Yes, you have heard it right! The pop sensation, who rocked the whole world with her songs and of course, belly dance, none other than Shakira, will be performing in Udaipur. Unfortunately, this performance won’t be for the public, but, in occasion of the celebration of the 80th birthday of the real estate tycoon, Mr. K.P. Singh(CEO, DLF) The birthday has already been celebrated in August, but the celebration mood hasn’t come to a halt yet.
Reportedly, the three day celebrations have been planned from November 13-15 in Delhi, Gurgaon, and will be ending on 15th at our very own Udaipur. Different ‘Guess lists’ include the name of Shah Rukh Khan, Hritik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, and pop star Ricky Martin who might make it to Udaipur. This shall be a private party, with a limited guest list of about 500 in all, at Jagmandir.
Id-ul-Zuha (Bakr-Id), also known as Eid al-Adha or Id-ul-Adha, is a tradition followed from centuries. This festival is celebrated every year and this year in 2011 it falls on 7 Nov. Many Muslims celebrate this festival with special morning prayers, greetings and gifts. This festival is symbolizes sacrifice. Eid al-Adha (Id-ul-Zuha or Bakr-Id), which is on the 10th to 13th days of the Islamic month of Dhul Hijja. Eid-ul-Zuha is a festival that is celebrated with traditional fervor and gaiety in India and the world. They may sacrifice a sheep or goat and share the part with family members, neighbors and the poor. Many Muslims feel that they have a duty to ensure that all Muslims can enjoy a meal during this holiday.
Being a gazette holiday, the national, state and local government offices, post offices and banks shall remain closed on Eid al-Adha. Islamic stores, businesses and other organizations may be closed or have reduced opening hours. Large scale prayer meetings may cause local disruption to traffic. And probably traffic to the Chetak Circle zone remain closed for the special prayer to hold in the morning.
Faith behind celebrating the festival:
Muslims around the world believe that Allah commanded Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ishmael. Ibrahim in the way of God agreed to sacrifice his son but impressed by the faith of Ibrahim, a miracle happened, and Allah at the last moment replaced his son by a sheep. Eid al-Adha is called Id-ul-Adha in Arabic and Bakr-Id in the Indian subcontinent, because of the tradition of sacrificing a goat or “bakr” in Urdu. The word “id” derived from the Arabic “iwd” means “festival” and “zuha” comes from “uzhaiyya” which translates to “sacrifice”.
Team UdaipurBlog wishes all our readers, a very happy and prosperous Eid 🙂
Greetings to All! India is a country with highest young population. They say India has got what no other country has; the Youth Power! But, how you think does the power come? Through being more in number? If that were the case, Pandavas would never have been able to conquer in the epic of Mahabharata. What we understand is that power comes from being united and the Indian youth, sorry to say, is not at all united. We are very much bothered about ourselves, and not the country. Yes, we are highest in numbers but we all are scattered, divided and unorganized and the reality is that this unorganized youth is taking India nowhere and someday or the other we will lose this advantage of being highest in numbers.
The energy that we have needs to be channelized in right direction and the leaders that we are witnessing are not organized themselves to guide us in the interest of nation. What can we do then? Should we sit and keep blaming our leaders for not doing enough to help us grow? But we can’t afford to do this our whole life. So what can be done? Either accept the system which is very easy or try and bring about a change in the system, a change that is though small and slow but will allow us to breathe free. For once, let us all think that when people at the time of independence, without any resources, can create an excellent working system, then why can’t we overhaul it with so many resources and the tag of being ‘e- generation’ ?
When you go for a job interview, qualification will help you to get in the interviewer’s room. Then what? Then you struggle badly and fail to get a job just because you were educated, not learned. We have seen people thinking deeply when asked “What is the capital of Asia?” some of them even tried guessing that!! Sounds funny, isn’t it? But the truth is that there is lot more outside the social networking and course books. And the need of the hour is to keep ourselves aware of what is happening around in the world. You may find a lot more magazines on stands containing loads of information. But ask yourself the last time when you read a whole magazine? Most of you never did! And the reason behind was that there are very few or almost no magazines that are specifically designed for our generation, and we are too lazy to try to understand some of the excellent magazines and reading stuff available.
