tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post7126145082235011512..comments2024-02-20T16:57:41.630+05:30Comments on ADHVAGATI: Once Upon A Diwali..........YOSEEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-9442193368804068942009-10-26T21:57:33.395+05:302009-10-26T21:57:33.395+05:30Hi Dibs : So glad you could grab some really edibl...Hi Dibs : So glad you could grab some really edible sweets for Diwali.... LOL!Granite Idlis and Broccoli Biryanis !People are that desperate, eh ?...and no, you dint visit Garut, went only to Kawah Putih and the waterfalls in our neighbourhood....This diwali was quite quiet here too, but according to newspapers, there was much dhoom-daam in the city as though to snub recession, with a vengeance.YOSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-76808221426569689912009-10-26T10:40:57.690+05:302009-10-26T10:40:57.690+05:30I am trying to recollect if you took me to Garut! ...I am trying to recollect if you took me to Garut! I remember one muddy trail where there were a couple of hot springs. Your descriptions are so awesome ..wish I could go again! <br /><br />This is our 2nd diwali in Sydney. Since I did not go out I dont know if there were any celebs here. At our neighbourhood (despite many desis) it was like any other day ..not a flare, not a sound ..nothing at all. We bought a few berry scented candles from IKEA and lit them in our balcony. <br /><br />Billus is Harris Park however was jam paked. They had to put several tables outside their restaurant to cater to the crowds buying desi sweets. Hubby stood for hours in the queue, and came back with jalebis,milk pedas, laddoos and kaju katlis. We were pleasant;ly surprised that they were really good (unlike the granite idlis, and the tasteless orange coloured biryani, that contained brocolli and sweet corn!!!!! ...and left the orange stains on our fingers!!!!)Dibshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12477742937087286777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-80436846183167599052009-10-23T15:55:56.738+05:302009-10-23T15:55:56.738+05:30Rwitoja: Thanks. Poor Caretaker and Co. Hope they ...Rwitoja: Thanks. Poor Caretaker and Co. Hope they were not whipped or stoned !....yeah, Bollywood has penetrated to such remote corners of the globe that nowadays, anything Indian ( read Hindi Filmi)is greatly appreciated. I read that a mexican ( or brazilian ?) soap opera made in Bollywood formula is such a smash hit there that even some hindi idioms have gained currency in their speech !....and ofcourse we had Obama Almighty himself celebrating it in White House this year !YOSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-8729914372542261182009-10-23T15:42:59.805+05:302009-10-23T15:42:59.805+05:30D's Child : Thank you. I dint know Kerala cold...D's Child : Thank you. I dint know Kerala cold shouldered Diwali. Most of our festivals have crossed their respective territorial borders and become pan-indian so that now-a-days we see that everyone everywhere celebrates everything in similar manner ! Examples : Raksha Bandan, Onam , Akka-Teej ( Akshaya Tritiyai), Navratra ( with Dandiya)- Currently here, even Oktoberfest from Germany ! ....Anyhow, it must be fun still to be Special : the only house lighting diyas !YOSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-80358410495710159412009-10-22T17:02:52.712+05:302009-10-22T17:02:52.712+05:30Diwali in an foreign land was an interesting read ...Diwali in an foreign land was an interesting read and brought back memories. Loud crackers were not allowed in the Middle East. On our very first Diwali there,we heard a few loud bangs and were aghast to see our building caretaker and his brood being marched off to the police station. Crackers were sold clandestinely by the Indian shops.As the proliferation of Bollywood and Indian TV channels increased, the local populace(which is inordinately fond of Bollywood)became more knowledgeable about Indian festivals and customs, and were more tolerant.Enjoyed the trip through volcano country!Rwitoja Mukherjeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02364314064124051445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-15095921853998977702009-10-22T14:42:42.197+05:302009-10-22T14:42:42.197+05:30This is my first visit to this blogand I am sure t...This is my first visit to this blogand I am sure to return. I loved the vivid description of the desi festival in a videsi land..lovely! :)<br />We used to celebrate it when we were in UP. After coming to Kerala...sigh...I still sit and think of the fun we used