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Festivals Photos

A Holi Close to Our Roots

Heartiest greetings on the colourful occasion of Holi. We all know the importance of Holi as well as the story behind celebrating Holi as well as Holika Dehen. It dates back to very ancient history and mythology when king Hiranyakashayp ordered his son Prahlad to be burnt who was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashyap’s sister Holika consented to accompany Prahlad in the fire as she had a blessing that no fire could ever burn her so as to ensure his demise.  Holika sat on pyre with Prahalad. Holika burnt alive while Prahalad was saved by the Lord.

But now-a-days we are going far away from our roots, our culture. The traditions have either become a formality, or a commercial venture, or rather an extinct or endangered culture. In deep thoughts about the same, I visited a small village/rural area to find out if the culture still alive, and to my surprise, yes it was.

The place I visited was a developing rural area in the interiors of the village Shobhagpura in Udaipur. This remote area witnessed the concrete roads for the first time just before few months. Here all the villagers and other people live in true harmony. I was welcomed by Mr. Gopal Prasad, an independent journalist, who has settled here in search of peace.

It was about 7.15 in the evening; small girls were seen making rangolis near the location. Village ladies and housewives were seen worshipping the structure. Slowly the crowd started to gather, and as happens every year, the worship and rituals were performed by the eldest person living in the village, who fired up the Holika.

Holi in a village

In next few minutes the entire area was filled with light and heat of the huge fire. Mr. Gopal informed that the villagers offer a share of the new harvest of wheat to the fire, and the roasted wheat grains so obtained is distributed to all as the Prasad. Any newborn baby is also made to revolve around the holy fire. It is believed that all the evil forces are burnt away with the fire and the spirit becomes pure and clean.

Eldest member of the Village performing the Rituals
Eldest member of the Village performing the Rituals

Eldest member of the Village performing the Rituals

Holika Dehen Rituals being performed
Holika Dehen Rituals being performed

Holi in a villageHoli in a villageHoli in a village

offering the first harvest of wheat to the fire
Offering the first harvest of wheat to the fire

Finally I was happy on my way back home. All i was taking along with me was not only the roasted wheat grains, but were memories, a warm, friendly welcome at the village, more knowledge about our cultures, and an entirely different Holi to remember for the lifetime.

Wishing everyone a very Happy, Colourful and Safe Holi. Enjoy a lot but remember to Save Water 🙂

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Photos Places to Visit

Gandhi Shilp Mela: Art and Craft Fair in Udaipur

Gandhi Shilp Mela

The National Crafts Fair, also known as the GANDHI SHILP MELA started in Udaipur from 4th March and will continue till 13th March 2011 at Town Hall. The craftsmen and artisans from all over India have gathered in our city to show their extraordinary masterpieces as well as talent. This event is organised by Rural Non Farm Development Agency (RUDA). According to an estimate, this year the trade till date has exceeded Rs. 10.5 Lakhs. A huge overwhelming crowd is seen enjoying the fair.many items such as furniture, wooden items, show pieces, garments, accessories, etc can be seen at display and for sale.

Here are few glimpses of the Gandhi Shilp Mela.

Gandhi Shilp Mela

Gandhi Shilp Mela

Gandhi Shilp Mela

Gandhi Shilp Mela

Gandhi Shilp Mela

Gandhi Shilp Mela

Gandhi Shilp Mela

Gandhi Shilp Mela

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Events Photos and Videos

49th Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Samaroh

Since 1962 , Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Kala Trust organizes The Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Samaroh in loving memory of Maharana kumbha who was not only an proficient musician but also a great authority on the subject and science of music. The foremost motive of the celebration is to promote the Indian classical music and art. Maharana Kumbha was a great ruler of Mewar and was an extreme lover of science of music and legendary commentaries in Sanskrit. He believed that Music (sangeet) is the elixir of life. It is not simply a part of entertainment. It is essential to develop sensitivity and compassion, the most important aspects of human life. Thus in the fond memory of Maharana Kumbha, The Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Kala Trust promotes and encourages indian classical music, dances, arts, drama, and other activities of cultural importance.

