|
|
| Hot issues of Today |
- Mar 02, 2007
- Mar 01, 2007
- Feb 28, 2007
- Feb 27, 2007
- Feb 26, 2007
- Feb 25, 2007
- Feb 24, 2007
- Feb 23, 2007
- Feb 22, 2007
- Feb 21, 2007
|
|
|
|
| Mar 03, 2007 |
Holi brings love - and elopement - for Bhil tribals
Bhopal, March 3 - Love, romance and even marriage is in the air for the Bhil tribals of Madhya Pradesh as Holi approaches. For, just preceding the festival is the weeklong event of Bhagora Haat.
The 'haat', or country fair, is special for Bhils because that is the time when many of them look for soul mates. This year Holi is being celebrated March 4.
At the heart of the festival is the uninhibited mingling of the sexes, which men and women celebrate by dancing to the beat of dhols and thalis and the sweet melody of the shehnai and bansuri.
Bhagordev or the tribal god of dance is worshipped during the fare, which is celebrated at west Nimar and Jhabua districts. The most respected village elder presides over the ceremony and offers sweets to the god.
As the fragrance of tadi and mahua - intoxicate the ambience, tribal boys and girls gather from far and near in large numbers to choose their partners. They eat, drink, dance and elope, as elopement is an important precondition to their marriage.
Young men go around applying gulal - on the girls they like. If a girl reciprocates the sentiment then she too applies gulal and that is all the permission a young man needs to marry her.
The mutual exchange of paan or betel leaf also signals a declaration of love.
'The boy applies gulal on the girl's face and if she does the same then they move towards a lonely place in the deep forests for some moments of utmost intimacy and celebrate Holi in their own way,' said Digraskar, who himself chose his life partner at the Bhagora Haat.
The couples who run away as per the Bhagoria custom - 'bhag' means to elope - are then accepted in the Bhil society.
'A woman and a man who decide to elope soon come back to a tumultuous welcome and are pronounced man and wife by their elated families,' said Digraskar, who works as a supervisor at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited -.
The festival provides an institutionalised framework for announcing the alliance publicly though in Hindu mythology the eight days preceding Holi, known as Holika Ashtak, are considered inauspicious for marriages or any good work.
The important thing is that unlike in most other cases, the boy here has to pay the dowry for his would be partner to her father.
The festival, which coincides with the end of the harvest season, is celebrated with even more gaiety if the crops are good.
'The better the crop, the better the dowry. These days, however, it is really low - between Rs.40,000 and Rs.50,000 - because of a not-so-good crop this year,' said Deenu, a prospective groom.
The changing times have also caught up with this quaint festival. Whereas earlier they would dress up in all their tribal finery, today the Bhil males wear shirts and trousers to the haat. Even the women have started applying lipstick and talc in a nod to modernity.
http://www.rxpgnews.com/india/Holi-brings-love---and-elopement---for-Bhil-tribals_17896.shtml
Revelry in riot of colours
- Rich and poor get ready to celebrate holi, inflation fails to dampen festive spirit
Members of Junior Chamber Women's Wing celebrate Holi. Picture by Hardeep Singh
The rich and poor celebrate Holi according to their capabilities. But colours, snacks and the inevitable bhang form the common denominator of revelry for all.
Holi for the affluent is nothing less than Bollywood style celebrations. Around this time, tanks of coloured water to drench the guests and a wide array of snacks to quench their appetites are prepared at farmhouses away from the city.
For Bhanu Jalan, an eminent businessman of the city, Holi is a time to "freak out" with friends and family. "When it comes to playing with colours, we start early in the day. We first smear colours on relatives and gradually venture out on to the roads in our area. No one is spared."
After the initial spree, Jalan said, he and his friends go to a farmhouse, where a makeshift pool filled with water and colours await them.
As Jalan and friends wait eagerly for Holi, children living near the house of Meenakshi Bhagat, former president of Lioness Club of Ranchi, have started smacking their lips in anticipation. Bhagat has been known to give the children chowmein and other lip-smacking snacks.