Keeping all this in mind, we are trying to create a 16 page reading material that is not only interesting but also very informative and suits all classes especially the badly informed youth. This magazine is our contribution to the small change that we are trying to bring in the present system. It is a non – profit venture started under a trust. This is our first interaction with you and we hope to bind ourselves with you all through a common cause of making this world, especially our own Mother India, a better place to live in.
An important initiative has been taken by IIT Bombay, to work with Engineering Colleges in the country, to enhance the teaching skills of faculty colleagues in core Engineering and Science subjects. This initiative has now become a part of the National Mission on Education through ICT, supported by MHRD.
With a motive to augment the use of Free and Open Source Tools for teaching and computational needs and make the teaching skills of faculty serving in Core Engineering and Science Subjects take a turn for the better; IIT Bombay has started a free two week ISTE workshop from 5th of this month under the National Mission on Education through ICT, MHRD, and Govt. of India.
Organized under the Distance Learning Programme, theworkshop will be exclusively conducted in the coordinating remote centers across the country with the interaction revolving around the topic “Software Development Techniques for Teachers of Engineering and Science Institutes”. There will be live lectures through AVIEW mechanism on Internet in the centers selected for the same. The workshop will be conducted across five weekends (5-6, 12-13, 19-20, 26-27 November 2011, and 3-4 December 2011) so that the interested participants can gain access to the workshop conveniently even during the semester.
“This workshop is aimed at enhancing the teaching skills of our faculty colleagues in core Engineering and Science Subjects and will benefit the faculty who want to use Open Source Tools for teaching and computational needs. Free and Open Source Software is need of hour as source code is available for study, modification and redistribution. Government of India is laying lot of emphasis on it.”
-Piyush Javeria
Remote Center Coordinator and Workshop Coordinator
The workshop will benefit faculty colleagues, teaching in engineering and science institutes, who wish to use open source software tools for all their computational and teaching needs, thereby improving the quality of instruction and learning in their colleges / institutes.
With as much as 60 participants registered from all parts of Rajasthan, Techno India NJR Institute of Technology from Udaipur is also selected as a remote centre for this workshop. The workshop will be transmitted live through internet to various coordinating remote centers across the country. Because of this, various faculties that are providing their services in the city will come hand in hand with the Free and Open Tools that have become the need of the hour in the field of teaching, ultimately improvising their teaching skills.
This week I got a chance to talk to the very popular personality among students, flourishingly intelligent and also the very caring Professor from our city- our most respected Dr. Vijaya Lakshmi Chouhan- former Dean, Students Welfare Board, MLSU & the H.O.D. University Psychology Department.
Dr. Vijaya Lakshmi Chouhan
As people practically know very little about the subject, the most qualified & experienced person from the field of Psychology in our city- an epitome of exemplary excellence in herself, was interviewed, to provide the readers with a better view towards the subject. We really thank her for sparing her time to have a discussion with Kalpit. This is how the conversation went-
Q. Psychology- many conceptions and misconceptions!!! In your words, what is it?
A.Psychology is the subject of natures & behaviors. It is more or less the spine of our behaviour! As the spinal cord balances our brain, keeps it in place; similarly it’s the psychology of a person that keeps its life on a balance. Psychology in itself holds a high place of importance in daily life as it is what makes a person capable of analyzing himself, his society and surroundings; mould an understanding & further have his personal development.
We behold many problems in our life and thoughtfully the root of all problems lies in our psyche! To solve them properly, a psychological understanding is needed.
Q. People rarely know the difference between Psychology & Psychiatry. While those who know; generally believe “Psychiatry” to be a higher level of knowledge; my question is that, are the people specializing through basic degrees in science & arts; as “Psychologists” really inferior to them?
A. A student with the qualification M.B.B.S. + P.G. in Psychiatry is a Psychiatrist while those with M.A. or M.Sc. in Psychology are called Psychologists.
It’s the people’s mentality that has decided it higher. In actual, Psychiatry is just a part of Psychology. On the other hand, Psychology is a wide subject, covering all the aspects.
Psychiatry is the treatment of abnormals with the use of medicines. The flow of our blood, the rate at which we breathe, and many such things depend on our thoughts! To understand & analyze the problem in a wider perspective, we always go with Psychology.
Q. Though a very interesting subject; people have a say that it has low returns in the form of income! What is your verdict on it?
