Thanksgiving Day - The most defining American festival !

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

- William Arthur Ward

Thanksgiving Day, is the day when one express gratitude for all the kindness they have received. The day signifies commemorating (the first Thanksgiving offered at Plymouth, Mass. in 1621), symbolism (the meal includes dishes which were consumed on the first Thanksgiving, expression of gratitude (for the kindness received) and love and bonding between families.

A Vintage Thanksgiving Day Card

Author - Dave, Source - Flickr

The festival (celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States) is a holiday celebrated mainly in the United States of America and Canada (apart from Liberia and Norfolk Island). Both the country's festivals have different origins. Originally the Thanksgiving began as a tradition of celebrating the harvest of the year. As per the longstanding traditions of the holiday in the United States, the celebration often extends to the weekend that falls closest to the day it is celebrated.

Origin of Thanksgiving Day -
                                                        The origin of the first celebration in the United States was recorded at Virginia in 1619 (prompted by the colonists' leaders on the anniversary of the first settlement). But the feast for Thanksgiving in 1621 at Plymouth (in Massachusetts, New England) was prompted by a good harvest and is considered by many as the actual event which inspired the celebrations.

A roast turkey is a symbol of major celebrations. Its presence on the dining table at Thanksgiving Day is customary. Traditionally(but not necessarily) the head of the family carves out portions for the rest of members at the table.

Author - Patrick Fitzgerald Source - Flickr

In the year 1620, a boat filled with more than one hundred people sailed from Europe to settle in the New World. This religious group had begun to question the beliefs of the Church of England and wanted to separate from it. The Pilgrims settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts(New England). Their first winter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow sufficient crops, and without fresh food, half the colony died from disease. The following spring the Iroquois Indians taught them how to grow corn (maize), a new food for the colonists. They showed them other crops to grow in the unfamiliar soil and how to hunt and fish.

Home Made Roasted Turkey, just out of the oven

Author - Shoshanah Source - Flickr

In the autumn of 1621, bountiful crops of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins were harvested. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so a feast was planned. They invited the local Indian chief and approximately 90 Indians. The Indians brought deer to roast with the turkeys and other wild game offered by the colonists. The colonists had learned how to cook cranberries and different kinds of corn and squash dishes from the Indians.In the following years, many of the original colonists celebrated the autumn harvest with a feast of thanks.

How the Date of the Celebration was decided -
                                                                                                                     After the United States became independent, the Congress recommended an annual day of thanksgiving for the whole nation to celebrate. George Washington suggested the date November 26 as Thanksgiving Day. Then in 1863, at the end of a long and bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln asked all Americans to set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving.

But in the year 1939 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed the date and set it one week earlier as he wanted to help business by lengthening the shopping period before Christmas. Congress ruled that after 1941 the 4th Thursday in November would be a federal holiday proclaimed by the President each year.

Home Made Cranberry Sauce

Author - Shoshanah Source - Flickr

How Thanksgiving Day is Celebrated - 
                                                        Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. Even if they live far away, members gather for a 'family reunion' at the house of an older relative. All give thanks and pray together for the good things and blessings that they have got. Families enjoy watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade held in New York on TV across the country. Some families also participate in a Turkey Trot Run or Have a Mini Pumpkin Hunt amongst other activities.


In this spirit of sharing, charitable organizations offer a traditional meal to those in need, particularly the homeless. On most tables throughout the United States, the food eaten at the first thanksgiving have become traditional.

A slice of Pumpkin Pie. A traditional meal at Thanksgiving will always include a Pumpkin Pie

Author - Paul Sullivan Source - Flickr

The Parade's -
                                  Annual Thanksgiving Day Parades are held across various cities amongst which the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (New York), America's Thanksgiving Day Parade (Detroit) and the 6abc Dunkin Donuts Thanksgiving Parade (formerly known as Gimbels Thanksgiving Day Parade) (Boston) are the oldest.

Author - Ian Gampon, Source - Flickr

A Thanksgiving Day is considered incomplete without a Turkey

Author - martha_chapa95 Source - Flickr

Thanksgiving Day Feast -
                                                                Turkey, corn (or maize), pumpkins and cranberry sauce are symbols which represent the first Thanksgiving Feast. Now all of these symbols are drawn on holiday decorations and greeting cards. The use of corn meant the survival of the colonies. "Indian corn" as a table or door decoration represents the harvest and the fall season.

