Archive for July, 2010
Indian Martial Arts Posted by kunthra on Jul 28, 2010
Indian Martial arts are diverse and range in style and combat : Gatka is a Punjabi form of martial arts involving a wooden staff. Gatka is practiced as a sport, but back when it was a form of battle strategy, swords were used Thang ta is a martial art form from Manipur. A sword, spear…
Classical Indian Dances Posted by kunthra on Jul 25, 2010
India is a country full of diversity. This diversity lends itself to classical Indian styles of dance. Kathak (कथक) is a classical dance from Northern India that uses dance as a form of story telling. Bharatanatyam is a dance from Tamil Nadu. The Kathakali dance originates from Kerala. The makeup and costumes are by far…
South Indian Food Posted by kunthra on Jul 22, 2010
South Indian food can be delicious. Take Upma for example. Upma is a breakfast made of refined wheat grains garnished with salt, beans, ginger, chili peppers, peanuts, onions and cumin. This video shows you a tasty way to make it Chicken 65 is a spicy fried chicken recipe made from hot peppers, vinegar, ginger, cumin…
Baul Posted by kunthra on Jul 19, 2010
The Baul (बाऊल) are a group of talented musicians from Bengal. The Baul often dress in bright orange or red clothes; and play music in public places. Here is a video of a Baul musician. He is clearly talented because he is playing three instruments (four if you count his voice) all at once. The…
Gopuram Posted by kunthra on Jul 16, 2010
A prominent feature of Hindu temple architecture is the Gopuram. A gopuram is a tower-like structure at the entrance of a temple. The Kamakshi Amman Temple in Kanchipuram, India is one example of displaying a gopuram. The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple In Tirumala, India is another such example of having a gopuram. My personal favorite…
Culfests Posted by kunthra on Jul 13, 2010
One of the highlights of attending university in India is the culfest. A culfest is short for culture festival. Culfests last a couple of days and usually include an intellectual event, like a quiz show and something artsy, like a singing contest. For instance, Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Management and Technology is a college that…
Mahābhārata Posted by kunthra on Jul 10, 2010
The Mahābhārata (महाभारत) is a major epic story written in Sanskrit. Mahābhārata means “the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty”. The story starts when King Shantanu (शंतनु) asks for the hand of Satyavati (सत्यवती), from her father. Her father agrees, on condition that his previous sons from a former wife will not be king…