India Blog - Blog on Indian Topics

Holi-the festival of colors

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:52:00 +0000

The Indian sky is changing - the March winds are coming in and winter begins to bow out. Holi is the festival that carries the country into the bright days of summer. A feeling of plenty is in the air with the crops cut, and the farmer enjoying a bountiful of harvest. 'Holi' falls on the full moon, in the month of Phalgun, which spans the end of February and the beginning of March on the Gregorian calendar. A time when spring is in the air. There are many stories of the origin of Holi. The most widely held belief is that Holi marks the day when the devotee of lord Vishnu, Bakt Prahlad, seated on the lap of demoness Holika, was saved from the effect of the fire by God and the demoness got burnt instead. Other stories relate to the death of demon Putana at the hands of lord Krishna and to the burning of demoness Hoda by children. Some link the festival with the worship of Karma, God of pleasure and destiny. The main day, Holi, also known as Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and colored water at each other. Bonfires are lit the day before, also known as Holika Dahan (death of Holika) or Chhoti Holi (little Holi). The bonfires are lit in memory of the miraculous escape that young Prahlad had when Demoness Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu, carried him into the fire. Holika was burnt but Prahlad, a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu, escaped without any injuries due to his unshakable devotion. Holika Dahan is referred to as Kama Dahanam in Andhra Pradesh. Holi festival has an ancient origin and celebrates the triumph of 'good' over 'bad'. The colorful festival bridges the social gap and renews sweet relationships. It is the second most important festival of India after Diwali. Holi in India is a festival of fun and frolic and has been associated with the immortal love of Krishna and Radha. The exuberance and the festivity of the season are remarkable. On this day, people hug and wish each other 'Happy Holi'. People rub 'gulal' and 'abeer' on each others' faces and cheer up saying, "bura na maano Holi hai". Holi also gives a wonderful chance to send blessings and love to dear ones wrapped in a special Holi gift. Unlike all the other festivals of India, Hindu Holi festival is one such festival where one can put down the social taboos and indulge in the intoxicating drinks and sweets prepared by using opium. It is a festival of romance often represented by the love-play of Radha and Krishna. Brij Holi is famous all over the world for its gaiety in spirit. Each year, young and old, men and women, all indulge themselves in the spirit of colors and for once forget the social taboos. There are mouthwatering delicacies to savor such as 'Gujhias' and 'Papris' and there are interesting traditions and customs of Holi that have their own regional variances. We will also talk about making natural and healthy colors and safety precautions that one must take to enjoy Holi.

Benefits of Herbal Health Supplements

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:27:00 +0000

If you feel healthy and in perfect fit now, does not mean you do not need supplements. When it suddenly strikes - an illness, a health problem, a sign of old age, weakness - we begin to search for a dietary or Herbal Health Supplements. In these modern times we cannot avoid Nutritional deficiency. We have busy lifestyle. Almost people like to have fast food. It is now very difficult to enjoy excellent daily nutrition.These all Natural Health Supplements help you overcome nutritional deficiency.With the natural herbal remedies, you can get rid of your all health problems, without expensive medications, or risky surgeries. They are used to treat illness and to restore the body to health.They don’t have any side effects &its low risky. Natural herbal remedies and cures for better health and healing.Alternative medicine online has boomed over the last decade and a good number of specialized shops now offer alternative medicine products and advice online. These Alternative medicine treats hair loss and beauty & skin problem with Herbal medicine.They advice that how to maintain diet and nutrition. They give us full information about Health Beauty Products. Alternative medicine provide us Anti-aging treatment. The anti aging treatment includes nutrition, physical fitness, skin care, hormone replacements, vitamins, supplements, and herbs.There are many benefits that Natural Health Supplements can provide.These Supplements also help to increase the immune system.The stronger your immune system,the more your resistant your body can be against disease.This is exactly how useful is supplementations is.