A usual Thanksgiving Day meal consists of Roasted Turkey, bowl of Cranberry Sauce(perfect accompaniment with turkey), Yeast Rolls, A Walnut preparation for dessert

Author - Cheryl Source - Flickr

Other commonly served preparations in the Feast include Winter Squash, Yams, Mashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, Deviled Eggs, Green Bean Casserole, Peas and Carrots, Bread Rolls, Cornbread (in the south and parts of New England), or Biscuits, Rutabagas or Turnips; and a Salad. 

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Author - M Anima Source - Flickr

There are also regional differences as to the stuffing or dressing traditionally served with the turkey. Folks in the South generally make their dressing from cornbread, while those in other parts of the country make stuffing from white, wheat or rye bread as the base. 

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I wish all my readers a very Happy Thanksgiving ! Enjoy your weekend !

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Disclaimer:- The pictures in this post have been clicked by and belong to the photographers who hold their(pictures) rights and permit conditional use. They do not endorse the author or the blog.

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Sikkim Sojourm Part 8 - Glimpses from Thangu

Settled in a Green Valley with wooden houses having slanted roofs and a stream flowing besides it, 

Thangu looks just like the drawing of a simple village which we all used to make in Kindergarten when we were children

Thangu is a tiny village while on the way to Guru Dongmar Lake. It is nestled at a height of 14000 ft. It is the last settlement before the Indo China border. An ideal place to stopover and acclimatize for the journey (in high altitude terrain) ahead this village has a mountain stream which passes by right next to it. The village is dotted with prayer flags and in the picture you can see the temple of the village as well. Small shops selling chocolates (very good in helping you to deal with altitude related problems) and biscuits abound. 

 The village temple perched over the line of houses. Notice the row of white colored prayer flags 

on hill slopes

While we stopped at Thangu for breakfast I slipped out of the room to take some snaps of the last village before India's international border with China. The Guru Dongmar Lake for your information is just 5 kms or 3.1 miles from the border.

Thangu is a small picturesque village predominantly agricultural in nature. The people are from the Lepcha tribe who are considerd to be the original inhabitants of Sikkim. A stream flows from the village and looks not only beautiful but also provides the village with water. As always I will let my photographs do the explaning :-

Inside a usual Lepcha household having breakfast. Notice the wood fired cooking stove which is also doubling up as a heater for the little one.

Another view of the house this time without the people. Notice the wooden interiors and the white sheet with religious inscriptions printed over it hanging besides the wall. Apparently the people of Thangu take their religious beliefs seriously.

The following pictures will give you a glimpse of what I saw around Thangu:-

From here(Thangu) onward we saw less of trees and more of rocks

A view of a snow capped mountain from the village. The mountain is at least 6000 meters high 

An old village structure obstructed my view of the mountain while I was taking its snap. On close inspection I realized that this might have been a religious structure built according to traditional Sikkimese architecture(notice the bamboo poles between the walls). 

A structure which would have seen Thangu in its older days and must have been in use during then. 

It would have been great to have been able to talk to it. 

You can understand the enormity of this mountain feature by taking a look at a road at the lower end of the picture which resembles more like a snake

These were the pictures I took from Thangu. Once we left Thangu the green cover of the land began to melt away giving way to a barren landscape. Despite being all brown in color this will be my most favorite segment as I enjoyed the thin air, clear skies and a quiet ambiance. Read all about it in my next blog Road to Guru Dongmar.... 

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Sikkim Sojourn Part 7 - To Thangu and Beyond.....

After a gap of a month and a half I am returning to my series 'Sikkim Sojourn'. The unfortunate earthquake in Sikkim was a prominent factor for the gap but now I have decided to bring the series to a culmination. I clicked quite a few pictures which I feel you and the world might want to take a look at. I am sure some of them will leave you pleasantly surprised. The places I found on my journey to Thangu and beyond is something you will rarely find on a map or anywhere else. This was the inspiration for me to name my blog as the 'Path Rarely Taken' because very few people know about these places and even fewer visit them. 

During my journey to Guru Dongmar Lake we had a stopover in Lachen (2750mts/9022 ft). We had to start early morning around 7 am in order to get to the Guru Dongmar Lake. We needed to do so because after 1 pm the Tibetan Plateau ( a part of North Sikkim) witnesses extreme windy conditions and also because it is a condition imposed by the Army. According to my guide the gales of wind are strong enough to make dust and fist sized rocks fly in the air and therefore it is not safe to move at that point of time. The pictures follow - 

Prayer flags dot the landscape of Sikkim (Notice the settlement on the side of the hill)

Green Green Green everywhere....