to have on Diwali...as I sit and light the diyas on the terrace, only to be reminded that we are the only house in the neighbourhood to light diyas....Destiny's child...https://www.blogger.com/profile/17057033204086978256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-36243756372084549762009-10-22T12:19:55.318+05:302009-10-22T12:19:55.318+05:30JC; Thank you for sharing the insight. Regards.JC; Thank you for sharing the insight. Regards.YOSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-21714169562596035222009-10-21T18:57:42.844+05:302009-10-21T18:57:42.844+05:30Yosee: It has taken 'me' almost three deca...Yosee: It has taken 'me' almost three decades to read the minds of the ancient 'Hindus' to a certain extent...Of course, the use of apparently inferior 'digital computers' helped 'me' know that human brain is a super 'analogical computer'...And, not just the brain, but the entire human form itself is a computer, an integrated one that utilises 9 computers, each one of which is related with a member of our solar system that believably controls one of the 8 cardinal directions (imagined radiating from any given point on earth on a horizontal plane) and one controlling both the upward and downward directions, analogous to the near spherical globe/ earth that is nearly 'perfect' and thus exists for over 4 billion years!... <br /><br />Regarding 'present day' higher degree of pollution in 'Nature', and so also relative deterioration in human behaviours in all aspects of human life, leading to a virtual 'surrender', one could perhaps explain it from the believable realisation of the ancients that <br />Time, analogous to water, moves downwards, from Satya Yuga to Kaliyuga...thankfully repeatedly over 1000 times and thus at a certain stage Satya Yuga is reached again and again - 'naturally'!JChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05374795168555108039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-10559142822063879892009-10-21T09:25:16.047+05:302009-10-21T09:25:16.047+05:30Kamini : Thank you.
"Farcical" is the ...Kamini : Thank you. <br /> "Farcical" is the word ! You missed nothing . A simple celebration at home with payasam is more honest. :-)YOSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-30756459226449207102009-10-21T00:10:53.759+05:302009-10-21T00:10:53.759+05:30How evocatively you have described your Deepavali ...How evocatively you have described your Deepavali experience!<br />Alas, it is so hard for us (I live in New York) to conjure up the Deepavali spirit, in spite of the Indian community organizing all manner of events which somehow come across as farcical and insincere, lacking the proper spirit. I avoid those, and just light a few candles at home and make a simple payasam.<br />By the way, your drawings are really wonderful!Kaminihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105753566208526507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-71251843859766409342009-10-21T00:09:25.762+05:302009-10-21T00:09:25.762+05:30How evocatively you have described your Deepavali ...How evocatively you have described your Deepavali experience!<br />Alas, it is so hard for us (I live in New York) to conjure up the Deepavali spirit, in spite of the Indian community organizing all manner of events which somehow come across as farcical and insincere, lacking the proper spirit. I avoid those, and just light a few candles at home and make a simple payasam.<br />By the way, your drawings are really wonderful!Kaminihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105753566208526507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-8224151709484747572009-10-20T09:42:59.913+05:302009-10-20T09:42:59.913+05:30Anup : Yeah, had figured out about Pasir Gudang......Anup : Yeah, had figured out about Pasir Gudang.....NO2 from Malaysia, CO2 from Indonesia ( kalimantan forest fires). Poor S'pore !YOSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-83081178562912943992009-10-20T09:34:46.732+05:302009-10-20T09:34:46.732+05:30JC : That was an interesting analogy. Thank you. B...JC : That was an interesting analogy. Thank you. Best wishes to you too.YOSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-41913435867633824632009-10-19T19:13:10.865+05:302009-10-19T19:13:10.865+05:30Keep the sketches going, they speaks volumes more ...Keep the sketches going, they speaks volumes more than photos. I don't think Malaysia taps geothermal energy at all. I meant that we have an oil refinery across the narrow stretch of water near our house in Singapore. It is on the Malaysia side. That