Mind over matter

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:02:00 +0000

We keep being told to let our minds rule our bodies; that we should not let small aches and pain bother us. This is called the mind over matter concept and the theory goes that what we feel physically can be controlled mentally.
But what is the mind? I find that concept very interesting. Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity E= (MC)2, is an equation with profound implications. The equation states that matter and energy is inter convertible. Energy itself can neither be created nor be destroyed. Going from science to spirituality, we learn that beings are actually light energy that vibrates at such a slow pace that they seem solid. We also learn that the energy that we experience in daily life is through energy.
The things we often think of ultimately manifest themselves in our bodies. It is no wonder then that we recreate our illnesses again and again, because our thought processes and the behaviors and actions emanating from those thought processes remain the same day in and day out. No wonders lifestyle disorders are so difficult to treat, because we are struck in a rigid pattern of habits that are hard to break. Freedom from disease first needs a change in old thinking patterns. That leads to change in actions which, if repeated over time, become habits. And good habits create good health.
So how can we change our thought processes? There are several ways to improve thinking patterns. One is to chant or listen to Om or similar sounds or listen to music of our choice. Another way is to begin a healthy practice, such as exercising or walking, and try and sustain it. Pranayam is a practical way to balance nervous energy. Positive colors, fresh green plants, melodious music….all these add to the De-stress process. The mind is the collection of thought energies, so it has a very deep, long lasting effect on health.

Weather the storm

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:34:00 +0000

Weather often affects our moods. The monsoon is upon us, and when the sun is out, many people tend to feel happier and energetic. When it is dark and gloomy, many of us feel lethargic and less sociable. These shifts in mood generally do not affect our ability to cope with daily life. Some people are vulnerable to a type of depression that follows a seasonal pattern. This is called ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’, or SAD.
If you suffer from SAD, you may
• Feel grumpy, moody, or anxious
• Lose interest in your usual activities
• Eat more and crave carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta.
• Gain weight
• Feel lethargic
• Have body aches and pains
• Suffer memory loss
• Be unable to make decisions
• Have problems concentrating
Why SAD? There is scientific reason for this. Insufficient exposure to sunlight has been associated with low levels of the happy hormone, serotonin and high level of melatonin.
Melatonin, a sleep related hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain, which may cause symptoms of depression, is produced at increased levels in the dark. Getting screened and evaluated is a sensible way to take care of your health and ensure that you can enjoy the pleasure of the season. Symptoms of the SAD can be confused with other medical conditions, such as hypothyroidism or viral infections, so a proper evaluation by a medical professional is crucial.
Be happy. Light up the blues.

Flare up the magic...

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:29:00 +0000

Bollywood has always been a big trendsetter of fashion and one can easily go back to our movies, to actresses like Meena kumari and Mumtaz or even Rekha in Umrao Jaan and Tabu in Maqbool who carried off the garara with such elan.A sharara looks similar to a lehenga in many ways.Shararas are wide-leg pants. Simply put, a sharara is loose from the crotch and flares out downward but has no joint at the knee. The sharara is usually cut in lots of vertical panels but has no horizontal cuts. And it is worn with choli whose length can vary.
A garara is again a pant fitted from the waist to the knees where ten to twelve panels are added which flare out into a skirt. The sharara and garara can be given a contemporary touch by changing the shape and style of the choli.They work for all body shapes too. Instead of the long choli, you can go for an off- shoulder blouse in tissue with a heavy dupatta. You can match your sharara with a long velvet coat with heavy work and the dupatta can be left plain or with simple embroidery. A short velvet jacket is another option. The cholis can either have full sleeves or short sleeves and can also have embroidery.

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Music’s healing touch

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:16:00 +0000

Once thought to be a device merely to keep patients in good spirits, music therapy is today exploring new frontiers and coming into its own as a cure. Psychiatrists says that music has a direct impact on the mood and physical well being. In the West, it is widely being used in old-age homes, asylums and maternity wards.

Music has healing powers and a mood stability function. It works wonderfully on patients who have psychosomatic problems or those suffering from mental tension. Laboratory studies suggest that music also has the power to accelerate metabolism, increase or decrease muscular energy and regulate respiration. It also produces a positive effect on blood pressure and influences internal secretions. Psychiatric patients who are given music therapy show remarkable behavioral changes. Certain kind of background music can increase the quality of a patient’s verbal interaction. In fact ,music with smooth rhythm has a healing effect on the disturbed motor responses of schizophrenic patients It stimulates responses and encourages expression of thoughts and feelings. The techniques of music therapy are being applied in the treatment of autism,schizophrenia,retardation and behavioral as well as other psychiatric disorder in children,adolescents,adults and geriatric patients. Music is also used to rehabilitate patients with impaired vision, hearing and speech defects, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and orthopedic disorder.

