalam calendar. That falls in March-April of Gregorian calendar.

Thousands of people, irrespective of caste or creed attend this festival.

Various industrial and agricultural products are displayed and traded in the shops of the fair held in connection with the Utsavam. The cultural programmes and variety entertainments staged during the festive days are the highlights of the festival.

Time for celebration

The grand festival "Arattu Utsavam" starts from the 1st day of Meenam month of Malyalam calendar. That falls in March-April of Gregorian calendar. Thousands of people, irrespective of caste or creed attend this festival. This year the festival will start from March 15 and end on March 24.

Getting there

Rail

Nearest railway station is Kottayam which is a few minutes drive from the shrine.

Air

Cochin International Airport is the nearest airport which is about 76 km away from Kottayam.

Taj Mahotsav

Introduction: 

A ten-day event, the Taj Mahotsav at Agra is a culturally vibrant platform that brings together the finest Indian Crafts and cultural nuances. Starting on 18th February each year in Shilpgram, the Taj Mahotsav is a much-awaited event. It is a festive introduction to India and Uttar Pradesh. India's extensive arts, crafts and culture are on display. Folk music, shayari (poetry) and classical dance performances as well as elephant and camel rides, games and a food festival, all form a part of the festivities.

Ten Days Carnival

The Taj Mahotsav is a non-stop 10 day carnival held annually at Shilpgram, near Tajmahal. The impressive festival commences with a spectacular procession inspired by Mughal splendor.

Bedecked elephants and camels, drum beaters, folk artists and master craftsmen together recreate the glorious past of the Mughals.

The Taj Mahal Mahotsav area becomes a live culture, crafts and traditions. It is a great opportunity for legendary artisans to display their exquisite works of art. Marble of course rules the festivities each year for obvious reasons.

Besides these, crafts include wood carvings from Saharanpur, brass and other metal ware from Moradabad, handmade carpets of Badohi, the pottery of Khurja, chickan-work of Lucknow, the silk of Banaras and much more.

Indian festivities can never be complete without the preparation of exotic cuisine. Some of the best and richest foods are available during this time.

Add to this the soul-stirring performances from folk artists of various states casting a spell on the visitors. Throughout the Taj Mahotsav, one can experience a profusion of folk music and dances of Dundelkhand, 'Nautanki' (Drama), 'Sapera' dance of Rajasthan, Lavani of Maharashtra. performed just the way they used to be centuries ago. Visitors join in with the folk dancers enjoying swinging to a different tune and dance style.

The Taj Mahotsav is truly India at her best with a glimpse of her rich heritage and extraordinary legacies.

Time to Celebrate

The Taj Mahotsav is a non-stop 10 day carnival held annually at Shilpgram, near Tajmahal. The Mahotsav starts on 18th February each year and continues upto 27th February.

How to reach

Agra is located about 204 km south of Delhi. The city of Taj, Agra can be reached by Air, Rail and Road easily. 

By Air

Agra airport is 7 km from the city center. Major Indian airlines operate daily flights to Agra and back.

By Road

Idgah bus stand is the main bus stand of Agra, from where regular buses are available for nearly all the major cities as Delhi, Jaipur, Mathura, Fatehpur-Sikri, Mathura etc.

By Rail

Agra has a good network of railway. The main railway station is the Agra Cantonment station. Agra is well connected by rail to Delhi, Varanasi and cities of Rajasthan. Luxuary trains like Palace on Wheel, Shatabdi, Rajdhani, and Taj Express are also available to reach Agra.

Uthralikavu Pooram

Another illustrious temple festival of south India is Uthralikavu Pooram celebrated in Sree Ruthira Mahakalikavu Temple, Parithipra, in Vadakkancherry, Thrissur District of north Kerala. The temple is dedicated to the mighty Goddess Kali.

 The festival is held annually in the Malayalam month 'Kumbham' or February/March. The festivity continues for eight days.

The elephant processions in the gala are the main highlight all through day and night. Pooram day is celebrated on eighth and last day; procession of twenty one elephants caparisoned with beautiful ornaments along with Panchvadyam and Pandimelam is overwhelming.

These traditionally decorated elephants line up in the ground with mahouts sitting atop them and hold colourful parasols and swaying venchamarams (white tufts) and Aalavattams (peacock feather fans).

The cultural fare during the festival includes temple and folk art performances which provide magical spectacles to the viewers. The colorful events along with rituals and folk art performances in the evenings cast a spell to everyone. The glow of the traditional temple torches called Theevatti provides startling view. The festivities end with the spectacular all-night pooram pageant on the last day, the highlight of the festival. The pageant and festivities lasts until dawn and draws to a close with brilliant fireworks.