oil refinery puts out smoke and odor that sometimes drifts our way!Capt. Anup Murthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12517106772872301041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-20038006279818480222009-10-19T18:53:20.507+05:302009-10-19T18:53:20.507+05:30This comment has been removed by the author.Naamellaamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610949077123663350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-9690122870697327312009-10-19T16:53:29.236+05:302009-10-19T16:53:29.236+05:30Yosee, Nice description of the visit literally to ...Yosee, Nice description of the visit literally to a 'Shakti Peeth' or 'energy centre' on Diwali, that is 'Kali puja' for Bengalis, where Kali (or Sati, that is, 'shakti' the energy) the Goddess with protruding red tongue, believably resides in the heart of Shiva the Gangadhar (that is earth)! It is understood as the 'destructive' form of energy that gets manifested as 'active' volcanoes, that in the model forms get reflected as 'Anars', i.e., one of the Diwali fireworks! Geysers also, similarly, reflect the same characteristics by water/ gases, intead of fire, rising from virtually a point (mooladhar) high into the air...to fall back to earth in hundreds of channels (sahastra dhara)...<br /><br />Best wishes for many Happy returns of Diwali!JChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05374795168555108039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-42540632001666630102009-10-19T14:10:03.236+05:302009-10-19T14:10:03.236+05:30Anup : I know, Singapore -Indians are a species by...Anup : I know, Singapore -Indians are a species by themselves. Their Indianness (and Tamilness) are quite different from ours here.Ditto Malaysian-Tamils. We were in Sing. one Diwali season and I couldn't believe the strange Carnival type hoopla that had erupted in Serangoon for the occassion !....i dont know if Malaysia taps geothermal energy for power, but Indonesia does not waste any of it. And the archipelago, sitting on the Volcanic Arc has a god given bounty of geothermal energy.They are a pro. in spotting and exploiting any potential.For instance, the number of "Picnik spots" each district has is just unbelievable. Like,say they noticed the 'view point' near the Nandi in Chamundi hill, the very next day, there'll be a signboard, ticket booth, visitor amenities, brochures et all and 'pariwisata' buses start lining up in no time ! ( My sketches are out of sheer necessity. i am a total loss as photographer :-)YOSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-61343663281404376102009-10-19T13:33:22.721+05:302009-10-19T13:33:22.721+05:30Avdi,while expatriates flaunt their "roots an...Avdi,while expatriates flaunt their "roots and identity" with a vengeance,cant say they'd care all that much for it when they become resident indians . I have also noticed that long time non- residents get so emotionally attached to a dated image of their country that they find it painful and impossible to accept the real India when they visit home! .....re. nature's fireworks, my long time wish is to see a volcano in action.YOSEEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364914380063474591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-7891499125943840112009-10-19T10:21:39.791+05:302009-10-19T10:21:39.791+05:30Right about the expats behaving more Indian when t...Right about the expats behaving more Indian when they are overseas, witnessed enough of that the last couple of days in Singapore although this is a bigger celebration as you know, because of the Indian origin Singaporeans. But the expats stand out somehow! The Volcano descriptions was just great, I could almost smell the Sulfur in the air..oh maybe that smell is from the Pasir Gudang refinery across in Malaysia near my place! I did not know they had a geothermal electric station there. Great to hear about that. As always, your sketches give a real feel to the place than picture postcard type photos.Capt. Anup Murthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12517106772872301041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4357977015036278715.post-13321874039806342462009-10-19T07:44:40.904+05:302009-10-19T07:44:40.904+05:30What a unique way of celebrating Diwali. I daresay...What a unique way of celebrating Diwali. I daresay nature's fireworks beat anything created by man.<br />And finding that quaint temple ! <br /><br />I loved your descriptionof being desi in Pardes. :)Avahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17274222598587327676noreply@blogger.com