Here are some Photos & Videos captured by, Yash Sharma

It was the 49th Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Samaroh, a much-respected and eagerly awaited event of Indian Classical Music. Unsurprisingly, expectations from this event are always high since chief legends of Indian Classical Music performs in this outstanding Event. The function was performed on 3 different days at Sukhadia Rangmanch , Town Hall in evenings starting from 7.30 pm till midnight. Many legends of Indian classical music performed in the samaroh this year like Santoor Legend- Pandit Bhajan Sopori , Flute legend- Pt. Hari prasad chaurasia , Kathak legend- Smt. Rani Khanam and Tabla maestro- Ustad Zakir Husssain. also Padma Bhushan Pandit Rajan-Sajan Mishra, Pt. Rajan Sajan Mishra, Sh. Sudhir Pandey, Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt and Sh. Ram Kumar Mishra etc.

The three day sangeet celebration was an enormous event and the audience was left spellbound by the charismatic performances of the various legendary performers of Indian classical music. The event created a terrific classical music splendor in the city of lakes for the past three unforgettable and overwhelming days. Here is a brief description on performances of the various artists on the respective days :

Day 1: It was the foremost and the sweetest evening with performances of Santoor and flute .As expected on the first day with the sweetest musical instruments we have i.e, Flute and santoor. An amazing evening with splendid santoor recital by Santoor Legend Pandit Bhajan Sopori and also accompanying a marvelous Flute Recital by Flute legend Pt. Hari prasad chaurasia which completely and charismatically altered the ambience of the hall – filling it with unprecedented colours of joy, peace and harmony.

Video:

Day 2 : It was the second subsequent evening of the celebration and hence was organized for some warm kathak dance show. Smt. Rani Khanam (the only Indian Muslim Female Classical dancer of note) created a bold dazzling evening performing on Islamic verses and duet vocals Recital by Padma Bhushan award winner Pandit Sh. Rajan Sajan Mishra (Vocals) accompanied by Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt (Mohan Veena) and Sh. Sudhir Pandey & Sh. Ram Kumar Mishra on (Tabla). The audience got delighted and overwhelmed watching the immense kathak performance live.

Kathak Dance

Day 3: It was the third and the ultimate evening of the celebration. I will not call it the last evening since it was an evening which got engraved in everyone’s heart and mind thus was an ultimate evening. It was an Ustad’s (maestro’s) evening. Yeah u guessed it right, it was a tabla night actually a Zakir Husssain’s (maestro’s) Tabla night. So, now I hope you would have understood why I described and sounded like that or may be I sounded like that because I am, myself a huge fan of the table maestro Zakir Hussain. I feel contented to tell you that Ustad’s tabla Recital made the audience speechless. I think his performance, my god, was out of the world and nobody can describe his performance in words. Ustad while performing also cracked some great jokes and tales. His super sense of humor made the audience giggle and hoot many times. Ustad left the stage promising his next year arrival to the city and made people extremely happy and fulfilled.

Zakir Hussain

Video:

You Can Browse More Pictures At:   Facebook Link

Post contributed by : Yash Sharma

Categories
Festivals Photos and Videos

Eid-Milad-un-Nabi fete transcended Udaipur

Today Udaipur Saw massive Eid-Milad-un-Nabi celebration where Muslims celebrated the birth of Prophet Mohammed. Milad-un-Nabi  is also known as Barawafat or Mawlid.

Eid-Milad-un-Nabi

The Birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet is remembered on 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal of the Islamic lunar calendar year by all Muslims. The Holy Quran was revealed by the Holy Prophet Muhammad. The same day marks the death anniversary of the Holy Prophet.

In India the Biggest Processions of Sunni Muslims are celebrated. Today more than 1 Lakh people gathered and covered almost 10-15 Kms of Udaipur City. The Procession was started from city centre from Anjuman passing through Ghanta Ghar, Hathi Pole, Silawat wadi, Chandpol, Ambavgarh, Mulla talai and finally ended at the Shrine of Hazrat Maulaana Zahirul Hasan Saahab Rehmatullah Alaih.

