The day we came to stay in our new house, Kalindi received us. She was on the steps. Two friendly, green eyes gazed at us. “What a beautiful black cat”! said my younger sister, Meeta. I almost rushed and picked up the soft, tiny creature and said, “Let us call her Kalindi. This is our cat, a present, a prize.” …

What is Dusshera? Dusshera, as the name suggests occurs on the “tenth” day following the Navratri. It is a festival to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, and marks the defeat and death of the demon king Ravana in the epic Ramayana. Huge effigies of Ravana are burnt amidst the bangs and booms of firecrackers. In northern India, especially …

Kanya Sankranti: ]The beginning of the sixth month is largely marked by Kanya Sankranti, according to the Hindu Solar Calendar. Sankranti is the time when Sun changes position from one rashi to another. This day is also celebrated as Vishwakarma Jayanti. All the twelve Sankrantis in the year are highly auspicious for alms giving and charity purpose. In Odisha and West …

Dadima’s Stick: The first thing Govind and I noticed as Dadima (paternal grand-mother) came out through the glass doors of the Bombay airport in a wheelchair was the stick in her hand. Dadima had gone to Dubai for a short stay with Gopal Chacha (father’s younger brother). A week later, she had had a fall, and her artificial left hip …

Name: Phoolan Devi (Bandit Queen) Born: 10 August 1963 – Jalaun district, Uttar Pradesh, India Died: 25 July 2001 (aged 37) New Delhi, Delhi, India (Assassination by shooting) Occupation: Human rights activist, Dacoit, Politician Parents: Devi Din (father); Moola Devi (mother) Spouse(s): Umed Singh, Vikram Mallah, Putti Lal Political party: Samajwadi Party Phoolan Devi (10 August 1963 – 25 July 2001), popularly …

Time: September – October (Hindu month of Aswija) Venue: Vithappa, Bagalkot, Karnataka State, India Significance: Held in honor of Sri Vithappa Highlights: Village fair and religious procession accompanied by drummers Sri Vithappa fair is the popular fair held in the honor of the Vithappa deity in the village Vithappa. The first fair was held 200 years back since then the …

A Chase of Cheers: Mr. Lootgia Ram’s car had been stolen. And old Mr. Ram had gone crazy about it. Uncle Samanta had taken up the case. Of late he had been trying his hand at chasing criminals. At sixty-one he was full of enthusiasm in his new interest. “This must be the work of Karchori Lal,” he observed as …

Name: Bhupen Hazarika (Sudha Konthi) Born: 8 September 1926 Sadiya, Assam Province, British India Died: 5 November 2011 (aged 85) Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Occupation: Poet, Lyricist, Songwriter, Composer, Singer, Music Director, Filmmaker Spouse(s): Priyamvada Patel (1 Child) Awards: Bharat Ratna (2019) (posthumously) Padma Vibhushan (2012) (posthumously) Padma Shri (1977) Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1992) Padma Bhushan (2001) …

Aranmula Vallamkali is an annual water sports meet especially for boat races held in Aranmula district Kerala. The water fiesta is organized during Onam in the month of September. This world famous fiesta owes its origin to the Sree Parthasarathy Temple situated on the banks of the Pamba River. Parthasarathy Temple Boat Race: Vallamkali refers to the boat race competition …

Nuakhai or Nuankhai is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of Odisha. Nuakhai is observed to welcome the new rice of the season. According to the calendar it is observed on panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhadraba (August-September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. This is the most …