Archive for July, 2009
National Indian Calendar Posted by kunthra on Jul 30, 2009
The Gregorian calendar is used alongside the national Indian calendar. Like the solar calendar, the Indian calendar has tweleve months. There used to be dozens and dozens of Indian calendars all centered around each region’s religious festivals. Luckily, now there is only one standard Indian calendar. I have the Indian month which corresponds to a…
Indian Solar Calendar Posted by kunthra on Jul 27, 2009
Indians have various calendars. 1) There’s a solar calendar or Gregorian calendar 2) There’s the national lunar calendar used alongside with the Gregorian calendar 3) There’s also a special calendar for religious feasts. For now, let’s look at the Gregorian calendar. Keep in mind that all three calendars have different dates set aside for the…
Rath Yatra Posted by kunthra on Jul 24, 2009
Rath Yatra is a famous celebration held every summer in India. Rath (रथ) means chariot and Yatra (यात्रा) means procession. Rath Yatra is celebrated in the city of Puri in the state of Orissa. On Rath Yatra, all three deities are paraded throughout the city for Darshan (दर्शन) or for public worship. The deities are, Jagannath…
Guru Puurnimaa Posted by kunthra on Jul 21, 2009
Towards the end of the month, a festival called Guru Puurnimaa (गुरु पूर्णिमा) is celebrated in parts of India. This is a day where students offer puja (पूजा) or worship to their teacher or guru (गुरु). A puja (पूजा) is a religious ceremony performed by Hindus. It’s thought that by performing this ceremony, the student…
Extended Family Words Posted by kunthra on Jul 18, 2009
The vocabulary of the last post dealt with the immediate family, but as you know, Hindi families can be quite extensive. Today’s vocab will cover the extended family members. Grandfather (on father’s side) – दादा (daadaa) Grandmother (on father’s side) – दादी (daadi) Grandfather (on mother’s side) – नाना (naanaa) Grandmother (on mother’s side) –…
Hindi Family Words Posted by kunthra on Jul 15, 2009
Father – pitaa (पिता) Dad – baap (बाप) Mother – maataa (माता) Mom – man (माँ) Husband – pati (पति) Wife – patnii (पत्नी) Son – beta (बेटा) Son – putra (पुत्र) Daugther – betii (बेटी) Daughter – putrii (पुत्री) Brother – bhaaii (भाई) Sister – bahin (बहिन) Older brother – bhaiyaa (भैया) Younger brother…
Similar Hindi Words Posted by kunthra on Jul 12, 2009
हर = Lord Shiva हरि = Lord Vishnu महिष = a buffalo महीश = a king नित = eternal नीत = carried ओर = towards और = and चतुर = clever चतुर् = four जतु = gum जतू = the bat चित् = soul चित्र = picture