To celebrate the event whole city was decorated by Green flags and Lightning’s. In Procession people enjoyed the various dishes like Kheer, Mutton Pulao, Gajar Ka Halwa, Ice Creams, Sharbat, Badaam Shake etc.

Important facts:

  • It is one of the biggest Procession of India celebrated by Sunni Muslims.
  • Approx 1 Lakh people participated in the traditional Milad-un-Nabi procession, which was described as the biggest-ever.
  • Procession of Milad-un-Nabi is continuously celebrated from 1965.
  • The procession starts from Anjuman and ends at Shrine of Hazrat Maulaana Zahirul Hasan Saahab Rehmatullah Alaih.
  • Procession covered the 10 Km city area.

Here are few snaps of Procession:

eid-milad-un-nabi-1


eid-milad-un-nabi-2



eid-milad-un-nabi-2




Article contributed by :

Raza Rahil Hussain.

Categories
Events News Photos and Videos

National Youth Festival 2011: The Memories it left behind

Youth Festival collageclick on image to enlarge

Finally it was the 16th of January, when the 16th National Youth Festival ended, everyone was sad for they had enjoyed a new world in these days, as the whole India was brought to our own beautiful city of lakes for 12th to 16th January, and yes, we too were happy and proud to host such a great festival in our city for the first time, which was otherwise held in the capital cities of the states only.

Everyday there were variety of competitions at different locations of our city, along with a great night show in the Maharana Bhupal Stadium (Gandhi Ground). For those who have missed any part of the NYF, here we bring to you a complete wrap up of these Festive days

Here below I am mentioning the day by day different events that were held throughout the city. But before that take a look on two events that was open for all the days.

1. Yuvakriti: The mouth watering food festival at Shilpgram

Inaugurated by the sports minister, Mr. M.S. Gill, this was a mouth watering event open for all Udaipies; different cuisines were prepared which represented the complete India in Shilpgram itself. They were available at a price scheme of NO PROFIT NO LOSS fixed by the organisers.

food festfood festfood festival yuvakriti

2. Adventure Camp at Railway Training College ground

This place was all about the thrill, the excitement, and huge bursts of adrenaline rushes. Para-sailing, Para-gliding, Hot-air balloon thrilled Udaipies to the extreme.

DAY-1 (12th January 2011): Opening

This day marked the opening of the youth festival in our city opening ceremony was held in Gandhi ground in the day. It was inaugurated by our hon’ble Vice President of India Mr. Hamid Ansari, in presence of the delegates from SAARC, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mr. Ashok Gehlot, Sports Minister Mr. M.S. Gill, and many more honourable guests.

chief guests

There was a march past of all the participant states in which the city witnessed the overwhelming spirit and culture of entire India

Night Show: At night, there was a laser show depicting the life of Swami Vivekananda, followed by massive boosts of fireworks, and then foot tapping performance by Punjabi singer Jasbeer Jassi.



Day-2 (13th January 2011)

The day was full of competitions, whose glimpses we provide you below.



Night Show: There was a show by Sudesh Bhosle at night in the Gandhi ground.

Day-3 (14th January 2011)

A Day full of competitions, whose glimpses we provide you below.

Night Show: A heart throbbing performance by Rock Bands made people thrill to their max. The show was started by “Soulmate”, followed by “Mystic Rhythms” and finally the excited adrenaline rush was taken to the extreme by “Parikrama”.

Day-4 (15th January 2011)

A Day full of competitions, whose glimpses we provide you below.

Night Show: Much awaited performance by Sonu Nigam who made Udaipur wait for his entry for a long time. Uncontrollable crowd made the work of Police Force and the security much difficult. But finally he entered the show, and really rocked it.

Day-5(16th January 2011): Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony was held in Railway Training College ground, where there were amazing stunts performed by the Indian Armed Forces. Nine divers of Indian Air Force, from the team “AKASHGANGA”, headed by Wing Commander Jai Kishan, were dropped by an IAF Aircraft. They showed their extra-ordinary courage and performed different styles after jumping from an altitude of 5000feet carrying the Indian National Flag.




