If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

How to speak Hindi as good as if it were your mother tongue?
Is it by learning it through text books?
Is it by watching Hindi movies?
Is it by listening to Hindi songs?
Is it by conversation with a native Hindi speaker?

All these simple and obvious options have their own merits and de-merits which can be debated endlessly. Which one suits you better is perhaps the single most important consideration you’ll take into account.

However, my sole recommendation is to adapt the option which you can follow whenever you want to - without getting bogged down by any kind of resource crunch or spending unreasonable amount of money upfront to get started (while you’re still not comfortable with the language).

I’ll discuss these options in subsequent posts, so that you’ve some basic information to begin your language learning sessions. Meanwhile I strongly recommend you visit HindiLearner website to get to know Hindi learning resources that you can use straightway FREE of charge.

Hindi learning can be pure fun.

The story is irrelevant.The screenplay is iridescent. The gags are absolutely hilarious and the performances are crackling.

‘Dhol - Kiska Bajega’ revolves around the lives of four friends - Sam, Pakkya, Maru and Goti. The guys are good for nothing with no motivation. But they’re bound together by their child-like notoriety and aimlessness. They all want to make it big in life with the least efforts possible.

The four wish to live life on their own terms, leading everyone to nowhere. As a result, each one tries their hand at finding a short cut to success but ends up being in even deeper trouble instead. Things get worse as the four decide to take some desperate measures to end their misery once and for all.

According to them, the only way to get rich without working hard is to get married to a rich girl. Surprisingly, to unlock their fates, arrives the rich girl Kanchan in their neighborhood. All four set out with their individual plans to marry Kanchan but end up discovering a spine-chilling truth.

This leads to much confusion, creating hilarious twists and turns, along with an element of thrill, crime, murder and suspense. Don’t miss this laugh riot.

Dhamaal - a one of its kind film - does “dhamaal”

It’s a fun packed entertainer, good film and great comedy. 

Four unemployed friends are afflicted with GRQ virus and find their fortunes taking a turn when they happen to meet an accident victim who informs them about a hidden treasure in Goa before he dies.

The friends begin their winner-takes-all treasure hunt journey but find umpteen obstacles in their way - a sleep walking cop, a hyper Parsi bawa, and a me-myself robber. its a banana-bunch that finally ends up in Goa, chasing a dream that takes them through sundry silly twists that will find you grinning as you jump on this jolly ride.

Don’t go looking for any sense in it and just enjoy this celebration of non-sense. The high point of the film is the chemistry between the bunch of boys who whip up such a frenzy of mad capers. Just go and fun.

Reason : Birthday of Lord Ganesha (or Ganpati, Vinayak)
Date: Ganesh Chaturthi in 2007 is on Saturday, the 15th of September.

The much awaited ten-day long festival of Ganesh Chaturthi starts on 15 Sep 07.

Day-one is marked by the sthapana of the Ganesh idol. The preparations for this begin in advance. The place where the idol is to be kept (puja premises) is cleaned and redecorated. The idol is carried from the market with their faces covered with a saffron cloth amidst chanting and sound of cymbals. By the evening, idol is seated in a majestic splendor in puja premises.

The ceremony begins by placing the idol, usually made of terracotta, in the puja premises. The puja begins at the time designated according to calculations based on the Hindu calendar. The priest performs a ritual by which the idol is said to be imbued with life. Next follows the traditional puja. The worshippers perform pranayama, bow and prostrate before the Ganesh idol and sip holy water. This follows singing of Ganapati aarti and atharvashirdha with the accompaniment of cymbals, bells and rhythmic clapping. The last rite for the day is offering of ‘modak‘ or prasad to the deity with flowers after which the prasad is distributed to the devotees.

Modak is prepared mostly by women at houses. One of the modaks contains salt inside it. It is believed that Lord Ganesh bestows special blessings on the person who gets the salty modak.

At the end of this ten day celebration, the idols of Lord Ganesh will be taken out of the pooja-mandap and immersed in water. This is known as visarjan. A procession is taken out from pooja mandap till the water point which is generally sea or lake available in the area. It is worth watching the enthusiasm of people singing and dancing all the way during the procession. It’s somewhat akin to a carnival but with a strong religious flavor and of course no liquor is consumed.

The Khajuraho temples are well known for their erotic sculptures, which have been carved out in stones in explicit details.

Built by Chandela kings between 950 and 1050 AD the temples at Khajuraho were lost to civilization till the middle of 19th century when they were rediscovered.

Originally 85 temples are believed to have been built by the Chandela kings. Of these, only 24 still exist. The temples are divided into various groups namely - Western, Eastern, Southers, and Jain group of temples.

Many explanations are given for the eroticism depicted on it’s walls, such as:

1. These were meant to distract rain god Indra so as to prevent him from striking down with lightning,
2. These were meant to familiarize Brahmcharis with worldly ways,
3. Chandela kings believed in Tantra practices and had these sculptures incorporated to ward off evil eye to protect the temples as well as to depict the futility of carnal desires in the pursuit of spiritualism.

However, eroticism is but a mere segment of these temples which follow a unique architectural style characterized by the exquisite details of their sculpture and the effect of overall lightness that they produce.

These temples have now been painstakingly restored and present a stunning picture to the millions of tourists who visit them.