Curiosity

Hello! Everyone. This is Arun Balaji. Better late than never! India is a ground of spirituality, a land with a 7000-year old history, a land held tight to its ancient traditions, embedded with fruits of its deep-rooted culture passed on through generations, sentiments intact. Despite having witnessed or belong to this society with innumerable traditions, we lack the understanding of the logical reason behind several rituals and customs and brand them superstitious and meaningless. We have shelved away many of these anecdotes passed on by our forefathers with years of increasing westernization, a lot of it because of sheer ignorance. Have we ever wondered why certain things are devised the way they are? Why do we have specifications to every ritual followed? Why Do We Visit Temples? Idol worship is a form   of prayer, but what is the reason behind installing these idols in magnificently constructed temples? What is the purpose of temples at all? Temples are co...

Diwali is a festival of lights which originated in South Asia and is celebrated over five days. The dates change every year, but it is always celebrated in October or November and is now celebrated around the world. Diwali comes from the word deepavali , which means ‘ rows of lighted lamps ’. During the festival, these lamps, called diyas , are used everywhere. They symbolise the victory of light over darkness, or good over evil. Diwali is celebrated differently in different regions and by different religions and is a bank holiday in many countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. It is often considered a Hindu festival, but in fact it is also celebrated by Sikhs, Jains, Newari Buddhists, Christians and Muslims too. Here are some of the things that happen during the five days of Diwali. Day One – Dhanteras, or Day of Fortune The first day has a focus on fortune, both good luck and money or valu...

October 31 is Halloween and is now celebrated in many countries around the world, but do you know anything about the origins of this scary special day?  The origins of Halloween If you think of Halloween, you probably think of scary carved pumpkins, all kinds of fancy dress and children asking for sweets. And if you think of a country that celebrates Halloween, you probably think of the United States first. Americans and Canadians have adopted Halloween in a big way, but Halloween traditions actually come from 16th-century Ireland, Scotland and England. The tradition of Halloween on 31 October comes from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Samhain was the Celtic New Year and they celebrated it on 1 November because that was the end of summer and harvest time (life) and the beginning of winter (death). It was also the time for ghosts to return to earth for a day. People lit a big fire, wore special clothes made of animal skin and hoped to be safe from the ghosts and ...

Hanukkah is a Jewish festival that is celebrated for eight days, usually in December. It is also called the Festival of Lights. Read to find out why and learn about what people do to celebrate this special holiday. Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights, is a Jewish celebration.  Its date changes from year to year, but it always takes place either in November or December. It lasts for eight days and is celebrated by Jews around the world. The menorah The most important part of Hanukkah is the lighting of the menorah (a special candleholder used in Jewish ceremonies). For Hanukkah, there is a special menorah with nine candles. Eight of the candles represent the eight days of the festival. The ninth candle is used to light the other eight. On the first day, only one candle is lit, on the second day, two candles, and so on, until all the candles are lit on the last day.  The candles are lit at sunset and should burn for at least half an hour...

We know very well about the Indus Valley Civilization and its Culture. Kheezhadi Excavation Site But, do we know a young and parallel civilization which existed in the river banks of Vaigai river in the south of India? Most probably not, because, we Indians ignore whichever is South. And also we split India into North, South, Northeast even when we have one nation. We(maybe ego)refuse to accept the truth and our government is taking steps to impose(imposing is different from people learning it by choice) a single language which is not native to the different people of India. In the north of India, we have the Devanagiri Script. Similarly, we have a version of Bhrami Script called Tamil-Bhrami or Tamizhili(தமிழி) in which Tamil is written. History of Tamil Script The Lemurian Continent, which is sunken underwater in the Indian ocean contains shreds of evidence and proofs of, not only, Tamil being the oldest language, but also several other cultur...