lohri by Sun Pictures / Lakshman on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Sikh boy spinning fire, on the streets of Kalkaji.
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Lohri, is celebrated every year on 13th of January. It is a festival to worship fire. Lohri Festival is celebrated with great pomp in North India. At this time Earth starts moving towards the sun marking the auspicious period of Uttarayan. First Lohri is very important for the newly wed and the new born babies as it marks fertility. At night, people gather around the bonfire and throw til, puffed rice & popcorns into the flames of the bonfire. Prayers are offered to the bonfire seeking abundance & prosperity. People make merry by dancing & singing traditional folk songs.
Parvesh by karthikpasupathy on Flickr.
Making Chapati by Steve Gray on Flickr.
India Streetside by clee130 on Flickr.
Will you ever really understand what I feel? Will you ever know what the stories woven into the delicate tangles of scars that sadly decorate the skin of my pale face will ever really entail? When the truth is told, will you ever truly believe it? by Rakesh JV on Flickr.
“Life is hard” by cishore™ on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
“Don’t worry about life, you’re not going to survive it anyway.”
Dhunuchi Nritya, Durga Puja 2011 by Mukul Banerjee (www.mukulbanerjee.com) on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Dhunuchi Naach - the dance with effervescent smoke
India is known for her diverse traditions and this diverse tradition is the origin of the folk art. Folk Dances are based on religious and festive occasions. They reflect the basics of life. Folk dances are aimed at providing entertainment and which involves group participation. The dances are very rhythmic and the lyrics and music have the typical overtone of the specific locality or festival.
‘Dhunuchi nritya’ or ‘the dance with effervescent smoke’ is a traditional dance form Bengal,
which is performed in front of the idol of the Goddess Durga to the sound of dhak, the traditional drums.
In the evenings, an elaborate aarati is performed. After the aarati, young men perform Dhunuchi Naach (Dhunuchi Dance) before the Goddess Durga.
A dhunuchi is an earthen pot with a funnel base and an open top. Burning coconut shells is put inside and then powdered incense, known as Dhuno, is poured over it to create the atmosphere. A sweet smelling thick white smoke spreads and engulfs your senses. Then with the Dhakis and their drum beats, the Dhunuchi dancers balance the earthen pots, with the base delicately placed on their palms, between their teeth or on foreheads. Then they gyrate their bodies to the drum beats with the burning Dhunuchis. The deep percussion of the dhak, embellished sometimes with long white or multi-coloured feathers, and rhythmic movement of the dhakis, is inseparable part of the Durga Puja celebrations.
Tree Canopy by Gulfu on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything.
Abraham Lincoln
My face is a book.. Each line has a story.. by Rakesh JV on Flickr.
