Enchantress Of Words

05.My Culture, my pride

Pictures can speak thousand words, this is my entry for MediaDirectory 's February month's "Loving your heritage" contest. The main reason why I took part in this contest was because I wanted others to know more about Indian culture. The rituals, Gods and what not!

For those who wonder what each of these pictures signify let us go through each row.

●The very first picture in the first line, is a ritual which involves a newly wed bride dipping her feet in a mixture of milk and alta. After doing so she walks on a white cloth or paper while entering her husband's home first time after marriage. The trial symbolizes Goddess Lakshmi(Goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity) entering the house in the form of bride.

●The next two pictures mainly focus on the traditional dressing and heavy jewellery which is was worn by women on festivals or during marriages. Each jewellery holds some significance.

•Necklace - Since antiquity, ladies have worn ornate ornamental collars, beaded strings, pendants, and necklaces to fend off bad luck and attract good fortune. Necklaces also suggest safety and success. After getting married,woman also don a black beaded necklace called a mangalsutra, according to which the husband and wife will be soulmates.

•Mang Tikka - The 'Agya Chakra' which is located in the centre of a women's forehead, is regarded by Ayurveda as a seat of preservation. It also represents the physical, spiritual and emotional union of two sexes. The mang tikka is a crucial component in the atire of an Indian bride. On wedding day, ladies traditionally don mang tikka for the first time. They have variety of designs to fit various cultural traditions.

•Nose pin - The most enticing item of the jewellery of Indian heritage the nose pin, also known as nath. It is a crucial conventional bridal item. Given that the nerves from the left nostril are connected to the female reproductive organs, the majority of Hindu women in India wear nose rings on the left nostril. Therefore, they think that piercing the nose in this manner facilitates birth. Additionally,piercing nose close to a certain node on the nostril is said to ease women's menstruational pain, according to Ayurveda. They believe that having nose pierced might help a woman recover from trauma or disease that has lastes for a longtime.

•Earrings - One of the most alluring gems worn by both men and women in India are earrings. The practice of piercing the ears is thought to be meant to allow the inner ears to be opened and receive sacred sounds. Ear piercings is a celebrated custom know as Karnavedha.

•Bangles(Bracelets) - For married women bracelets are the most important adornment. Bangles are a traditional marriage symbol.

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The second row focus on the Gods. According to the ancient Hindu texts, there are 33 crore or 33 million gods. Unfortunately, I cannot add all of them, hence I have chosen three.

●Shri Krishna-Shri Krishna is the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, who is the lord is preservation. Life starts and ends from him. The story behind shri Krishna is extremely long and deserves it own book. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lonisolar Hindu calendar.

●Ganpati Bappa- Ganesha, also spelled Ganesh, and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in Hindu pantheon.
He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and thought to bring good luck,the patron of arts ans science, and the deva(God) of intellect and wisdom. As the god's of beginning, he is honored at the start of rites and ceremonies. Although Ganesha has many attributes he is widely identified for his elephant face, which has an extremely intriguing story behind it!

●Lord Shankar or Shiva- Shiva also known as Mahadeva, is The Destroyer within the Trimurti the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. The life of Shiva cannot be expressed within a paragraph.

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The third row revolves around food and musical instruments.

●Kheer- A sweet dish.

●Sitar- Among Indian musical instruments are the sitar,Sarod, tambura, shehnai, sarangi, and tabla. The current photo is of a Sitar. The sitar is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India.

●Tabla- A tabla is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music,where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments and vocals, and as a part of larger ensembles. It is frequently played in popular and folk music. The tabla consists of two small drums of slightly different sizes and shapes. Each drum is made of hollowed-out wood, clay or metal. The smaller drum (dayan/tabla) is used for creating treble and tonal sounds, while the primary function of the larger drum (baya/dagga) is for producing bass. They are laced with hoops, thongs and wooden dowels on its sides. The dowels and hoops are used to tighten the tension of the membranes for tuning the drums.
The playing technique is complex and involves extensive use of the fingers and palms in various configurations to create a wide variety of different sounds and rhythms, reflected in mnemonic syllables

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I took help from Wikipedia and few books! I had no idea that jewellery held so much significance! Thanks to this contest,I was able to get out of my comfort zone and came to know about new things!