Observe another settlement between the rolling hills

 From Lachen to Thangu(4267mts/14000ft) on our way to Guru Dongmat Lake lie 2 Army Posts where our permits are checked before allowing us to travel further. One check point is before Thangu and one after it. The check point after Thangu is also an Army run cafe. 

Perched at approximately 4572 meters or 15000 ft it has been certified as the highest cafe in the world. The army men re check your permit, ask you to sit for 10 minutes in the cafe(it is compulsory) while you are served coffee and chocolates (you pay for them of course ! ) and observe you for any symptoms of altitude sickness in which case they ask you to turn back. 

And yes, please do not expect hospitality over here. Naam kya hain tera ?(Your name ?) and Idhar khadaa ho ja ! (Stand at a side) are the common verbiages used gruffly in the cafe... Refer to them as 'Sirji'(Hindi for Respected Sir) as I did and chances are that they will ignore you. Photography is glared upon and as I did not want to take a chance I did not take any pictures. But that said the Army men do a good job and they have tremendous goodwill amongst locals in Sikkim. Some more pictures -

 

One of the first snow-capped crags I set my eyes upon

 Sneak peak of the first army check post (Our guide is in the picture)

Clouds settle on the peaks which overlook the Army Post

Thangu

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(to be continued..... Glimpses from Thangu)

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Diwali Part 2 - Temples of Delhi

New Delhi (or Delhi as it is commonly called as) is a large and populous city. The city is extremely rich in history and legacy. At the location where the city is situated, on the banks of the River Yamuna, there stood 7 capital cities of various kingdoms spanning across the age. Starting from the mythological Indraprastha (5000 b.c.) to the current New Delhi (founded 1929). So, an area which has been inhabited since the dawn of time will certainly possess some of the oldest and holiest shrines of Hindu faith apart from other invaluable monuments (whom I shall cover soon). I went around the city traveling, enquiring and taking pictures of the most important Shrines or Temples which a traveler or pilgrim must visit while in Delhi. These temples are one of the major attractions of Delhi and attract thousands of devotees during the Hindu festivals of Diwali, Janmashtami and the Navratra’s. I have christened these series of temples as the part of ‘Delhi’s Temple Circuit’.

We start with the temple visited by 70 percent of tourists who visit Delhi, The Akshardham Temple:-


Akshardham Temple

                                                          The 'shikhara' or peak of the Temple

                                                       Front View of the Temple (Courtesy Juthani, Source Wikipedia)

The primary deity of the Akshardham Temple is Swaminarayan and the architecture of the temple is as per Vastushastra and Pancharatra shastra. The temple was built and consecrated on 6 November 2005. The Akshardham temple complex displays the history of traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality, and architecture.
The temple complex features a large central monument crafted entirely of stone, exhibitions on incidents from the life of Swaminarayan and the history of India, a musical fountain, and large landscaped gardens. Akshardham temple holds the Guinness World Record for being the World’s Largest Comprehensive Hindu Temple

Hanuman Temple (Connaught Place)

 Main Idol of Bal(Baby) Hanuman (Courtesy Nwchar, Source Wikipedia)

Hanuman Temple (Connaught Place)

As I have revealed to you earlier that Delhi has seen habitation by people since the year 5000 B.C. (as per the epic Mahabharata the city was known as 'Indraprastha'). Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place, New Delhi, is an ancient Hindu Temple and is claimed to be one of the five temples from the days of Mahabharata in Delhi.
Said to be constructed by Pandavas in honor of Lord Hanuman the temple, which has a self manifest idol of Hanuman, has a unique feature fixed on the spire or top (Viman) of the temple in the form of a crescent moon (an Islamic symbol) instead of the Hindu symbol of Aum or Sun that is commonly seen in most Hindu temples. This became particularly important during the sacking of Delhi by various Islamic invaders (for example Nadir Shah in 1739) who spared it from vandalism.
The current structure is said to have been built in 1724. The idol in the temple, worshiped with devotion as “Sri Hanuman Ji Maharaj” (Great Lord Hanuman), is that of Bala Hanuman namely, Hanuman as a child.


Kalkaji Temple, New Delhi

Kalkaji Temple (The main idol of the deity)

This very old temple built atop a hill is in honor of Goddess Kali. It has been considered to exist since the days of the epic Mahabharata(5000 BC). Current structure has got some parts which were built in 2 BC and modifications which were done in 1734 and mid-19th century. In the vicinity is the ISCKON temple and an edict of Emperor Asoka dating 3rd century BC. One particular incident which is associated with this temple is that the noise of the powerful bells of this temple (during early morning prayers) used to disturb the sleep of the extra alert Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and were eventually pulled down. (His palace the Red Fort was situated 10 miles away).