Time to celebrate

The festival is held annually in the Malayalam month 'Kumbham' or February/March. The festivity continues for eight days.

Event Date: 02 Mar 2010

Getting there

Parithipra is just 2 km from Vadakkancherry on the way to Shornur.

Nearest railway station: Vadakkancherry.

Nearest airport: Kochi international airport, about 52 km from Thrissur town.

Vishu

Like most parts of India, festivals in Kerala are an integral part of the social and cultural structure of the state and festival time is the best time to plan one's travel to Kerala. In Kerala, every community, every religion has something to celebrate about all through out the year.

Vishu is one of the important festivals of Kerala. It comes in the month of April usually on the 14th. According to the traditional Malayalam calendar, it is the 1st day of the first month Medam of the New Year. Traditional rituals are followed to bring in another year of prosperity.

Vishu is one of the most popular festivals of Kerala. Vishu falls on the first of Medam (March-April), which is the Malayalam New Year's Day. Since it is considered propitious to view good things on this day for year round good fortune, Vishu morning is an important time. The heart of this festival of Kerala is the preparation of the kani (the lucky sight or gift).

The custom of preparing the kani has been followed for generations. The women take a large dish made of bell-metal (uruli), arrange in it a grantha (palm-leaf manuscript), a gold ornament, a new cloth, some flowers from the Konna Tree (Cassia fistula), some coins in a silver cup, a split coconut, a cucumber, some mangoes and a jack-fruit. On either side of the dish are placed two burning lamps with a chair facing it. Family members are taken blindfolded and then their blindfolds are removed and they view the Vishu Kani. As in other Indian festivals, a great feast at home is the high point of celebrating Vishu in Kerala.

  

World Ozone day

World Ozone Day is celebrated every year on 16th September since 1995. This Day marks the importance of Ozone layer and its role in the environment. The United nations General Assembly has designated this Day to reflect the adoption of Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone layer.

There are numerous activities and programs organized to spread awareness about the global phenomenon of Ozone layer depletion. All member nations of the Montreal protocol take this opportunity to take some concrete steps at their national level in accordance with the aims and objectives of Montreal protocol.

Ozone and its Depletion

The primary source of energy requirements on earth is the Sun. The sunlight reaching Earth contains three main radiations:

* Infrared
* Ultraviolet
* Visible.
 

Ultraviolet light is an electro-magnetic radiation that has wavelength smaller than that of visible light. Harmful effects of UV (ultra violet rays) include:

    * Direct exposure to ultraviolet radiations cause sunburn, skin cancer and premature ageing of skin.
    * Direct gazing of ultraviolet radiations is hazardous to the eyes, and exposure can cause welder's   flash (photokeratitis or arc eye) and may lead to cataracts, apterygial, and pinguecula formation.
    * Many popular polymers used in consumer products often get degraded with exposure to Ultra-violet radiations. Special UV absorbers should be used to protect them from attack, more so if they are supposed to be used in outdoors.

It is Ozone layer that absorbs 93 % of the harmful, high frequency Ultra-violet radiations. The layer was discovered in 1913 by Charles fabric and Henri Buisson. This layer is mainly located in the lower portions of the Stratosphere.
 

The thickness of Ozone layer varies across different regions, it is less dense above the equator and this density increases increases while moving towards the poles. The amount also varies with season, as the amount is more in winters as compared to summers. 

Ozone layer depletion: 

The Ozone molecules (O3) can be damaged by free radicals like hydroxyl, chlorine, bromine, and nitric oxide. There are many sources of production of these particles. While, there are many natural sources that automatically produce these radicals, there are certain artificial compounds like chlorofluorocarbons and bromoflurocarbons that have tendencies to damage Ozone molecules. 

These radicals have capacity to rise above the stratosphere and each radical is then free to initiate and catalyze a chain reaction capable of breaking down over 100,000 Ozone molecules. 

Unfortunately, with the growing industrialization and commercialization, many products and processes release these radicals in the atmosphere and there number is exponentially increasing. Inspite of this basic chemical knowledge, all modern appliances like refrigerator, fire extinguisher, air conditioners use chloroflurocarbons in them.

Ozone-facts

    * From 1956 to 1970 the density of the Ozone layer was nearly 280 to 325 doveson which in 1994 got reduced to mere 94 doveson. The density has been on a decline since then.