Music, whether western or Indian classical, can contribute a great deal to medical science in relieving stress of the mind and body. The concept is not just being used at therapeutic centers but is being utilized at various public places like super markets, hotels, air-planes and even at some offices. Experiments are underway at interfacing musical instruments with medical programmes.Here rhythm is interlinked to a patient’s pulse and synchronized with breathing. The volume is gradually reduced and body metabolism comes down.

Large Format Printing

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:24:00 +0000

Now-a-days promotion of a particular product or promotion of any organization is main part in marketing. It helps in making the business to expand. The most upcoming type of technology in this is format digital printing
Large format printing is the technology at the heart of many businesses for getting the publicity. Large format digital printing can support the marketing objectives of all types of organizations.
Format Digital Printing includes:-
*Large format print
*Banner printing
*Poster printing
*Canvas printing
*Photo printing etc.
Banner ads are also part of it. In this ads are promoted via banners i.e. a written message is provided publicly about the topic in large lengths of paper or clothes placed at different places which attract the buyers attention. Now, these outdoor banners need Banner stands or Pop up Display Stands etc. Trade show display booths, retail stores, restaurants, and hotels are for the presentation work publicly. Banner display stands, pop-up stands, and trade show banners are lightweight and easy to use. It can be adjusted according to the need and also in all shapes, sizes and styles. It notifies the audience for the particular banner and makes the message more prominent.
In addition to this Graphic pop up (POP) display stands are there for making an attractive display. This can be done via different items like display stands, display racks, magazine racks, poster frames, Banner stands and trade show display booths. They are also present in different designs like acrylic frame and holder. These techniques help in making the publicity of a particular product or any organization to catch the eye of the individuals.

Lån (Loans)

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 07:39:00 +0000

With the economy the way it stands today, more and more people are finding it is a buyer’s open market when looking to purchase first homes as well as additional investment homes. These days Home lån are available from numerous types of lenders. These lenders vary from your commercial downtown banks, mortgage companies to even your own local credit unions.If you’re a first time buyer looking for a first time Home Loans, be sure to search different types of Loan Lenders. The more Home Loan Lenders you seek out you will find, that they all will give you different quoted prices. It’s important to make sure that you don’t stop there making your contacts and we suggest that you even try your hand at contacting a Mortgage Broker. Also different types of Lån are available like Lån uden sikkerhed and Boliglån. It depends on what type of loan you are looking from and what is your payback capacity. For more information on lån click here.

US will help Pak reconcile with India: Rice

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:04:00 +0000

he US has said it will support the new Pakistan government's efforts to reduce tensions and reconcile with India and pushed Islamabad to wield a "very solid" civilian control of its powerful military.

"The United States will support Pakistan's efforts to develop fruitful links with its neighbours and with the community of responsible nations," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said accepting her first first honorary degree at Air University, Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in her home state of Alabama.

This includes, Rice said, "intensified Pakistani-Afghan dialogue on regional security, continued efforts to reduce tensions and reconcile with India, and closer economic integration with the nations of South and Central Asia".

Replying to a question from the cadets, she said " Pakistan now will need to find a way to have very solid civilian control of the armed forces."

Stressing that the region was of vital interest to the US, she noted growing strategic partnership with India as factors which reflected the US' improved position across South and Central Asia.

"From our partnerships with the newly democratic Pakistan and a free Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban, not governed by it, to our growing strategic partnership with India and our improved relationships all the way across South and Central Asia, the United States is in a dramatically different and better position in this region than we were in 2001."

Expedia brings the best of international travel deals to India

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:03:00 +0000

Expedia, the world's leading travel and ticketing portal, has launched its Indian arm, Expedia.co.in, to cater to travellers in the country. The Indian travel industry is booming and more and more Indian travellers are using the Web to plan and book holidays.

