Tag: S Balakrishnan

The Majulii island in Assam is not only geographically unique but also culturally. The Vaishnavite mutts in that island, locally known as ‘sattra’, have been nurturing religious-oriented music and dance forms, including masked dance, as well as other traditional arts and skills. This dance form has now acquired, after centuries of refinement, the status of classical level.

The post Sattriya Dance: Assam’s classical dance appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/sattriya-dance-assams-classical-dance/

Losar is the Tibetan New Year that is celebrated by the followers of Tibetan Buddhism. In India this is observed along the Himalayan belt like Ladak, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Arunachal Pradesh and the Tibetan settlements where the followers of Vajrayana, the Tibetan Buddhism, traditionally live or have settled down from Tibet. Vajrayana sect is also called the Tantric Buddhism or Lamaism as it is based on tantric practices and beliefs performed by the Blamas (religious gurus; ‘B’ is silent). Losar also symbolises harvest festival as the bumper winter yield would have been reaped around that time.

The post ‘Losar’, the Tibetan New Year appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/losar-tibetan-new-year/

Golat, that is the boy in the photo. As I write this I hope he has many daughters and sons and countless grandchildren of the same age as he appears in the photo. This is possible because this photo was taken 37 years ago.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/the-last-emperor-loka-the-great-andamanese-king/

To perpetuate the thoughts and deeds of Mahatma Gandhi and to propagate his message of Truth and Nonviolence, Gandhi Memorial Museums have been set up in different parts of India. The Gandhi Smarak Nidhi had initially allocated fund for establishing such Memorial Museums (Sanghrahalaya) in such places associated with the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi. They are New Delhi, Barrackpore near Kolkata, Patna, Wardha in Maharashtra, Ahmadabad, Mumbai, and Madurai in Tamil Nadu in the southern part of the country. The Gandhi Memorial Museum in Madurai was inaugurated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, on 15th April 1959.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/gandhi-memorial-museum-madurai/

Hajo, 24 kms from Guwahati in Assam, a quite little spot, is said to have connection with Buddhism.
There are various legends associating Hajo with Buddhism. Some claim it to be place where Lord Buddha attained Nirvana and a temple there is believed to contain His relics. Another source says that it could be the last resting place of Guru Rinpoche, Buddhist Guru of Tibetan Buddhism, revered next only to Sakya Muni the Buddha.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/the-buddhist-connection-of-hajo-in-assam/

Contd from previous issue
It was 7 AM sharp, Wednesday the 25th April 1979, the D-Day, when we started trekking. After walking for a while on the trunk road, we took a shortcut; this would save us five miles of walk, my guides assured. Sweating and panting, after half an hour’s climb through a steep, narrow and rugged path, we again touched the blacktopped road. Another two hours walk brought us before a board put up by Project Yatrik which warned, “STOP. CROCS CROSSING. CROCS BURROW”. It was the end of the 40.700-km-long North-South Trunk-road. We were at Galathea river basin. 

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/a-trip-to-indira-point-down-memory-lane-37-years-back-2/

A cute shell and a handful of beach sand in a glass jar occupy the pride of place in my showcase. Once a happy reminder of my dream visit to Indira Point, the Southernmost Tip of Indian soil, now they remind me of the devastating Tsunami of December 26, 2004; that tsunami has not only devoured that Land’s Tip but also the lives of the men and members of their families (in all 20) who were looking after the lighthouse there, besides a group of international scientists on a research visit. I shudder even to imagine that the very place where I stood admiring sunset and sunrise is now under 4.5 metres (almost 15 ft.) of water!

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/a-trip-to-indira-point-down-memory-lane-37-years-back/

Though I had a desire to visit the Kingdom of Nepal since May 1983 when I came to Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, on transfer from Cuttack in Orissa (now Odisha), I was not able to fulfil it for various reasons.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/in-the-kingdom-of-nepal-in-1986/

“Amma!” Mother, that is how the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa, (mind you, it is a double ‘a’) was fondly and reverently addressed by the devoted cadres of her party, the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. She preferred being addressed so, that was the point. Dravida Munntera Kazhagam can be seen prefixed or suffixed to the name of many parties in Tamil Nadu; it means just that it is an organization (kazhagam) for the development/welfare (munnetra) of Dravidans, believe me! The morning after her passing away, I woke up with bleary eyes.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/the-morning-after-ammas-death/

The sacred Swayam-bhunath Chaitya near Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, is said to be 2000 years old and is also one of the world’s oldest Buddhist Chaityas. It is two miles west of Kathmandu city and is situated on a hillock; this hillock rises to a height of 250 feet above the level of the Kathmandu Valley which itself is at an altitude of 1,400 metres (4,600 ft).

