Vastu Shastra is the science which denotes a set of guidelines regarding the construction of a house. Any house following most of the rules ensures a healthy living. The literal translation of Vastu Shastra is the “Science of Architecture” which is the ancient Indian science that describes the principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, spacing and spatial geometry of a building.Is it Effective?These guidelines not only make the work easier but also makes the house safer and healthier. For instance, it is suggested that the bedroom of a house, should be constructed in the south-west direction. This allows a ... Read More

Numbers could be Whole, Natural, Odd, Even, Prime, Rational or so. But I wonder what numbers have to do with your Luck!! There are many people around the world who believe in Myths and Superstitions like lucky and unlucky numbers.What the West Believe: Friday, 13th !!Many Americans believe that 13 is an unlucky number and Friday is unlucky day and when both of them come together, it’s the unluckiest day ever according to western superstitions. God!! I pray for the fate of a person who was born on 13th Friday!!! Sounds stupid, right? There must be many in this world ... Read More

Traditions differ from place to place and from religion to religion. However, these traditions have some meaning pertaining to human relations and social life. The tradition of fasting during the period of Eclipse is there in many traditions, which avoids ill-health as the food under digestion gets affected during the eclipse.Celebrating festivals with family, friends, and neighbors is also a tradition which is mostly observed in all the religions. This promotes social integrity.Get TogetherTraditions are the weaving threads between generations where customs are passed on. Each community has its set of traditions. Hindu ladies perform group activities like exchanging "Haldi ... Read More

Holi festival is a symbol of celebrating the trust in God that he bestows us with happiness at the end. Holi is a two-day festival, of which the first day is Holika Dahan and the second one is Colour-wali Holi. The day of Holika Dahan is celebrated by burning the effigy of Holika. The significance of this tradition has its roots following a tale from Hindu Mythology.According to Hindu Mythology, there was a demon king called as Hiranyakasyapa who believes himself to be a god. His wife Leelavathi was an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu but never argues and disobeys ... Read More

The Jaipur Literature Festival is a literary festival which takes place in Jaipur each year in the third week of January. Started in 2006, the world's largest free literature festival known as JLF, takes place in Hotel Diggy Palace every year. When The festival was initiated in the year 2006, only 18 writers including Namita Gokhale, Shobhaa De, and Hari Kunzru and 14 other authors were a part of it. There were a small number of 100 folks who attended the event.Permanent AssociationsIt has been sponsored by Sonjoy Roy of teamwork arts while Surina Narula is the Founder Sponsor and ... Read More

Culture is about the practices, knowledge, and beliefs that are shared among a group of people. But what does it teach?RespectDifferent cultures teach us to humbly respect and embrace other person’s culture. Suppose you are an American who is visiting India for the first time. Wearing a saree here does not only mean that you are doing it for your pleasure, in fact, you do it for the due regard to the culture of India.SuperstitionIt might sound weird, but superstitions are also a part of the whole belief system of people in India. Now, it may be related to not ... Read More

There are a lot of theories about Lord Buddha's hair which is always shown as curly with a topknot. If the Buddhist monks and nuns, from whichever school or denomination or from whichever part of the world they may be, shave their off hair, it surely isn't because they like it as a fashion trend. It's because this is the tradition set by Lord Buddha himself and it has continued just the way He deemed it.Before setting out on the path to a life of abstinence he was a prince named Siddarth whose father ruled a small kingdom called Lumbini, ... Read More

If prostitution is made legal in India, it will be seen by the flesh trade mafia as a license to grow their business beyond the traditional red light areas. It will also lead to unprecedented growth in child trafficking and kidnapping of teenage girls. The pimps and other human traffickers will become legitimate operators in a market that is no longer illegal. Many of them will go to the extent of opening 'offices' in decent neighborhoods where they will supply 'decent' prostitutes. Job opportunities will open up for scores of youth in the world's oldest profession with devastating consequences for ... Read More

To be honest, most of the loopholes in our laws with regard to women's empowerment have been plugged or are in the process of being plugged. Legally speaking, India doesn't discriminate against women but when it comes to social recognition of women's rights, there are a lot of discrepancies. For instance, women are traditionally found in certain professions and are completely absent from many others.Hence, if a woman is found driving a bus or a truck, she will attract undue attention from onlookers who might just ignore another woman driving a car or SUV at the same time. It's all ... Read More

A Rangoli is a beautiful and colorful floor design or motif that is found in Hindu households in the Indian subcontinent although the term can differ as you move towards eastern India where it is known as Alpana. A Rangoli is generally created by the women of a house although in some houses the men also become part of this creative expression. It is created with organic powdery material which is essentially organic such as powdered rice as well as flour of different grains, turmeric, sandal, flower extracts, leaf extracts and specific kind of soil extracts. Many Rangolis are made ... Read More