Online travel and hotel booking

Expedia India will offer a huge range of online hotel booking choices for Indian customers – more than 80,000 hotels for every budget and preference. The savvy Indian globe-trotter will be able to book accommodation across the globe. The portal will also offer a variety of online travel booking options, including flights, holiday packages, car rentals, cruises, etc, for Indian customers.

International travel deals

Expedia India will give users access to over 3,000 holiday options, besides special deals and offers. The best of international travel deals will also be a click away for Indians who have been bitten by wanderlust.

Indian travellers will also benefit from a variety of innovative tools like 360-degree virtual tours of rooms and facilities in popular hotels worldwide and have access to over 280,000 independent traveller reviews. To enhance customer experience, the portal will also have a friendly and expert local customer support team to talk to.

All products on Expedia India are for sale in Indian rupees. Prices are quoted upfront and include all taxes and supplier surcharges so customers are easily able to understand the total cost of their travel, without any hidden charges.

So the next time you want to travel, book your holiday with Expedia India.

Net changing India's education system

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:00:00 +0000

India's education system has been infamous for its orientation toward rote learning. However, the Internet is poised to bring about a change in teaching methodologies and is proving to be a boon for India's academically-inclined students.

Several portals have popped up in recent months offering various educational support. Prominent amongst them are portals such as 24X7guru.com, extramarks.com, 100percentile.com, testcenter.indiatimes.com, tenaday.co.in and mteducare.com.

Some sites provide educational support to school-going children, such as 24X7guru, which is targeted at students between Standard 3 and 10 (aged nine to 16). Others such as testcenter.indiatimes.com, cater to school-going children as well as college students, and offer separate packages for those who wish to take competitive examinations.

"The Internet complements the learning students get in schools," Viraf Kalyaniwalla, head of operations at Learn Smart India, told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview. Learn Smart India runs 24X7guru, an online assessment platform. "Our portal complements the efforts by the school teachers and parents in providing conceptually strong academic foundation to the younger generation," Kalyaniwalla added.

Sandeep Anand, CEO of Hundred Percentile Education (100Percentile), said in an e-mail interview: "Online education is the future of education." The education portal provides online assessment and performance analysis services to students of all levels.

According to Anand, online education is fast becoming an integral part of mainstream academics and is, in fact, the new face of education in India.

100Percentile specializes in training students for engineering examinations and was launched in November 2007 as a partnership with Vidyamandir Classes, which provides services to help students prepare for the Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examinations (IIT-JEE). The IIT-JEE is an annual entrance examination used by various colleges in India for admission into their undergraduate programs.

Although 100Percentile has not started marketing its services as yet, Anand said, it managed to build a membership base of over 50,000 students within four months of operation.

Old to new knowledge
Many of these portals aim to move away from the concept of rote-learning that has prevailed in India for many decades now. Kalyaniwalla explained: "The application fundamentally believes that once a student understands the concepts, he is less likely to forget them, as opposed to the method of merely memorizing the text.

"Through our application, students get a complete understanding of the fundamentals. Therefore, their foundation [for higher learning] is very strong," he said.

These educational portals hold more importance for smaller towns in India, where there are fewer coaching centers.

Many of these portals are cost-effective too. For instance, some packages offered at 24X7guru are priced at US$24.9 (1,000 rupee) for a year, which works out to just 3 rupee (less than 10 US cents) a day.

"We have students enrolled with us from all parts of the country," Kalyaniwalla of 24X7guru.com said. "Since the Internet penetration has gone beyond urban areas, many students situated in smaller towns and cities are also benefiting from our portal."

Anand said: "Nearly 75 percent of our students are from Delhi and other major cities of India. But we have still not begun marketing our products. Therefore, it is heartening to see that nearly 25 percent of our students belong to smaller cities and towns across India."

"With innovative e-learning and assessment services being created by 100Percentile and other such portals, we will soon see the benefits of e-learning percolating down to students from rural areas and small towns across the country," he added.

Does the Internet then hold the key to changing India's education system? According to Kalyaniwalla, it certainly does.

"Education will move beyond the three-hour examination structure and would focus on the conceptual clarity and knowledge of fundamentals," he said. "The mission of 24x7guru.com is to bring forth this change in the education system in the country."