This was followed by the acrobatics and stunts, the “DAREDEVILS” team of Indian Army (Military Police). All were equipped with their “SAFED ASHWA/WHITE HORSE” which were white coloured Bullet motorcycles, and did amazing wonders with them, along with the stunts; there were two army men, dressed as jokers who amused the audience with their crazy stunts.


For a detailed photo story on the Daredevil Show, Click here

There was performance by the army band, which was followed by cultural programmes, and the prize distribution ceremony, and finally the Youth Festival said “Good Bye Udaipur” with a pledge to keep alive the spirit of “Sabse Pehle Bharat” forever.

We are thankful to our team members as well as our contributors for getting us news updates, photos and videos from across all parts of the city for all these days of the youth festival.

Photos by (in alphabetical order)–

Videos by

Categories
Photos and Videos

Jai Jawaan: Our Real Heroes rock the NYF with their Stunts

Indian Army Stunt Team

On 15th of January 2010, Udaipur witnessed an amazing and heart-throbbing event which took place at the Railway Training College Ground. The ground was full with crowd, and the city witnessed first of its kind bike stunt show by the Indian Daredevils on account of celebration for the National Youth Festival. Every witness wowed on every move of our Indian Army men who were just doing miracles on their bullet motorbikes.

Video of these Biking dare devils on final day of NYF2011

Believing in the saying – “Actions speak louder than words”, we end up the text here only, leaving below a complete photo story of the thrilling day at Railway Training College.


On 15th of January 2010, Udaipur witnessed an amazing and heart-throbbing event which took place at the Railway Training College Ground. The ground was full with crowd. Every witness wowed on every move of our Indian Army men who were just doing miracles on their bullet motorbikes.

Believing in the saying – “Actions speak louder than words”, we end up the text here only, leaving below a complete photo story of the thrilling day at Railway Training College.

Photographs exclusively shot by- Prasun Bannerjee

Categories
Festivals Photos

Chhath puja

Meaning of Surya Mantra:-Through out the dusky firmament advancing, laying to rest the immortal and the mortal, Borne in his golden chariot he cometh, Savitar, God who looks on every creature.

Festive season is on, so this week is being celebrated by The devotees offer their prayers to the setting sun and then the rising sun in celebrating its glory as the cycle of birth starts with death. It is seen as the most glorious form of Sun worship. for worship of sun through.This is the only holy festival which has no involvement of any pandit (priest)..Chhath puja is an ancient Hindu festival dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity, major festival of  Bihar, Jharkhand .

This major festival is also celebrated in the northeast region of India, M.P, U.P, and parts of Chhattisgarh. Even in south region the migrants from the north celebrate Chhath puja beside the sea beach. Hymns praying to the sun can be found in the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism

Basically Chhath Puja is A Festival Which is Celebrated in Mainly Bihar. But Now a days Chhath Puja is celebrated in almost all part of the India.

Chhath puja is performed on Kartik Shukala Shashti, which is the sixth day of the month of Kartik in the Hindu Calendar, exactly 6 days after Deepawali. This falls typically in the month of October or November.

It is also celebrated in the summer (March- April), on Chaitra Shashti, some days after Holi; this event is called Chaiti Chhath. The former is more popular because winter is the usual festive season in North India, and Chhath, being an arduous observance, requiring the worshipers to fast without water for more than 24 hours, is tougher to undertake in the Indian winters. Chhath puja is four days festival

First day:-

Is called Nahakha (literally, bathe and eat): On the first day of Chhath Puja, the devotees take a dip, preferably in the holy river Ganga, and carry home the holy water of the river Ganga to prepare the offerings. The house and surroundings are scrupulously cleaned. The follower allows themselves only one meal on this day.

Second day:-

Kharna (the day before Chhath): On Panchami, the day before Chhath, the followers observe a fast for the whole day, which ends in the evening a little after sunset. Just after the worship of earth, the offerings of Rasiao-kheer (rice delicacy), puris (deep-fried puffs of wheat flour) and bananas, are distributed among family and friends. From this day onwards, for the next 36 hours, the follower goes on a fast without water.

