Pages

Thursday, March 4, 2010

British PM Gordon Brown named the worst-dressed man

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has received a pre-election kick in the pants: .British PM Gordon Brown... he has been named the worst-dressed man of the year ..by the British edition of GQ magazine..
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party. Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007, after the resignation of Tony Blair and three days after becoming leader of the governing Labour Party. Immediately before this he had served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour government from 1997 to 2007 under Tony Blair.

Brown, who faces a gruelling battle at this year's general election in the UK, beat off competition from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British comedian Russell Brand and reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il for the title.
Brown moves from three in last year's rankings to top the 2010 list for being "anything but a prime example of British style", the men's magazine said.

Antonio Vivaldi Birthday...........

Antonio Vivaldi Birthday...........
Vivaldi is so this season, says Google
Vivaldi's 332nd birthday is marked today by a Google doodle. Here are three reasons why he's immortal.
Everyone should have their 332nd birthday marked by a Google doodle, and today it's the turn of Antonio Vivaldi. My fellow Piscean is honoured with a seasonally ornamented piece of organological iconography, four violins that take over four letters of the world's favourite search engine to illustrate the world's favourite tetralogical concerto, the Four Seasons.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

India colourful Holi festival 2010......

HOLI 2010 ..Holi Festival gives new meaning to race relations

Holi is the second most important festival of India after Deepawali festival. Observed since ancient times, Holi festival – a spring festival in India – glorifies good harvest and fertility of the land. This colourful festival, celebrated on a beautiful setting at Te Papaiouru Marae, Ohinemutu Village, gave a new meaning to race relations. It not only bridged any perceived social gaps and differences, but also brought people and communities together. Initially it was going to be part of building whakawhanaungatanga (Hindu-Maori relations) but has grown to be for a wider spectrum. People following different faiths enjoyed this festival.
In addition to Rotorua public, international visitors from Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium, England, Canada and Brazil, and local visitors from Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, and Wellington also participated in the festival.
One of the international visitors from Sweden commented that he would keep the coloured T-shirt as a memoir of Rotorua and New Zealand. “It was good to see so many international visitors enjoying and having a good time in this festival. There is real potential for this festival to grow on a wider scale” said Dr Guna Magesan, General Secretary of Hindu Council of New Zealand and the festival coordinator.
The official festival started at 11.30 am with a powhiri (official Maori welcome) at the most sacred Marae of the Te Arawa people. This gathering was attended by the Te Arawa elders, local members of the community and visitors from other parts of New Zealand and the world. At this gathering, Kaumatua (Maori elder) Mr. Monty Morrison, welcomed the visitors. Mr. Morrison congratulated the volunteers for organising this festival and encouraged more Maori participation in such inter-cultural activities.



History of Holi
Holi is an ancient festival of India and was originally known as 'Holika'. The festivals finds a detailed description in early religious works such as Jaimini's Purvamimamsa-Sutras and Kathaka-Grhya-Sutras. Historians also believe that Holi was celebrated by all Aryans but more so in the Eastern part of India. It is said that Holi existed several centuries before Christ. However, the meaning of the festival is believed to have changed over the years. Earlier it was a special rite performed by married women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon (Raka) was worshiped. Calculating the Day of HoliThere are two ways of reckoning a lunar month- 'purnimanta' and 'amanta'. In the former, the first day starts after the full moon; and in the latter, after the new moon. Though the amanta reckoning is more common now, the purnimanta was very much in vogue in the earlier days. According to this purnimanta reckoning, Phalguna purnima was the last day of the year and the new year heralding the Vasanta-ritu (with spring starting from next day). Thus the full moon festival of Holika gradually became a festival of merrymaking, announcing the commencement of the spring season.
Holi Messages



Holi SongsHoli Safety Tips



Celebrating HoliHoli



in IndiaRegional Holi Celebrations



Holi in Maharashtra
Holi Recipes



JaljeeraOnion BhajiaAloo ChaatPapri ChaatBhangVegetable PakoraGujhiaKanji Ke VadeDahi BhalleThandaiKesar Chawal