Laxmi Narayan Temple

Laxmi Narayan Temple(The 'shikhara' or peak of the temple is 160 feet high)

The Laxminarayan Temple is a temple dedicated to ‘Laxminarayan’. The temple is built in honor of Goddess Lakshmi (Hindu goddess of wealth), and her consort Narayana (Lord Vishnu) by B. R. Birla from 1933 and 1939, when it was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi. The side temples are dedicated to Lord’s Shiva, Krishna and Buddha. The temple spread over 7.5 acres, is adorned with many shrines, fountains, and a large garden, and also houses a ‘Geeta Bhawan’ for religious discourses.

The architecture of the temple is based on the Northern or Nagara style.The entire temple is adorned with carvings depicting the scenes from Hindu mythology. A visit to this informative temple is a very good experience.

Information at the entrance

Chattarpur Temple

 Chattarpur Mandir (Main Temple in the complex)

 

This is the second largest temple complex in India, and is dedicated to Goddess, Katyayani (Durga). It is located at Chhatarpur, and is just 4 km (2.5 mi) from Qutub Minar, off Mehrauli-Gurgaon road. The temple was established in 1974. This temple was considered as the biggest temple in India and second largest in the world, before the Akshardham Temple was created in 2005 in Delhi. This temple is totally constructed from marble and on all the facets there is 'jaali' (perforated stone or latticed screen) work.

Temple featuring Dravidian(South Indian) Architecture in the complex

Some other pictures which I clicked while traveling are - 

A pujari (priest) of Hanuman Temple(Connaught Place). (The gentleman yelled at me for being clicked without permission)

This huge statue of Lord Hanuman(more than 40 feet high) dwarfs the landscape of Central Delhi is at Jhandewalan, Karol Bagh

 A pujari (priest) blessing a new car at Laxmi Narayan Temple

Shop selling materials for puja (Worship)

Kali Mandir at Bangla Sahib Marg. A temple thronged by Bengali devotees. Notice the depiction of certain incidences from Indian Mythologies right above the gate.

This is all about the Delhi Temple Circuit from me. In the month of November I will be back with a completely new series of posts over Delhi which would cover Old Delhi and its invaluable forts and monuments, complete with lots of pictures and narratives. Moreover I will also go on a tour to cover a completely new destination for you. Till then TC

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Note:- The pictures 'Front view of Akshardham Temple clicked by Juthani' and 'Bal Hanuman by Nwchar' are separate pictures clicked by photographers who hold their(pictures) rights and permit conditional free use.  They do not endorse the author or the blog.

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Diwali Part - 1 - Festival of Lights

Deepawali(Festival of lights) or Diwali(as it is commonly known as) is arguably one of the most popular and significant festivals in India. This festival of lights is a religious festival observed by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains but such is the enthusiasm, gaiety and celebrations associated with it that Christians, Muslims and people of other religions in India also celebrate it with their Hindu brethren. The basic and universal reason for celebrating this festival is the victory of ‘Good over Evil’. When you look out of your window and see rows of Lamps (Diyas) illuminating the households, firecrackers being burst all around, sweets being distributed everywhere and see happiness on the faces of everybody you admit to yourself that although the darkness of evil is gloomy but, if you have the willingness to overcome it this is the type of celebration you deserve.

The festival of Diwali commemorates the return of Lord Ram, along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, from his 14-year-long exile and vanquishing the demon-king Ravan. In joyous celebration of the return of their king, the people of Ayodhya, the Capital of Rama, illuminated the kingdom with earthen lamps (diyas) and by bursting firecrackers. For Jains, Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Lord Mahavira in 527 BC. Diwali is celebrated across five days in which the day of Laksmi Puja (Goddes of Wealth) Puja is considered the most important day.

The date of Diwali is decided by the Luni-Solar Hindu calendar. This year the festival is being celebrated on 26 October.

Diwali being the festival of lights, is celebrated with symbolic diyas or kandils (colorful paper lanterns) which are an integral part of Diwali decorations. Rangoli, decorations made from coloured powder, is very popular during Diwali. The manner of celebration varies from region to region from fireworks to worship to lighting Diyas and sharing of home-made sweets.

On the day of Diwali folks get busy in preparing sweets like Gulab Jamun, Laddoos, varieties of Barfis e.t.c. and try to outdo each other in taste competition because the moment the puja (worshipping) ends they share the sweets or prasad amongst themselves greeting each other by saying ‘Shubh Deepawali’ (Happy Diwali). It is a common understanding that home-made sweets are much appreciated than the ones bought from markets.