The festival is also an excuse to meet relatives, especially for those with large families. Girish Malhotra, the proprietor of Kashmir Vastralay, is waiting just for that.
"We have a huge family and all members make sure they are together on Holi. Children start playing with colours at 10 am and we join in later. The revelry goes on till late in the afternoon, when we start gorging on non-vegetarian snacks," he said.
Holi wouldn't be complete without music and songs, especially Rang barse, and dhol. For the Malhotras, at least, it is not. "It does not matter if we cannot get a dhol because then we make one out of a tin can," the businessman said.
Rickshaw-puller Pradeep Ram has devised an ingenious way to keep the fun going without much expense. His revelry starts after noon. "I like to start when most people have almost exhausted their stock of colours."
If I start early, I might run out of colours. The prices of the colours have gone up considerably and I cannot afford to buy beyond a point. So starting late gives me the chance to enjoy with my friends till late in the evening."
For Ram Ji, a cobbler, Holi means colours, does not matter what type. "All friends come together on Holi. No one really minds if he is splashed with cow dung. Every act is forgiven on Holi," he said.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070301/asp/jamshedpur/story_7455943.asp
When it comes to social work, students from Jharkhand are raring to go.
The young generation is after all not so materialistic as they are thought to be. To tag them so has almost become a fad. Truth is many of them are dreaming of being agents of social changes. And it's not just a few of them following such dreams. There are many, too many to be dismissed as coincidental cases.
Many of them being students of Jharkhand, who away from their home state, have found their "calling" in social projects in Delhi. And most insist it's not just a passing phase, but a commitment they intend to pursue lifelong.
"It may sound a bit fake when young students declare to remain committed to social work all life, but we mean it. Once one gets into the groove of such work, it's absolutely addicting," explains Ranjan Shekhar (Bokaro), a third-year student of Hans Raj College, who has been working with a group called Parivartan.
"The group that I work with focuses on RTI cases and as volunteers we usually go on dharnas or awareness drives, with posters and banners. It is really inspiring to work with social activists. Seeing their dedication to the cause, we students, too, get seriously involved," Ranjan adds.
Fleme Verkey (Jamshedpur), a third-year English (hons) student of Lady Shri Ram College, takes her stint at Jamghat, an NGO working for street children, as serious fieldwork, which will help her understand the basic nature of the profession. "I am planning to pursue a masters degree in social work and my experience in NGOs will stand me in good stead," explained Fleme. After two years of field experience, Fleme says there's a lot she has learned. "The work experience has taught me how to deal with various problems, legal and financial, that one has to face while working on the field," she adds.
Many, like Prerna Sanga (Ranchi), a second-year student of history at LSR, who has been working for Pravaah, an NGO, feels her exposure to "real issues" that society has to cope with has taught her to be a much more matured person than she would have been had she done a stint in a corporate house. "Here, I get to meet people from a cross-section of society. Working with them is an enriching experience. At Pravaah, we have three sections, film, theatre and media, through which we spread awareness," explains Prerna, who has also been involved with the India Social Forum, which was held last year.
Yes, all of them wish they could do something in their home towns, too. Time or motivation, they say, is not a problem. "I feel students do have a lot of time and also the energy to be a part of social work. This energy needs to be tapped by NGOs. While there are so many opportunities here, we would have loved to do such work back at home, too. Though there are NGOs there, too, somehow we never seem to have noticed them or got to work with them," says Sitamshu Kumar (Ranchi), a III-year student of Ramjas College.
S. Vidya, a third-year student of Shri Venkatesvari College, suggests NGOs in Jharkhand should connect with the youth. "We are motivated to engage in social work in school but end up limiting ourselves to paper drives and blood donation camps. We need to get ourselves involved in something more focused," is what she feels. Like the many other youths of the state.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070301/asp/jamshedpur/story_7456072.asp
Lalu all set to tear off clothes this Holi
PATNA: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, euphoric over his record-surplus budget, will celebrate his trademark
'kapdaphad' (cloth-tearing) Holi, dancing to drum beats and Bhojpuri songs, in the state capital.
