Sunday, October 31, 2021
Urmila Gupta Punya Tithi (death anniversary) Memorial Meeting
Urmila Gupta Punyatithi (death anniversary) memorial
9 November 2020
Namaste! Welcome and thank you very much for joining the memorial
meeting to celebrate the life and times of my mother Mrs. Urmila Gupta on the
occasion of her first death anniversary
We will offer homage through prayers, and a reading from the Gita
by Sanskrit scholar Dr. Rekha Bharti
Followed by Bhajans sung by Pandit Bhuvanesh Komkali
Lastly a presentation of photographs of Mrs. Urmila Gupta to
celebrate her lovely persona and joyous, fulfilling moments of her life
Om
Sahana Vavatu
Shanti (peace) mantra from the Yajurveda Taittiriya
Upanishad
Om Sahanavavatu
Sahanau bhunaktu
Saha viryam karavavahai
Tejasvi navadhitamastu
Ma vidvisavahai
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Om, May we all be protected
May we all be nourished
May we work together with great energy
May our intellect be sharpened
Let there be no animosity amongst us
Om, Peace Peace Peace
*****
महामृत्युंजय मंत्र
ॐ त्र्यम्बकं यजामहे सुगन्धिं पुष्टिवर्धनं
उर्वारुकमिव बन्धनान् मृत्योर्मोक्षिय मामृतात्
Maha Mrityunjaya
Mantra
We worship Shiva The Three-Eyed
Lord
Who is fragrant and
nourishes all beings
As the ripened fruit is
liberated from its bondage to the stem
May He liberate us from
death, and grant us immortality
*****
Reading
from the Bhagvad Gita by Sanskrit scholar Dr. Rekha Bharti
Chapter 12 - in Sanskrit and explanation in Hindi
Lord Krishna in answer to Arjun’s question of whether one must practise devotional love for Lord Krishna or devote oneself to the unmanifest God, replies both paths lead to the same goal. Worship of the unmanifest is exceedingly difficult so The Lord recommends devotion of Lord Krishna’s personification to be able to concentrate and focus more easily. The Lord elucidates the path- practise Bhakti yog – meditate and concentrate only on Krishna. Karma yog – action in every sphere of life, striving for detachment from results of action and demonstrate Love and Compassion unmoved by pain or pleasure. The ultimate aim is to free oneself from the cycle of death and rebirth
*****
Nirgun Bhajans by
Pandit Bhuvanesh Komkali
*****
Urmila Gupta’s joyous moments – photographs
*****
A few of the many messages from those whose lives she had touched
“She was a lovely soul who loved me like anything.
It’s actually a personal loss to me”
Her Doctor – Dr. Samir Shrivastava
“It was with
great sadness that I learned of the passing away of your deeply respected and
loved mother. I still remember our conversation. I will also miss her so much.
It is a wonderful idea to form the foundation in her name”
-
Mr.Kojiro Morikawa
from Kyoto, Japan
*****
Our thanks to:
Pandit Bhuvanesh Komkali
Dr. Rekha Bharti
Sarsamma, Chinmaya Mission
Dr. Samir Shrivastava
Mr. Kojiro Morikawa
©Dr. Anu Jindal, Asawari Jindal
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Monday, October 5, 2020
Drop Shots galore greet Dominic Thiem courtesy Hugo Gaston, Swiatek ousts Halep
French Open 2020 4th round
Just turned twenty French tennis player Hugo Gaston pummeled US Open Champion Dominic Thiem with a barrage of drop shots - 55 in all, 40 reaped points directly or indirectly.
While Thiem breezed through the first two sets, it was not to be all hunky dory for him in the in the next two sets, where he looked confounded by this unusual strategy of his opponent.
In the 5th set, Thiem gathered his offensive, to unleash his lethal long shots to manage to wade out of being out of the quarter finals
Read more about the match :
https://www.tennisnet.com/en/news/french-open-2020-dominic-thiem-with-big-problems-in-the-quarter-finals
An even younger player 19 year old Pole Iga Swiatek ousted the number one seed Simona Halep 6-1, 6-2, in a thrilling match, packed with winners
More details:
https://www.indiatvnews.com/sports/tennis/french-open-2020-iga-swiatek-ousts-top-seeded-simona-halep-to-reach-her-first-grand-slam-quarterfinal-654266
Sunday, October 4, 2020
Love this Lord Ganesh sculpture in ivory, but..