    * The recent report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that Earth's temperature has increased by 0.74% in the past hundred years. Its effects are disastrous like:


   1. Unexpected increase in the sea level that can submerge low lying regions including UK
   2. The melting of glaciers like Himadri in India, which will first result in floods and then a long lasting drought
   3. Exposure to ultra-violet rays can up the risk of cancers
   4. Unexpected climatic changes   
  
    * Data from NASA's Earth-observing Aura satellite show that the Ozone hole peaked in size on Sept. 13’2007, reaching a maximum area extent of 9.7 million square miles – just larger than the size of North America.

    * The Antarctic Ozone hole was discovered in 1985 by British scientists Joesph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey.

    * On September 12, 2008, the Antarctic Ozone hole reached its maximum size for the year. The Ozone hole covered about 27 million square kilometers, making it larger than North America, which is about 25 million square kilometers. Though larger than it was in 2007, the 2008 Ozone hole was still smaller than the record set in 2006. 

Preventions

Ozone layer is vital for mankind. There are many functions that it performs which otherwise would leave disastrous consequences. Unfortunately, over the past few years the Ozone layer has been depleting and human greed for industrialization is a big factor behind it. The consequences are all there for everyone to observe. It’s not too late, and an initiative like World Ozone Day is a novel step towards spreading awareness and taking little steps towards this issue. Some of the basic steps are:

   1. Planting of more trees that can absorb carbon-di-oxide.
   2. Saving energy.
   3. Using eco-friendly products and goods.
   4. Spread more awareness at local levels as these small steps can cumulatively  produce drastic impacts.
 

Wangala Festival

Wangala Festival is the annual harvest festival held in the state of Meghalaya. The festival is celebrated in honor of Saljong, the Sun-god of fertility. The festival signifies the onset of winter as well as it marks the end of a period of toil, which brings good output of the fields.

Wangala Festival is also known as “100 Drum Festival”, which mainly includes tribal groups offering sacrifices to please their main deity Saljong - the Sun God.

The festival extends from two days to a week, with the first day focusing on the ceremony of "Ragula". On the second day the ceremony of “Kakkat” is performed. People of all age groups young and old dress in colorful attractive costumes with feathered headgears dance to the tune of music played on long oval-shaped drums.

The festival brings relaxation for the people of Meghalaya. The sound of drums played during this festival echoes in the hills for a long period to come. Although the dances performed every time have some variations, yet the main idea remains a queue of two parallel lines - one of men and other of women clad in their festive fineries. Participants move in lines while playing drums in a rhythmic manner.

The main attraction of the festival is the music and orchestra being played by men in a rhythmic fashion. The 'orchestra' of men includes drums, gong and flutes, punctuated by the sonorous music of a primitive flute made of buffalo horn. There is a notable sense of tempo in the performers, young and old, and the energetic dance leaves a lasting impression upon the beholder.

The Siju Caves where this festival is held is located in the Garo Hills. . It is also known as Dobakhol and is also known as the Cave of the Bats. One interesting thing about these caves is the deposit of stalagmite found here till date. The caves, there location, Garo hills, the weather, serene natural beauty, cloudy sky all mesmerize the tourists coming here and especially during the Wangala Festival as the atmosphere is studded with rhythmic music of drums.

Significance:

Meghalaya, which means land of clouds, is mainly an agricultural and farming land. The inhabitants here therefore generally worship the Lord of farming and agriculture. The Wangala Festival is therefore a grand Carnival to celebrate the harvest season. This is because after year long toil the inhabitants find relief in seeing the golden harvest. So, they pay homage to the lord who has blessed them with such a splendid crop and sing and dance to offer worship to the great deity. The inhabitants of Garo hills also make numerous offerings and sacrifices to the Lord for his support and blessings. In all the festival elaborates on the culture and traditions of the inhabitants of Garo Hills.

Time of celebration:

Apart from celebrating the golden harvest the festival also signifies the onset of winters. Thus, the festival is certainly celebrated in winters, generally in the month of November.

World Forestry Day

World Forestry Day has been celebrated around the world to ring a bell among the society about the importance of forests and the scores of benefits which are gained from them. The concept of celebrating a day every year as World Forestry Day originated at the 23rd General Assembly of the European Confederation of Agriculture in 1971.

The event also venerates the contribution of the forests. Every year March 21 is distinguished as World Forestry Day.

A forest just doesn’t mean trees only but it’s an entire complex, living community.

Many interdependent populations of plants and animals too dwell beneath the forest canopy; the forest soil is a home to large variety of invertebrates, bacteria and fungi which play an essential role in cycling nutrients in the soil and the forest.

The reckless felling of trees is creating many problems in the surroundings so the need of the hour says that everybody should ponder seriously over it.

Everybody should actively involve themselves in prevention and creation of new forests.