A. It’s merely a misconception aroused out of lack of knowledge & fallacies. Firstly, we can’t limit Psychology to any boundary; it finds its application everywhere. Practically, every 5th person needs a Psychologist; it’s just that being in a poverty-stricken nation, people can’t afford it!
And although, most of the Psychologists are dedicated to their work without any greed, still if you’ve asked- The income in this profession counts in Lakhs. A proper treatment starts with a least fee of Rs. 500 & may reach even 5 lakhs, depending upon the need!
Q. If asked about career specialization, which branch of Psychology you would suggest!
A. No part of a body is more or less. Eyes are as important as ears, so is our tongue! We can never decide which one is the premium! All fields are good at their place; solely depends on the student’s aptitude & choice, which branch he/she is best suited for! If a person wants and finds himself apt to treat abnormal behaviours; he may take Clinical Psychology or Psychiatry; and if he is more comfortable with industries & management life, he may move to Industrial Psychology; and so with the other branches.
Q. Will you name some good colleges for higher studies in psychology?
A. Studying it metros like Delhi & Mumbai will help a lot due to the competition as well as availability of investments.
Q. You’re a Professor since a long time, what do you feel are the standards of Govt. Colleges & the facilities provided in the Psychology Laboratories?
A. It feels disappointing, that in Rajasthan, the subject is not taken properly. We still see here that people believe & say- “Psychology is a subject meant only to be studied by insanes!” In fact, it is the subject which is followed by the most thoughtful & the reasoned ones. A Psychologist needs many elements for his proper furnishing. Tolerance, Will Power & Dedication are in oneself, they don’t need someone’s finances for these; but to check some behaviours and the levels they have reached; specific machinery & equipments are required to get accurate results.
And these facilities aren’t provided. Hence the condition is not so good.
Q. Living in the Indian Society, we see many deaths & diseases occurring due to paranormal reasons; how do you visualize it? (Parapsychology- the branch that deals with the study of spirits)
A. Indian culture is very vast, has a lot of literature describing it! Many highly effective psychological treatments are given in the Vedas; we too use them. Scientifically, it’s the person’s mentality/psychology that goes misguided; this is what is treated then.
Q. Does Telepathy really exist?
A. As a Behavioural Scientist, I’ll say; it depends on what you individually feel. Give a thought, If I’m thinking about someone or something and that happens to be by chance; then it’s totally my personal feeling and belief that telepathy is occurring with me.
Q. India as a nation holds a lot of diversity. What do you think may bring together all in a flow?
A. It’s a positive thing that our society has a lot of variety. I see it as a better part. It’s also the reason why we have comparatively less mental & depression patients than the western countries. There they have a similar lifestyle, which with time brings monotony and thus professional treatment needs! While our cultural combination- colored with festivals, fairs and relations; brings a feeling of happiness & change from time to time, relaxes us to the best.
Q. In the end Ma’m, any message to the students through UdaipurBlog?
A. Yes definitely.
Disregarding as students, you are in which field; I advise you all to study Psychology. Even if you don’t take it as a career; it is a great help in administering yourself, to analyze and understand life in a better way.
It shall definitely leave you with a better perspective towards life.
To put a step forward in the path of sustainable development and with a novel idea to inspire, promote and support all components of our planet and for well-being of Mother Nature, an organic store has been started by enthusiastic youth of the city. They named the organic store as ‘Banyan Roots’ to signify the rebirth of old and deep rooted traditions and moral values.
The store provides you with some of the local grains like millet (kangni), wheat, other products such as herbal tea, gooseberry (amla) candy and juice and many more exclusively organic products that are grown without the use of any fertilizers, hybrid seeds and pesticides. These goods are directly brought to you from the farm eliminating the concept of middle man so that the farmer practicing organic farming gets a justifiable price. The group also encourages the local farmers from time to time to grow more of the organic food for a healthier and happier tomorrow of society.
They indeed also started an open space cum café with an ambience that carries a touch of being close to nature as well as tradition. It is especially for the future of the nation so that they can shape their own different world of creativity. If you are a wanderer and cannot find any place or roof to germinate new ideas or if you are an explorer in need of more space to experiment or even if you want to find the truth about something that is questioning you from inside, then this place is truly made for you only. Banyan roots is a perfect address for such wanderers, explorers and discoverers. Here youth can connect, unite and share their experiences, ideas, views and thoughts with others. Along with getting mental peace and satisfaction, you can also quench your hunger with the delicious and healthy organic food in this café.
