AWAKENINGS

Abhijit Banerjee – Indian-Origin Economist wins Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in Global Poverty. Esther Duflo , wife of Abhijit is the second woman to win the prize and the youngest winner of the prize. In 2015, Banerjee married his co-researcher, MIT professor Esther Duflo ; they have two children.  Banerjee was a joint supervisor of Duflo's PhD in economics at MIT in 1999.Duflo is also a Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT. Michael Robert Kremer is an American development economist who is the Gates Professor of Developing Societies at Harvard University. The Nobel committee commented: " Banerjee , Duflo and their co-authors concluded that students appeared to learn nothing from additional days at school. Neither did spending on textbooks seem to boost learning, even though the schools in Kenya lacked many essential inputs. Moreover, in the Indian context Banerjee and Duflo intended to study, many children ...

Halloween is a holiday celebrated each year on October 31, and Halloween 2019 occurred on Thursday, October 31. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of  Samhain , when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain . The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities like trick-or-treating, carving jack-o-lanterns, festive gatherings, donning costumes and eating treats. Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The  Celts , who lived 2,000 years ago, mostly in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of t...

The number 6 is a powerful number as it is considered a symbolic representation of Lord Muruga , the warrior God, substantiated by the below facts about Muruga : • Skanda Shasti – Muruga’s battle against demonic forces spans six days • Muruga was born as 6 babies, and his anthropomorphic form has 6 heads • Muruga was raised by 6 Kartika maidens • Muruga has 6 powerhouses or battle stations • Muruga’s powerful mantra has 6 syllables ‘Sa Ra Va Na Ba Va ’ • Muruga represents our 6th sense On the first day, our Vedic priests will perform a grand homa by chanting the powerful Subramanya Moola mantra ( Muruga seed sound) from the sacred text ‘ Sharadha Tilakoktham ’. The Muruga seed sound is formed by the following 6 syllables: • SA – Helps attract people you need to your door • RA – Brings instant material abundance you desire • VA – ( Va is also said as “Ha”) – Destroys competition, diseases, and debts • NA –...