According to rules of Forest Deptt, 10 trees should be planted in place of cutting of one tree. Though in last two decades only 1% trees are planted.

The survival of the rich generation of flora and fauna in the country is in danger due to exploitation of forests, cutting of forests in Hilly areas is loosening the soil, thus the upper layer of fertile earth is eroding which is resulting in uncontrolled rain and flood. India economy largely depends on agriculture.

Erosion is seriously effecting the agricultural production.

Importance of Forests

Forest has been of great importance to mankind since prehistoric days. Forest provides multiple benefits to environment, people, and animals. Today the forest coverage is reduced to only 30% as opposed to 60% earlier. We are paying the cost of development by reduction in vegetation (by clearing of forests) to lead the path for mines, towns and roads.

Forests, supply many products like timber for making furniture, houses, ships and railway sleepers, plywood, fuel wood or charcoal, paper, processed wood products like cellophane, plastics, synthetic fibers like rayon and nylon, rubber from the latex of rubber tree.

Fruits, nuts and spices are gathered from the forest. A lot of medicinal plants such as camphor, cinchona also come from the forests.

The roots of the trees hold the soil together and thus help to conserve soil by preventing rapid runoff of water after heavy rain and minimizing flooding. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen into air which is needed to breath by the mankind.

Vegetation affects local and global climate. Trees form a protective cover of the earth as well as provide shelter to the wild animals and protect all the living beings from the solar heat and temperature. Trees absorb heat, thus helps to regulate the temperature of earth. Similarly natural wildlife is important for it is an important part of the lifecycle.

Forests reduce light reflection, offer a sound barrier and help guide wind direction and speed.

World Meteorological Day

On 23 March 1950, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was formed for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences. It has 188 members.

World Meteorological Day is celebrated worldwide by the meteorological community every year on March 23 to commemorate the organization of WMO. Each year a different theme is chosen for the occasion. WMO was designated a specialized agency of the United Nations System in 1951.

Various events as conferences, symposia and exhibitions for meteorological professionals, community leaders and the general public are held on World Meteorological Day.

World Meteorological Day marks the presentation of awards for meteorological research like, The International Meteorological Organization Prize, Professor Dr. Vilho Väisälä Award and The Norbert Gerbier-Mumm International Award.

Many countries issue postage stamps or special postage stamp cancellation marks to celebrate World Meteorological Day.

These stamps bear the theme of the event or a country's meteorology achievements.

Past Themes

A new theme is allocated to each different year for World Meteorological Day. Recent themes of World Meteorological Day have been:

• 2009 - Weather, climate and the air we breathe
• 2008 - Observing our planet for a better future
• 2007 - Polar meteorology: Understanding global impacts
• 2006 - Preventing and mitigating natural disasters
• 2005 - Weather, climate, water and sustainable development
• 2004 - Weather, climate, water in the information age
• 2003 - Our future climate 

World TB Day

Every year World Tuberculosis Day is observed to make people aware about the epidemic - Tuberculosis as it is considered still in some parts of the world. Tuberculosis causes nearly 1.6 million deaths every year around the planet. World Tuberculosis Day has been celebrated on March 24 each year. In 1882 Dr Robert Koch thunderstruck the scientific community by announcing that he had discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus on March 24.

At the time of Koch's announcement TB was raging through Europe and the Americas and one out of every seven people was costing his life to the dreaded disease.

Koch's discovery opened the way toward diagnosing and curing tuberculosis and was awarded Nobel Prize for his discovery.

In 1982, on the one-hundredth anniversary of Dr Koch's presentation, the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) proposed that March 24 be proclaimed as an official World TB Day.

In an effort to curb Tuberculosis, South Africans are given financial help for six months of time necessary for treatment.

World TB Day is about commemorating the lives and stories of people that are affected by TB and has taken a treatment for it; nurses; doctors; researchers; community workers who has put in global fight against TB.

The government organizes Health education campaigns to inform on the importance of early diagnosis and Regular treatment for the patients. A screening programme to early detect the disease is also organized. Various other events like seminar and exhibition on tuberculosis are held with an aim to impart knowledge on all aspects of TB.

What is Tuberculosis (TB)?

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial disease that is infectious in nature. The causual bacterium is named Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The first prey to TB is an individual’s lungs but it can involve almost any organ of the body.

A person can become infected with tuberculosis bacteria when he or she inhales the bacteria present in the air when somebody already infected with tuberculosis coughs, sneezes, shouts, or spits. When the inhaled tuberculosis bacteria enter the lungs, they can multiply and cause a local lung infection (pneumonia).

The local lymph nodes of the lungs may also get infected and become enlarged. Tuberculosis can be treated successfully today with antibiotics.