A Diwali without visiting the temples is incomplete. Some of the major temples in Diwali which will be frequented by the worshippers in Delhi are being listed by me. These temples are also a part of the ‘Delhi Temple Circuit’ as these places of worship have either great historic value or have witnessed a miracle take place. These temples which are a must visit when you are in Delhi are as follows :-
(Contd in the next blog.....)

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Sikkim Earthquake – A Tragedy

On Sunday September 18 2011 at around 18:31 hrs disaster struck Sikkim and nearby areas as a destructive earthquake of the magnitude of 6.8 Richter scale shook the state. The epicenter of the earthquake was 19.8 kms beneath the earth’s surface at Mangan (in green letters in map) approximately 68 kms from the capital Gangtok at the heart of Sikkim. The earthquake was so powerful that the tremors were felt 1500 kms away here at New Delhi.

Sikkim (courtesy Wikipedia)

As a result houses collapsed, landslides occurred and all contacts to Sikkim were snapped. The National Highway 31-A was blocked by landslides at 16 places. Roads to North Sikkim, from Lachung to Lachen and to West Sikkim was blocked. At the time of writing this post the number of people affected and the numbers of casualties were still going up. Because of it being a border state the mobile phone access is limited. It is my personal experiences that once you enter North Sikkim there are no mobile signals. Towns of Rangpo, Singtam,  Namchi, Mangan e.t.c. were badly affected. As the roads to west and North Sikkim are still blocked the extent of damages in towns like Lachung, Lachen, Yumthang, Thangu e.t.c.  would only be known in some time. 

Clearing a Landslide

The biggest challenges which the National Disaster Relief Force teams will face is to get to the affected areas as for one they would not know where to go to provide relief as because of limited connectivity the information coming from the towns and villages will be scarce. The second problem the relief teams would face would be to how to get to these places as the approach roads are narrow and will be blocked by landslides and moreover there are no airports in Sikkim(nearest airport is at Bagdogra 228 kms away). This would slow down the response time and delay relief material from reaching the people (As latest reports came relief personnel were airdropped to Lachen, Lachung e.t.c. and in certain places relief material was air dropped). The third biggest challenges to be faced by Disaster Relief teams are the rains. According to news reports it started to rain heavily after the earthquake to compound the matters. It is my personal experience that when it rains in Sikkim... It truly rains... And moreover the clouds hang really low resulting in foggy weather. Due to the intensity of rains in mountainous areas you cannot differentiate between rains and cloudbursts.

Road to North Sikkim (Landslides can easily block such crucial roads and hamper relief efforts)

The Role of Army and the Indo Tibetan Border Police will be extremely crucial in providing relief as they are well versed with the terrain and the local people. A calibrated response from the Army, ITBP and Nation Disaster Relief Force teams would be required to help the people in the time of need. According to the latest reports the Army has asked its personnel in the high – altitude camps to help people in high areas like Thangu (14000 ft), Yumesongdong e.t.c.

All said I will praying a silent prayer and be hoping for the best for the wonderful, hospitable and simple  people of Sikkim and the nearby areas of Darjeeling district, West Sikkim, Bihar, West Bengal, Nepal e.t.c. I want to express my condolences to the affected people and pray for the speedy recovery of them. I strongly hope that my guide 'Sonam' and all the people with whom I interacted with, during my trip to Sikkim are safe and sound.    

The people of Sikkim are extremely hospitable and welcoming. They never make you feel insecure. It is now our responsibility to assist our countrymen in their time of need.

Om Mani Padme Hum

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Sikkim Sojourn Part 6 - Seven Sisters Falls

On the road to GuruDongmar Lake via Lachen I came across this extremely captivating waterfall named the Seven Sisters Falls. One of the most prominent features is the intensity of this water fall and the dull roar caused by the water crashing on the rocks. This falls are named so because it is said to fall in Seven stages.. The point from where we saw the falls we could see only three of them.. Our loss.. Here are some snapshots :-

Falls View(Notice the prayer flags). You could not help but become wet as the spray of water was intense especially at the bridge.

Observe the spot where the water falls touch the rocks with a roar. (Notice the water drops on the lens)

The course of the water after it touches the ground

Wooden bridges(One-Lane) with metallic pillars were a common sight throughout North Sikkim. The rumble of the wooden planks under the tyres are worth listening to. Initially I was a bit apprehensive about the strength of these bridges but during the course of my trip I realized that they are pretty firm.

One way metallic bridge with wooden planks across it. The name of this bridge is B-5.

Wooden Planks for road. These planks really rumble when tyres run over them

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