Third day:-

Sandhya Arghya(evening offerings): The day is spent preparing the prasad (offerings) at home. On the eve of this day, the entire household accompanies the parvaitins to a riverbank, pond or a common large water body to make the offerings (Arghya) to the setting sun. It is during this phase of Chhath Puja that the devotees offer prayers to the setting sun.

The occasion is almost a carnival. Besides the followers, there are friends and
family, and numerous participants and onlookers, all willing to help and
receive the blessings of the worshiper. Ritual rendition of regional folk
songs, carried on through oral transmission from mothers and mothers-in-law to
daughters and daughters-in-law, are sung on this occasion.

Fourth day:-

Parna(the day after Chhath) Bihaniya Arghya (next morning offerings): On the final day of Chhath Puja, the devotees, along with family and friends, go to the riverbank before sunrise, in order to make the offerings (Arghya) to the rising sun. The festival ends with the breaking of the fast by the followers and friends visiting the houses of the devotees to receive the prashad. Witnessing Chhath being celebrated at the crack of the dawn on a river bank is a beautiful, elating spiritual experience connecting the modern Indian to his ancient cultural roots.

In our city udaipur chhath puja is being done at Dudhtalayi near pichola lake. Most of the devotees during this puja were basically from U.P and Bihar region which has settled in udaipur now, so they have given me information about this puja. As my personal, experience with chhath puja was totally different as last year during this festival i was there in Bihar and that celebration was really awesome what  crazy people they are that was the only devotion i found towards worship the Sun God.

“The higher the sun arise, the less shadow doth he cast; even so the greater is the goodness, the less doth it covet praise; yet cannot avoid its rewards in honors.”

Post and Photos By Monika Jain and Abhishek Singh

Categories
News Photos and Videos

10 Days Successful Navratri at 92.7 BIG FM Dandiya Raas

A 10 Days of Full of Fun and Masti @ BiG 92.7 FM Dandiya Raas in Swagat Vatika. It is was the Only Place which celebrated the Dandiya Nights for 10 Days.. 🙂 A Successful Event Due to Its Anchors Like Ankit Mathur, Rj Jeet..!!

We Would Like to Thanks BIG 92.7 FM Team , Shashank Ji(Station Head), Kapil Ji and Ankit Mathur, A.P. Events for their kind Support to our Blog 🙂

Here Are The Last Few Clips of the Event Along with the Photos or The Dandiya Fun.

Dandiya Josh @ 92.7 Big FM – Udaipur

Sanedo Sanedo – Big Bollywood Dandiya Raas Fun

Categories
Events Photos

LakeCity Carnival Rocked Everyone

Lakecity Carnival

10th October 2010 (10.10.10):  a remarkable date once in many years & also a significant day in the history of Lakecity !! Now if u’ll ask why ?? Then I’ll be glad and at the same time surprised to tell u that it was the first time that Udaipur had a Carnival !!! Oh sorry, not just a carnival a Huge Carnival yeah !! Hope everyone will be Familiar with the Carnival that occurred yesterday in the city for the very first time. Truly, if you missed the carnival then you actually missed something really magnificent and breathtaking !!! oh it was so astonishing to watch, the whole city celebrating the joy of god’s grace of greenery, overflowing lakes and promising the increase in No. of tourists with hundreds of ingeniously designed floats representing science, art, culture, dance, drama, music, television, sports, history, heritage, statehood, nationality, folklore, custom, traditions and various other aspects of life with heart exhilarating fireworks and thousands of audience!!!! Really marvelous