The post Swayambhunath appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/swayambhunath/

The World Heritage Week is observed every year from 19th to 25th November to create awareness about the need to preserve our heritage – both cultural and natural of the world – at least those that are still remaining, fortunately!

The post Passing on our heritage to GenNext appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/passing-heritage-gennext/

Who would not enjoy and love the pranks of a child, more so if He is a divine child? So it is no wonder that the jayanthi (birthday) of the most mischievous and most loved child, Lord Krishna, is celebrated with much love, mirth and enthusiasm throughout our Bharath. Lord Krishna’s incarnation was on the eighth day (Ashtami Thithi) during Rohini Nakshtra (star). According to the website drikpanchang.com, Lord Kirishna was born on 18th July 3228 BC (23rd of June 3227 as per Gregorian calendar) in Mathura.

The post The loveable Lord’s birthday appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/loveable-lords-birthday/

Sanamahism was revealed to us by Krishna, not the Lord but our Guide Krishna! We were into our second day trip of Manipur but were not aware of existence of such a pre-Hindu religious sect in Manipur. How ignorant of us! And, till our 4th day, neither did we know that it is still a […]

The post Sanamahism & Seven appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/sanamahism-seven/

(contd from previous issue)
‘Wow!” he exclaimed tasting the gunpowder. He had a hearty laugh when we explained the nick name of gunpowder given to the idly powder. We in our house generally do not use much spice (chilly), hence our gunpowder may not qualify to be actually called so, we explained. Idly powder is available readymade in the shops. We have to only mix oil with it and it is ready, we gave tips to make his dosai taste better. The chutney my wife had prepared was not the usual coconut chutney served in hotels; as it tasted different, Mr. Reagan Singh like it much. As a finale, we offered coffee, but he said he was full.

The post Meitei meets Madrasi ! appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/meitei-meets-madrasi-3/

(contd from previous issue)
I truthfully repeated the same answer – Being the last LTC trip, I was determined to cover as many NE States as possible because NE States – particularly Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya – are quite unique by way of culture, language, tradition, cuisine, costume, religion, etc. Assam and Tripura have a trace of Bengali culture, while Arunachal Pradesh is (or at least Ita Nagar is), religion wise somewhat similar to Buddhist Sikkim where I had lived for 5 1/2 years and which we visited only in 2014. We had already decided upon Assam, mainly for Kaziranga and Majuli, the world’s biggest river island with the added attraction of its Vaishnavite Satra tradition.

The post Meitei meets Madrasi ! appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/meitei-meets-madrasi-2/

Idly & sambar! Dosai & chutney! And, yes, gunpowder! How could I, a Madrasi, invite a Meitei to my home without at least this basic & popular South Indian menu? Idly-sambar and dosai-chutney combinations are as inseparable as Romeo-Juliet and Laila-Majnu. But, of all the things, how does gunpowder fit in this menu?! Well, gunpowder is nothing but the nickname given by the British to the idly powder. Idly powder is just another side dish like sambar or chutney to go along with idly, uppuma (kichadi), and dosai. And, yes, it is dosai, not dosa; don’t miss the ‘i’ and don’t miss the dot either. The so-called gunpowder’s main ingredient is hot red dried chilly; mix the gunpowder with gingerly (sesame) oil and it is ready in a jiffy as a tasty, spicy side dish!

The post Meitei meets Madrasi ! appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/meitei-meets-madrasi/

The cultural linkage between Manipur and Myanmar was quite visible by the mythical dragons guarding the portal of the Buddhist Pagoda in Tamu, akin to the Kangla-sha statues found in Kangla Fort in Imphal.

The post Tamu, window to Myanmar appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/tamu-window-myanmar/

It was omnipresent, this bean-like thing! In and around the landmark Ima Keithal (Mothers’ Market) in Imphal, this stuff was being stacked and sold by hundreds of wholesalers and retailers. ‘Maybe it has got something to do with Yaoshang celebrations the next day … … for decorative purpose, like we in Tamil Nadu use mango leaves and palm fronds as festoons’, we guessed among ourselves. Concluding thus we gave no further thought to it but it was intriguing to see that ubiquitous stuff. Our Guide, Krishna, was not around with us; he dropped us near Ima Market and fled away. Maybe he imagined that the shopping Gopikas would swarm him!

The post Moreh and Yongchak appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/moreh-and-yongchak/