AWAKENINGS

Rahul Gandhi is now Leader of Opposition Party – LOP with Congress Party winning 99 MP seats thereby eligible for the status of leader of opposition.  INDI-Alliance  (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) headed by Congress had secured 232 MP seats.  As the BJP could not get 272 seats – half way mark to have a majority of its own like in its first two terms of 2014 and 2019 - but stuck with 240 MP seats thereby to depend upon its allies which secured 53 seats for its survival.   Though NDA had a comfortable majority of 293 seats and all its major allies like Mr. Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party with 16 seats, Mr. Nitish Kumar ‘s Janata Dal United with 12 seats, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Jana Sakthi Party with 5 seats (which makes a total seat of 273 seats – 1 seat above half way mark of 272) – not to speak of 20 seats of other BJP allies are solidly behind Modi Sarkar – despite INDI-Alliance parties hoping for some splits and problems for Modi – but nothing happened ...

  India won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 second time  by defeating South Africa in the final. This marks India's second title, ending a 13-year wait for an ICC trophy.  The crucial wicket of David Miller with a stunning catch on the long off boundary by Suryakumar Yadav had made all the differences to win the match not to speak of Virat Hohli hits of 76 runs and   Jasprit Burmrah’s brilliant bowling. Hence Virat Kohli became Player of the Match and Jasprit Bumrah became Player of the Tournament.   And special mention needs to be made of Dravid their coach. Though specific players were named for highlights, the victory was mainly due to their Team Spirit and hence entire credits should go to one and all. 29 th   June had became a Red Letter Day for our Team Blue Boys and it was heartening to see that entire India had risen as a ONE BIG GIANT to congratulate our Blue Boys in a big way at Mumbai on 04 – 07 – 2024. It was equally great that our Prim...

  Puri Raths   are three chariots that are made of wood and decorated by local artists. Lord Jagannath’s chariot is the biggest of the three having 16 massive wheels and a height of 44 feet. While Lord Balarama’s chariot has 14 wheels and a height of 43 feet followed by Goddess Subhadra’s chariot having 12 wheels and a height of 42 feet. They are pulled manually by 50-metre long ropes, people rush to pull the chariots as they believe that pulling the chariot earns them good deeds and penance for their errors. In Puri Rath Yatra, Lord Balaram’s chariot is pulled first then Goddess Subhadra’s followed by Lord Jagannath’s. Jagannath means ‘The Lord of the World’. Hindu legend states that every year during Rath Yatra, Lord Jagannath, a manifestation of Lord Vishnu, pays a visit to his aunt’s shrine in the Gundicha shrine.    Puri  to Gundicha temple is 3 kilometers, although Puri Rath Yatra takes two hours owing to crowds. The goddesses stay in the temple for ni...

  Pandharpur is a Popular pilgrimage town, on the banks of Chandrabhagā River, near Solapur city in Solapur District, Maharashtra, India.  The presiding deities of Pandharpur are Shri Vitthal and His Consort Rukmini whose Temple is called Vithoba Mandir. Vithoba is considered as incarnation of Lord Vishnu or Krishna and the temple is one amongst 108 Vaishnava Pilgrimage Centre. Pandharpuri Wari or Pandharpuri Journey involves carrying the paduka of a saint in a palkhi or a palanquin – here notably Dyneshwar and Tukaram from their respective shrines of Alandi and Dehu respectively in Pune District of Maharashtra to Pandharpur. The pilgrimage takes 21 days.  The wari or journey culiminates at the Vithoba Temple on the holly occasion of Shavani Ekadashi. Devotees from across Maharashtra and nearby areas leave for Pandharpur, wearing holy Tulasi mala (basil beads) and singing the glories of Vithoba. When they reach Pandharpur on Shayani Ekadashi, the devotees bat...

Guru Purnima is a Hindu religious festival celebrated in honor of spiritual teachers. It falls on the full moon day in the month of Ashadha. This is the birth date of Sage Vyasa who is considered the founder of the guru-disciple tradition and hence the date is aptly christened as Guru Day. ' GURU' means  the one who leads you from darkness to light .(gu= darkness,  ra = light ,+ u = move forward).  Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita (verse 17) described Guru as  “Dispeller of Darkness” -  Gu – Darkness and Ru – That which dispels.   For Buddhists, Guru Purnima is auspicious, as on this day Lord Budha gave his most memorable sermon at Sarnath.   For Jains, Guru Purnima is known as Treenok Guha Purnima which in a real sense means the 3 gems – Tirthankaras, Arishtanemi, and Acharyas.   Guru Purnima is being venerated by Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.     One common factor for all these religious sects is that it is an auspicious day to ...