The team of banyan roots whole heartedly wants to welcome you at a place which is created for you at 32/4, Near Fatehpura, Income Tax Office Road, Near Sukhadiya Circle, Udaipur.
Rohit Jain: 9783223520 and Jayesh Mohta: 9772861482 will be happy to solve any further queries of you.
Today we bring you a fascinating story of a man who rose up from a roadside boy to become a famous sculpture artist of the country.
Famously known as Amba lal ji Modern Art Waale, Ambalal Ji hails from the district of Nagor in Rajasthan where his family is engaged in creating puppets and playing puppet shows. His family shifted to Udaipur when he is was a small kid, the need for employment and the want for money brought them to Udaipur. They lived on roadsides sometimes in tents and other times in the arms of the open sky carving wooden puppets and having puppet shows they earned their living. Ambalal grew among its family members learning how to carve wooden puppets which was their family occupation and the only thing which they knew to earn money. His father used to have puppet shows in Lake Palace and earn a living. As a child he was interested in puppet art forms and took interest in learning to make wooden puppets and also stone crafts. He has no ideas where his future was taking him.
In his journey of his life as a teenager he met Mr. Harish Bhai Trevedi who was a marble mine owner as well as a sculpture artist. Harish Bhai taught him to make stone sculptures and got him well endowed with this art. Ambalal worked with him and learned this art for as long as 10 years and earned his living. Harish bhai was the first person to inspire him and take care of this artist.
Soon Ambalal started taking part in Shilpgram fest where he ran a temporary shop where his creations where liked and purchased by many national as well as international tourists. He also took part in various cultural fests across the country and displayed his art In Goa, Ahemdabad, Jaipur and various other states. These experience and exposures helped him understand the value of his art work and he worked further more to enhance his skills and be a better artist.
In his words “Kya raat kya din, maine apni jee jaan laga di is kala ko aage le jane me”
Soon he started working for various famous handicraft showrooms and export houses in the city as an employee creating sculptures. He worked for almost all the famous art houses but his art and hard work was not very much appreciated and rewarded but these business people. He was just an employee out there serving and following his master’s instructions. At times he even didn’t got his salaries on time and thus those were really a hard times for him.
These hardships provoked him to start his own art or sculpture shop. And in the early months of the year 2011 he stated a shop near pula circle.
His beautiful craftsmanship along with the strategic location of his shop proved a good luck to him and soon customers started coming in. These customers where all highway customers who were returning to their homes after their stay in Udaipur and on the way they found this shop who sold pretty artistic sculptures and art pieces. Customers from Gujrat, Maharastra and foreign tourists bought some art pieces from him as sovereigns before returning to their homes.
Very recently he got an order from a businessman from Gujarat for creating a giant hippopotamus of granite stone. The hippo is exact as a real hippo and is one of its kind in the country. The size and dimension of this hippo are huge i.e 5 feet tall and 10 feet and 6.5 feet in diameter. No artist from the city has ever created as a huge masterpiece with a single block of stone.
He has got his family with 2 kids the elder one 15 years old and the young son is 13 years old. Unlike their father his both son’s go to school and also take a keen interest in learning this art in their free time.
Presently he has got a dedicated team of craftsmen who work/learn and help him to create stone wonders.
These craftsmen are not just employees to him but rather they are a family to him and he trusts them like his sons. Many art enthusiasts also come to him to learn this art and he always welcomes everyone who comes to him. “Agar kaam karo to beta ban ke karo baap ban ke nahi”
If you want to learn then have no egos or attitudes. Have a childlike and selfless attitude towards people and things and the learning’s will come to you.
