Reflections

Nava means nine and ratri means night. Like we spend nine months in our mothers womb, these nine nights are a time for self referral, a time for reflection, a time to go inwards and celebrate. In West Bengal, people celebrate Navaratri with a lot of artistic fervor, their is feast and celebrations. People get together for the famous Dhanuchi Naach - where women dance with the earthen pots filled with coconut husks, shells and incense lit on fire to the traditional beats of 'Dhaks'. People dress up in the best of traditional attires and take part in the festivities which is a way to show reverence to Goddess Durga. In north India, people set up 'pandals' or exhibitions with huge statues adoring Ma Durga in her various forms slaying the demons. But has anyone ever wondered that did those demons really exist? Where did all the fight happen? Who were these demons troubling the common people? As per Vedic knowledge, the first three days are the days of tamo gun...

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar told an interesting fact yesterday about Mandodari, who was Ravana's wife and queen of Sri Lanka.  On Dussehra eve, in satsang, Gurudev shared a very fascinating fact about Ravana's wife Mandodari that really made me wonder that even without wireless internet & mobile phone technology, people from different far away continents were so deeply connected. Mandodari was the queen consort of King Ravana in Sri Lanka. In North India, people celebrate Dussehra by burning huge effigies of King Ravana and his brothers Kumbhkaran and Vibhishana as a celebration of victory over evil. Dussehra is the day when Lord Rama won the battle by killing evil Ravana who had abducted his wife Sita. Coming back to Mandodari, Ravana's wife. Not much is written in Ramayana about her except for the time when she protected Sita from Ravana's wrath when the latter refused to marry Ravana after being abducted. Mandodari was the daughter of a king ...

On the Independence day eve last year, me & my sister decided to visit this beautiful & unexplored place called Hampi. This place is actually like an open museum ground, where one can spend days & weeks exploring the rich temple architecture of India. Also known as Vijayanagar in olden days, in India. This was supposedly the most richest & affluent village during India's golden age. This small village had two huge Ganesha statues greeting us, just as we entered. However these are not ordinary Ganesha Statues, they are hand carved out of huge monolithic boulders measuring about 8ft. Known as Sasivekalu Ganesha and Kadalekalu Ganesha. Here Lord Ganesha appears like a huge Black Sesame seeds. The story goes that once a merchant from far away land had came to Hampi to sell his Sesame Seeds and was granted permission by the kind hearted king to set up his stall in one of the markets. There, he sold all his goods & became so rich that he wanted to give something ba...

A state of circumstantial surrender is when whatever is happening your life doesn't make much sense and you feel like you have no choice but to accept it as a will of God. This may sound very despondent & sad to some & very fatalistic too. Surrender doesn't mean you do not take any action. You have to work to reach your goal. You learn to sincerely pray when things go unexpectedly bad- that is the magic of surrender. In real surrender , you let go of your feverishness and act out of gratitude. In the West, surrendering to somebody is seen as a sign of weakness whereas in the Eastern part of the world, surrendering to the Guru or the master is seen as sign of great strength and courage. As a child I visited many religious and holy places like Vrindavan, Mathura, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Lotus Temple, Jama Masjid and local Church in my area. My parents taught to respect all religions equally. I understood quite early that all religions wish for peace and harm...

Sharing some Nature Photography in-between Ethnic wear, Temple Jewelry and Blue Pottery product photo shoot today.. Being with nature is such a stress buster. Hasn't it become rare these days that people stop to listen to the birds, feel the breeze, soak the sun and just be... ? Ah! yes the ducks & swans also know how to enjoy on a bright sunny winter afternoon :) " Steeped in mundane we miss the beauty of the Subtle. Time & again lift your eyes to the Ethereal. The world of Gods is just inches away. The challenges we face have a purpose. Events have a message. Confusion turns into Cosmic Infusion. Suddenly everything is meaningful."  - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Copyright @ Kannu Priya

Having spent most of my childhood in North India in the capital city, Delhi and nearby areas with frequent trips to homeland nested in Himalayas, I never imagined my first trip down south to be so mesmerizing! One of the recent places I visited was Madhurai. The name Madhurai is derived from the Sanskrit word “ Madhur ” which means sweetness. This place is synonymous with Meenakshi Amman temple situated on the banks of River Vaigai.  It has a rich cultural heritage passed on from the great Tamil era more than 2500 years old. It used to be the commercial and cultural centre for the great Pandya kings. According to the legend, the city got its name from the sweetness (Madhur) of nectar that was showered by the Hindu God Shiva from his matted hair when the city was built around this temple. The architecture of this city was built in accordance to the “Shilpa Shastras”, which are ancient texts about urban planning. The city architecture is built in the shape of lotus flower...