"After presenting my dream Railway Budget, which has shown up a profit of Rs 200 billion, I'm now in a mood to celebrate Holi in my very own style. It's going to be kapdaphad Holi for me once more," said Lalu on Friday.
Beaming with pleasure, Lalu said that as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and millions of people had praised his Railway Budget across India, he was ready to celebrate the festival of colours in a big way like earlier times.
Holi had been a low-key affair for Lalu in the last few years.
The railway minister planned to stay on at 10 Circular Road, the official residence of his wife Rabri Devi, former Bihar chief minister and leader of the opposition in the state assembly, till Holi.
Sources at Rabri Devi's official residence said Lalu had given instructions for a grand party.
"There will be different herbal colours, thandai, bhang and sweets."
Lalu is known for tearing off clothes of his party leaders including ministers, officials and people who visit him on Holi day.
During their 15 years rule in Bihar, Lalu-Rabri would host a big Holi party every year except the year Lalu was in jail on charges of his involvement in the multi-million rupees fodder scam in the late 90s.
Alternately, the present Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will celebrate Holi in a simple and low-key fashion
http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1082731
Sex workers to contribute in state's development
In an unprecedented move, the sex workers of Bengal have decided that they want to contribute money to the state exchequer towards the development of the state.
They would collect the money by imposing additional charges on their customers and contribute majority portion of this money to the state exchequer. All they want in return is recognition from the government and end of police harassment for them and their clients.
And if this proposal sees the light of the day, the West Bengal government would be richer by a few crore rupees every month which it can use at its will for the development works. Even by a conservative estimate, the state exchequer would get Rs 5.4 lakhs per day or Rs 1.62 crore per month from the 60,000 sex workers in the state who are more than willing to contribute the money.
The decision to contribute money to the state was taken on Monday evening by the sex workers during the ongoing six day 'All India Conference of Entertainment Workers' organised by the recently formed Binodini Sramik Union led by Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) along with Amra Padatik Sathi Sangathan and Komal Gandhar.
The conference is discussing various issues related to the sex workers and the problems being faced by them. The conference is also demanding "entertainment worker" status for the sex workers.
They have also decided that Binodini Sramik Union and DMSC would jointly appeal to the state government in this regard and submit a formal proposal to the finance minister next week for approval.
"After discussions, the sex workers across Bengal have decided to contribute money to the state exchequer through which they believe that they will be able to get the attention of the state bosses towards their pitiful plight and continuous harassments by police.
They have decided that if state government accepts their proposal, they would take Rs 5 from each of their customers as Darshani apart from their regular charge," said Dr Smarajit Jana Chief Advisor of DMSC, which has over 60,000 members among the nearly 80,000 strong sex workers in Bengal.
Jana told Hindustan Times that out of the five rupees, Rs 3 would be contributed to the state exchequer, one rupee would be taken as "condom charge" and the remaining one rupee would be contributed to the Self Regulatory Board which takes cares of the sex workers' problems including education of the children of sex workers, health issues, old age problems faced by sex workers etc. This way, using of condoms by every customer visiting a sex worker too could be ensured to a large extent.
"All we want is to draw the attention of the state government towards our pitiful situation and the harassments faced by us by helping them financially. We are ready to give the money, which would run in lakhs every month, to the state government and in return we want the police atrocities on us to stop.
"Our clients too have willingly approved this proposal, as they too want unnecessary police harassments on them stopped. And we want to be given the right to live and carry on with our trade peacefully," said Gauri Das, president of DMSC.
But the state government authorities are in a fix over the proposal and feels that it would not be possible to accept the money in this manner. While the finance ministry officials claimed that the matter would be looked into by the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the principal secretary of the SWD Sheikh Nurul Haque explained that the state government would not be able to accept money from the sex workers.
"It's not possible for the state government to accept money from the sex workers and they should themselves try to utilise the money for their development.
"They should utilise the money for their area development, health concerns, education of their kids etc as well as creating some funds for their old age problems," said Haque.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1942076,000600010003.htm
Bihar tops list in domestic violence
NEW DELHI: Over 37 per cent married women in the country were victims of physical or sexual abuse by their husbands with Bihar topping the list.