However, low penetration of personal computers and broadband is proving to be a big impediment in delivering the real benefits of e-education to remote areas in India.

"But there are considerable efforts underway to augment the communication infrastructure in the country," Anand said.

According to a study by online research firm JuxtConsult, the overall Internet population in urban India grew by 28 percent between April 2006 and April 2007. The country's online user population stood at 30.3 million in April 2007.

Industry estimates suggest that Internet accessibility in India will grow to over 126 million users by 2010.

Indian sports: A maze of records

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:58:00 +0000

The publicity that Virender Sehwag received when he scored a triple century a couple of weeks ago in the test against South Africa was remarkable. His achievement was lauded even more than Calcutta golfer SSP Chowrasia’s historic win which earned him a winner’s cheque of Rs 1.6 crore against the best of the European PGA Tour when he won the Emaar MGF Masters at Delhi Golf Club in February this year.

What was missed by the cricket crazed media though — was the fact that India did not win the test match which ended in a tame draw because the track was actually lame and gave up so many runs that the bowlers stood no chance against the run flow. Sehwag’s score should really be discounted 50% considering the conditions and the relative ease with which that particular pitch gave up runs.

Records seem to be a huge focus for the Indian media in terms of cricket. This gives us an idea — why not get Jyoti Randhawa, Jeev Milkha singh, Arjun Atwal, Shiv Kapur, Chowrasia and the others play an official Professional Golfers Tour of India ( PGTI) event at a really easy track like the Qutab Golf Club, in Delhi. My guess is they will break the world record for scoring in a professional tournament. Would that make the front page of the main dailies?

The lowest score ever recorded in an official professional tournament is 59. At the par 71 Qutab GC, this would mean a 12 under par which is well within grasp of these players. Recently Indian professional Sanjay Kumar scored a round of 60 or 12 under par at the par 72 rated Jack Nicklaus designed Classic Golf Resort in Gurgaon during a pro-am tournament. So a world record 14 under at Qutab is well within reach.

An Indian breaking the world professional golf tour event scoring record could get the media excited about golf the way they do every time an Indian cricketer breaks some record. With more cricket being played than ever before, it is no surprise that Indians are piling up record total numbers of runs and wickets – especially since the one day game is not really that old and that Indians are playing more one dayers and tests than any other team in the world. It is little wonder Indians are going to break these type of total records.

What would be a better measure of performance in cricket is run averages per innings and per number of balls – not totals. For a bowler it should be number of runs given per wicket claimed and number of runs averaged per over. However shouldn’t these records only count if the team wins the match? Or should the media and public go crazy about the misleading records the media trumpets despite the matches being drawn or lost.

After all the dismal show by the Indian team in the 2nd test against South Africa should have actually shown the team up for their class. The Indian team not being able to score more than 76 runs in an Inning and getting defeated by an innings and some hundred runs is akin to Jeev, Jyoti and company not being able to shoot less than 80 in any round of a four day pro event while their competitors are shooting under 70 ! That’s what an innings defeat really is. Point Noted sports scribes?

Lets take a minute to ponder the significance of Jeev Milkha Singh’s invitation to the “by invitation only” elite tournament - Augusta Masters. The first time an invitation was extended to an Asian player was three years ago when China’s Zhang Liang Wei was invited to Augusta. This was an obvious recognition of the huge golf boom in China and that nation’s growing economic clout. That year I wrote in this column that despite Jyoti and Jeev being ranked ahead of the Chinese star, Indian golf was not considered important enough to merit that tournament’s attention.

This year invitations have been extended to three Asian players – a record. Jeev has already made a strong start in the tournament with a one under par 71, at the time of writing this column and we hope he holds the Indian flag high. Its through golf that the really important economic power houses follow India’s progress on the world scene.

After all Americans. Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Europeans are blissfully uninterested in cricket scores. But they do watch those golf balls roll !

India Blog - Indiablog.in

noreply@blogger.com (seomart) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:29:00 +0000

Indiablog.in will provide you up to date blogging on all Indian Topics. We will provide you daily updates on recent topics and issues!