Love this Lord Ganesh sculpture in ivory for its ethereal aura, aesthetic quality and craftsmanship, but....
"Seated Ganesha"
from Orissa, India. 14th-15th century. Ivory
H. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm), W. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm)
Collection Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
What was done in the past is in the past.
Today, any and every usage of ivory must be totally stopped, to work towards ensuring a complete stop to poaching and killing of elephants whether in India or Africa or elsewhere
Whatever wrongs we humans did in the past, must not be allowed to continue.
Ivory trading was banned worldwide in 1989, yet ivory booty collectors continue in their bloody path, as the article below cites:
https://www.wti.org.in/news/20-years-since-ivory-trade-ban-elephants-still-threatened-by-poaching-stockpile-sales-2/
This may seem to affect the work and livelihood of craftspeople working in ivory, but they can easily shift to using other materials, and may in fact find newer and more profitable avenues, as every material throws up new possibilities.
The article below gives info on craftspeople changing over to using sandalwood:
https://gaatha.com/wood-carving-bahadurgarh/
However there are various restrictions on sandalwood, imposed by Indian government, and rightfully so.
I would recommend experimenting with waste material e.g. E-waste
Thursday, August 6, 2020
Marking the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima 6 August 2020
Had carried out campaign in 2016
"Hiroshima, if only....thousand sakura"
concurrent with my exhibition "Sakura Spring"
"Hiroshima, if only....thousand sakura"
concurrent with my exhibition "Sakura Spring"
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Celebrating International Tiger Day 2020
Today is
International Tiger Day. Instituted a decade ago, the purpose is to draw
attention to the need for protection of this stunning species, and towards this
purpose to engage in sustained measures to ensure the conservation of these
endangered animals on planet earth.
Pics taken from Navin Raheja's "Wilderness Days"on Epic Channel
According to
WWF’s data a mere 3900 tigers remain in the wild today. What a horrendous,
magna decline from the turn of the century when there were over 1,00,000 tigers.
Some positivity emerges through the WWF’s news that “after a century of
decline, overall wild tiger numbers are starting to tick upward”. However the
agency adds that Tigers are still under threat from poaching and loss of
habitat.
In India, in just a few years the tiger population has doubled and India is now home to about 70% of the tiger population globally.
In India, in just a few years the tiger population has doubled and India is now home to about 70% of the tiger population globally.
My pal Sharmila has created this radiant
artwork
Sharing to celebrate International Tiger Day 2020
In the 70’s the
Government of India under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had initiated “Project
Tiger”. From under 2000 tigers in India at the start of the project, the
numbers increased to more than 3000. There ended the happy story, as in moved
in the poachers. Apart from apathy on part of government machinery, hostility
by locals around the animal sanctuaries and other factors, the major reason for
the failure of the project were the bounty hunting poachers. In the 80s
Ranthambore and Sariska Sanctuaries boasted having more than 40 tigers in each
park. It dwindled to a mere few to zero, as wildlife parks turned from
sanctuaries into harvesting grounds for ruthless poachers.
Why poaching? Every
part of the tiger’s body has sale value. It is especially sought after in China
where traditional Chinese medicine advocates its usage. Read more on poaching
of big cats on the following sites:
Epic Channel
appropriately telecast today a documentary titled “Wilderness Days” made by
wildlife enthusiast Navin Raheja. Read more about the making of the documentary
on:
Some excerpts and images from this interesting
documentary:
Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh
housed several “celebrity” tigers, primary among them being tigress Sita
Since 1980 Sita has been photographed the maximum. Mahout Kuttapan has photographed her over 1500 times. In her life span of 17 years she had six litters. Other famous tigers were Banka and Charger. Charger had no problems with hoards of tourists viewing and photographing him.
Panna National Park, Madhya Pradesh had no tigers. Tigers were introduced here resulting in the tiger numbers zooming from zero
to fifty in ten years
Tigress P141 was a famous inmate of Panna sanctuary
Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan was home to tigress Machchli who became especially famous for fighting a crocodile. The battle lasted several hours, though she emerged victorious, she had to forfeit three of her hunter teeth.
In her 20 year lifespan (1996-2016) Machchli gave birth 4 times with a total of nine cubs
Read more about the International Tiger Day:
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