You can prevent yourself from disease and keep yourself healthy by eating loads of fruits and vegetables, exercising daily, stopping the consumption of alcohol and smoking.

You can help to prevent the spread of TB by covering your mouth if you are coughing and sneezing, keeping windows in houses, taxis, buses and other places open for movement of fresh air, not spitting on the ground and not stopping your TB treatment and medication even if you are sense better.

World Water Day

Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface. A single cell of Escherichia coli contains 70% of water, a human body 60–70%, plant body up to 90% and the body of an adult jellyfish is made up of 94–98% water.

Thus it can be said that the colourless and odourless damsel forms an integral part of one’s life. Water is also considered as a symbol of purification. International World Water Day is held every twelve months to focus the attention on the importance of freshwater and to promote sustainable management of freshwater resources.

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) decided to observe an international day to celebrate freshwater in 1992 and thus the first World Water Day was observed on 22 March 1993.

World Water Day is celebrated every year with a new theme highlighting an explicit aspect of freshwater.

Today one in every eight people in the world don’t get pure water inspite of spending hours by women and children in collecting water from distant resources.

This day gives an opportunity to remember our commitment to achieve the day when everyone in the world can have safe drinking water and also to celebrate the progress of bringing about 3 lakh people in eight countries clean water and sanitation.

Themes of World Water Day Yester Years

World Water Day is celebrated every year with a new theme highlighting an explicit aspect of freshwater. One of various UN agencies involved in water issues lead in promotion and coordination of international activities for World Water Day each year. UN-Water has been responsible for selecting the theme and messages since the inception of World Day for Water in 2003.

2010: Clean Water for a Healthy World

2009: Transboundary Waters

2008: Sanitation

2007: Coping With Water Scarcity

2006: Water and Culture

2005: Water for Life 2005-2015

2004: Water and Disasters

2003: Water for Future

2002: Water for Development

2001: Water for Health

2000: Water for the 21st Century

1999: Everyone Lives Downstream

1998: Groundwater - The Invisible Resource          

1997: The World's Water: Is there enough?
1996: Water for Thirsty Cities
1995: Women and Water

 

Bhogali Bihu

"…Bihu anondia, Bihu binondia
Bihur mou mitha mat
Bihur ba lagi bihua kokair
Deu dhoni lagise gat…"

(Bihu is full of joy, Bihu is beautiful, Bihu songs are very sweet, when the winds of Bihu flow. The dancing spirit possesses one's body).

Bihu is the most celebrated festival of Assam. It is a festival that transcends all religious and class barriers bringing people together in a free and uninhabited manner.

The festival of Bihu is celebrated with much pomp and fervour during different periods of the year. These are the festivals of food that mark the three stages of cultivation, i.e. beginning of the agricultural season, completion of transplantation and end of the harvesting season.

These festivals are celebrated by all people of various states irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Bihu is secular in concept because it is associated with agriculture.

Three forms of Bihu are celebrated in Assam: Bohag Bihu, celebrated in the middle of April which marks the New Year (In Assamese calendar) at the advent of seeding time; Kati Bihu, celebrated in the middle of October which marks the completion of sowing and transplanting of paddies; Magh Bihu, celebrated in the middle of January which marks the end of the harvesting period.

Magh Bihu:

Out of the three bihus, Magh Bihu is celebrated by the people of Assam with much enjoyment and happiness as it marks the ending of harvesting and people are at ease after a long labourious harvesting period.

Magh Bihu, also known as Bhogali Bihu, celebrated in mid-January, originates from the word 'Bhog' and signifies eating and enjoyment. It is a harvest festival and marks the end of harvesting season.

There is a lot of feasting and eating in this bihu celebration as the fields are full. On the eve of the bihu, called 'uruka', young men go to the field, preferably near a river, build a makeshift cottage called 'Bhelaghar' with the hay of the harvest fields and the 'Meji', the most important thing for the night. During the night, people prepare food and there is community feasting everywhere. The entire night (Uruka) is spent around the Meji with people singing bihu songs, beating 'Dhol', a typical kind of drums or playing games.

The next day is the main Magh Bihu. In the very early morning, people take bath and burn the main 'Meji'. People gather around the 'Meji' and throw 'Pithas' (rice cakes) and betel nuts to the fire while burning it at the same time. They offer their prayers to the God of Fire and mark the end of the harvesting year. Next day is followed with community celebrations all across with rice cakes being distributed to all. People visit relatives and friends to convey and exchange Bihu greetings.

A peculiarity of this festival is that in some parts of the state the traditional "Buffalo Fight" is organized to make the festival more interesting.