Women in Himachal Pradesh faced less violence at home compared to other states in the country. The latest National Family Health Survey-III found that 37.2 per cent women had experienced violence and cited lack of education as the key reason behind their woes.
"Women with no education were much more likely than other women to have suffered spousal violence. However, spousal abuse also extends to women who have secondary or higher secondary level education, with 16 per cent reporting abuse," the survey said.
The survey showed that countrywide more women face violence in rural areas (40.2) as compared to those in the urban areas (30.4).
In Bihar, women in urban areas fared worse than those in rural areas. While 62.2 per cent underwent the trauma in urban areas, it was 58.5 per cent women in villages.
It is followed by Rajasthan (46.3) Madhya Pradesh (45.8), Tripura (44.1), Manipur (43.9 ), Uttar Pradesh (42.4), Tamil Nadu (41.9), West Bengal (40.3) and Arunachal Pradesh (38.8).
Among the metros, the fairer sex was better off in Delhi (16.3) and Mumbai (19.5) recorded relatively low percentage as compared to Chennai ( 40.6) and Kolkata (26.7).
Nearly, 17 per cent women in Goa have experienced violence, with 17.2 women in rural areas at the receiving end as compared to 16.4 per cent women in urban areas.
In Chhattisgarh, a total of 30 per cent women suffered at the hands of their husbands, while in Jharkhand, the figure was 37 per cent. About 40.8 per cent women in Jharkhand villages found the going tough as compared to 24.6 per cent in the urban areas.
In the hill state of Uttarakhand, nearly 28 per cent women experienced violence, with those in villages (29.8) fared worse than their urban counterparts ( 22.8).
After Himachal Pradesh, women fared relatively better in Jammu and Kashmir (12.6), Meghalaya (13.1), Nagaland (15.4), Sikkim (16.5) and Kerala (16.4).
Other states where women find themselves vulnerable are Assam (39.6), Arunachal Pradesh (38.8), Orissa (38.5), Maharashtra (30.7), Andhra Pradesh (35.2), Haryana (27.3), Gujarat (27.6) Punjab (25.4), Mizoram (22.5) and Karnataka (20).
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bihar_tops_list_in_domestic_violence/articleshow/
1717743.cms
Cattle lord it over colours
BALASORE, March 2: Holi is not all about playing with colours. Rural Orissa observes 'Dola Utsav' on the eve of Holi which falls on a full moon day.
'Dola Purnima' is celebrated from three to ten days, depending on the local traditions. For the Yadavs, it's an occasion to worship cattle and pray for their good health.
As per tradition, on the day, the Yadavs of every village gather at an open field (melan padia) in their locality with Radha-Krishna deities to perform rituals before offering prayers to cows and buffaloes.
"We are the descendants of Lord Krishna and have preserved our traditions including cow worship. It's an important festival for our community," said Sambhunath Yadav, president of Sekhpatana Dola Utsav Committee.
However in the coastal districts, it's the 'dola melan' (congregation of village deities at a common spot) that draws huge crowds and marks the culmination of Holi celebrations. Games like 'naudi khela', a mock fight with small sticks, are held in which youths and men participate.
This traditional game, however, is fast losing its popularity due to lack of enthusiasm among young 'gopals' (milkmen) to learn the art. With changing times 'gopals' are not interested to learn 'naudi' due to lack of incentives.
"Originally 'naudi khela' was performed by 'gopals' during 'Dola' festival in groups of 10 and 20. They used to sing and dance reciting Krishna Lila and myths associated with Lord Krishna and his attachment to 'gopis'. Now it does not attract performers," pointed out Bimal Barik, a milkman.
The Culture Department should take initiatives to revive the art, he added.
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEQ20070303032327&Page=Q&Title=ORISSA&Topic=0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Hot issues of Today |
- Mar 02, 2007
- Mar 01, 2007
- Feb 28, 2007
- Feb 27, 2007
- Feb 26, 2007
- Feb 25, 2007
- Feb 24, 2007
- Feb 23, 2007
- Feb 22, 2007
- Feb 21, 2007
|
|
|
|