So the entire thing started at 5.00 p.m evening, Town hall. Crowd in Thousands searching for joy & entertainment, waiting for the first ever carnival to narrate a mesmerizing history forever. The moment just came and finally Mr. and Mrs. Gattani (head of Oriental Palace Resorts & main sponsor’s of the carnival) revealed the flag and all started!!! Fun and entertainment unlimited…

lakecity carnival udaipur

The crowd in thousand’s kept moving on and on to almost half of the city celebrating the merriment with full enthusiasm and zeal. Everyone lost in fun and entertainment of various unique performances by different groups representing their floats, dancing, singing and bustling with full security, moving towards the final destination to The Heart of Udaipur, none other than The Fatehsagar Lake. A stage set up and final performance segment was deliberated at the pall of Fatehsagar Lake for the audience who were unable to watch the performances all the way. Every performance was devotedly observed by the honorable judges and guests Mr. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar (HRH group), Mr. Hemant Gera (collector, city Udaipur),T.L Meena (I.G , Udaipur ), Mrs. Rajni Dangi ( Unit head, Nagar Parishad), Mr. Rajeev Sharma (Lic head, Udaipur), Mr. K.G Gattani (head, Oriental Resorts), Mr. V.S shekhawat (Unit head, Dainik Bhaskar Udaipur) and many other renowned personalities from Udaipur & outside For awarding the prizes. Winners will be announced in Dainik Bhaskar’s 12th October Edition & on Facebook page of Udaipurblog.

Some of the most entertaining and interesting performances were prepared by West Zone Culture, Narayan Seva Sansthan ,Diva’s group, Girish & Party, Susheel Parihar & Party (Badmer), Matrix Dance Academy , CPS School, Dolphin Recreation, Pacific College, Vishveshvarya college, Sunrise Group of colleges and St. Paul’s school etc.

Being the Online supporter of the Lakecity Carnival we wanna thank Everyone Organizers ( Dainik Bhaskar & Oriental Resorts specially) , Performers , Sponsors , Creative team, Udaipur administration, Security Team, Police, other supporters last but not the least audience and every Udaipur Citizen for making the Event Successful…

Kalbelia DanceAbstract From Newspaper: Click Me

Photographer
Photos Clicked By Rishabh Jain

and

Tarachand Ji
Photos Clicked By Tarachand Ji

Here are some of the exclusive photos of Lakecity Carnival by Udaipurblog Shot By TaraChand Ji & Rishabh Jain:

Categories
Events Videos

Jalwa Night – Dharmesh Sir Rocked

dharmesh sirTime was 8.40pm , satisfactory Crowd was gathered. Everyone buzzing gossips about the arrival of  a celebrity, all  eyes searching for the Rockstar & finally came the Rockstar himself , the one and only, none other than Dharmesh Sir.

‘Dharmesh Sir’ (One of the most talented dancer of DID season 2 and now a brilliant choreographer )  came on Stage. It was an overwhelming moment for Everyone. Audience was Rejoiced and started to dance on their feets, restless and happy.  Show was hosted By 2 Cool Hosts  who created Interest and Fun in the Show.. All the contestants performed in his presence and at times even Dharmesh Sir danced with some contestants on their requests.

Yet something which i felt bad about was mismanagement .. the organizers  tried their best to do all possible things but Lack of Chairs & Improper Arrangement for the Guests(VIP) was really awful..

Dharmesh Sir performed  on 2 modern contemporaryfusion songs. Everyone was delighted watching his Rocking Performances.  At times even he himself got amazed watching performances of  some contestants and said that all the contestants are really very talented and can surely be a part of DID season 3 (upcoming) if they will work hard. He even appreciated a dance group performance in Mithun Da’s style with his  proverb KYA BAAT  KYA BAAT  KYA BAAT !!!!! symbolizing real talent of the contestants. Dharmesh Sir revealed a Fact that soon he’s gonna choreograph a song on Akshay Kumar & Katrina Kaif  of movie Tees Maar Khan directed by Farah Khan.

I would end up saying that Dharmesh sir and all the contestants  really rocked us. All the very best to the contestants & we pray heartily for Dharmesh Sir that may he gets immense success and sensation at every step.

Everyone was Really grateful to have Dharmesh Sir at Jalwa Night & would love watching him soon again in Udaipur for other Events and Shows.. 🙂

Check Below One of the Video of The Performance: