Tag Archives: India Related Questions and Answers

The main religious significance of Diwali is to forgive and forget, to clear the mind of evil and reflect over the past year’s events. In preparation for Diwali, house and shops are scrubbed clean and doorsteps are decorated with multi-colored designs called ‘Rangoli‘. Houses are painted inside and outside. New pots and pans are bought. Even the animals are washed, …

Diwali, ‘Festival of Lights’, is celebrated with great fervor and gaiety. Diwali is celebrated by young and old, rich and poor, throughout the country to dispel darkness and light up their lives. The festival symbolizes unity in diversity as every state celebrates it in its own special way. The celebration of the four-day festival commences on Aswayuja Bahula Chaturdasi and …

Diwali is the one Hindu festival that unites the whole of India. It is traditionally known as the “festival of lights”, for the common practice is to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home, in courtyards, gardens, verandahs, on the walls built around the home and also on the roof tops. In cities, especially, candles …

While a furious battle between Rama and Ravana was under way, the great rishi Agastya came close to Rama and told him about the secret as to how Ravana would be killed and told Rama to pray the Sun in order to kill the demon king of Lanka. Then Rama prayed the Sun, and purified himself with water-sipping, and was …

World Heart Federation (WHF), a nongovernmental organization, is based in the Geneva, Switzerland. An International Society of Cardiology was founded in 1946 and International Cardiology Federation in 1970. Both organizations were merged to form the International Society and Federation of Cardiology (ISFC) in 1978. Later the name of International Society and Federation of Cardiology was changed to the World Heart …

On Ashura, the Muslims take out processions carrying colorfully decorated taziyas (bamboo and paper replicas of the martyr’s tomb) embellished with gilt and mica. Colorful replicas of Hazrat Imam Hussain’s tomb at Karbala are also carried in procession and buried at an imitation Karbala. The mourners walk barefoot to the beat of drums. In a frenzy of grief, they beat …

It is on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram but not the Islamic month. It is also called Yaumu-l ‘Ashurah, or simply Ashura meaning, ‘the tenth day’. It is well-known because of historical significance and mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic …

[ads]Koran became the final word for Islam after the demise of Prophet Mohammad. A loyal follower of Mohammad was elected as his successor and he and his successors reigned peacefully. But during the time of Ali, the prophet’s Son-in-Law, there was opposition from many sections. Ali and his elder son, Hassan were killed. His youngest son Hussain was brutally murdered …

It is the first month of the Islamic calendar. Instead of joyous celebration, Muslims mark the beginning of the New Year by taking up the black attire of sorrow and participate in mourning gatherings in which the sacrifices of Husayn and his companions are commemorated. It is one of the four months of the year in which fighting is prohibited. …

Although you may have seen many cartoons and films which show elephants being terrified by tiny mice, in reality elephants pay as little attention to mice, which often scuttle around their feet, as you would pay a sparrow in your garden or in the street. Many people believe that the elephant would be afraid of the mouse because it is …