Ambalal ji can be found at his shop and display centre near New Pula Circle, Nathdwara Road. The name of his shop is Art Stone Gallery. For more details about his you can also contact us at info@udaipurblog.com or through Email Form 🙂
Bollywood is a world full of dreams. Bombay, the birthplace of the INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY, has changed to ‘Mumbai’. There was a time when ‘Bollywood’ implied only to the big names viz. Khans, Bachchans Etc. But now a new trend has emerged and the surging number of new faces clearly showcase it. Gone are the days when you needed a ‘Silver spoon’ in your mouth to get in the industry. Also B-wood has moved from making movies inspired by ‘Freedom Fights’ only. It seems crystal clear that movies based on mere ‘Real Life’ or even “Personal incidents’ find a room and with this formula working, makers do come with stories that the audience can relate to themselves.
A simple story written by an ordinary man catches the attention of the Big Name Holder and that’s when the ‘Day Dreaming’ comes into play. But as we say ‘Char Din Ki Chandini, Phir Andheri Raat’, the Helmsman is forgotten. All that remains is the Popularity Tag! And here comes to our so much anticipated Ranbir and Nargis starrer directed by Imtiaz Ali.. Well Yes! You got it right. It’s ‘Rockstar’ all the way through.
Imtiaz Ali the director of ‘Rockstar’ was on a visit to Subhash Ghai’s well known Acting Institute. It was there that he met the scriptwriter Muazzam Beg, The ‘real’ man behind ‘Rockstar’ story. After Imtiaz’s first meet with Muazzam, he was invited over for a next meeting. “I was invited to Ali ji’s place and after exchanging few conversations, he asked me to narrate him my script. At first I was quite hesitant but then I thought may be I can crack any opportunity.” Says the ‘Money Hai toh Honey Hai’ writer Muazzam.
“I began writing the script from the perspective of a local guy who is determined and ambitious. The script had elements of love and music. ‘Rockstar’ is my piece of work and therefore very close to my heart. Often, ‘An Artist’s Work Portrays Himself’, so does mine. Much of the script was based on my personal experiences and struggles” says he.
“A production house approached me and decided to make my dream of seeing my story on the big screen come true with John Abraham playing the lead. After 2 months, the project was put on hold and soon was called off. As for me I took a break from writing and other things kept me busy for a long time.”
“The very idea of letting Ali ji take my story was heart ripping. Moreover they haven’t given me the due credits. I want people to atleast know that this was my piece of work.” says the writer who also visited Udaipur while the time he was writing this story.
Diwali is the festival of lights – a day when light conquers over darkness, may it be darkness in our surroundings or the darkness that resides in our lives and hearts. There spreads the kingdom of light everywhere, in every corner, in ever house, in every life, in every heart..
And when light spreads in our beautiful lake city even light feels proud for being in as charming city as Udaipur, even words in dictionary fall short to describe the enchanting beauty of our city at a diwali night.
So here we bring to you sum exotic pictures clicked by Amit Kothari, Mujtaba RG, Yash Sharma and Prasun Bannerjee from the main markets of the city that are sure to dazzle you with their glow and fancy.
Team UdaipurBlog wishes you a very happy and prosperous new year and we pray that the glowing lamps may illuminate your lives with the light of everlasting joy, happiness, health and success. 🙂
Yesterday was the festival of lights, everybody was in a joyous and festive mood. The sound of crackers was audible right from the morning, which got amplified more than a million times in the evening. But suddenly, an insight forced me to think that there are children who remain devoid of these luxuries. This thought carried me to Bhupalpura, where I entered the building of Missionaries of Charity, popularly known as the Mother Teresa Ashram, to meet the kids and spend some time with them. But, to my soothing surprise, the children there were celebrating Diwali with crackers, smiling and enjoying. I felt really happy to see the smiles on each face. The nuns were really superb caretakers and guardians of the children, and were too celebrating the happiness with them. Hats off to their care and concern. I spent a little time there with the little friends, and took some pictures, which I felt is worth sharing with you all, as everyone views the brighter side, and very few from the other perspective. This was truly a Diwali apart from other Diwali celebrations for me.
On my way back, I thanked Mother Teresa for setting up this initiative to bring smiles on the needful faces, years ago, and was thinking that there are many other faces who are still needy of a savior, and of course, a smile. We all must desperately spare a moment from our busy schedules and think, and pray for the betterment of them, as they are too a part of our society. Let the mercy of the Almighty shower on them too. Personal thanks to my old friend Siddhartha Jain for accompanying me, and not to forget, heartiest Diwali Greetings to every reader of UdaipurBlog 🙂
