Monday, August 19, 2013

Happy Raksha Bandhan




In India, festivals are the celebration of togetherness, of being one of the family. Raksha Bandhan is one such festival that is all about affection, fraternity and sublime sentiments. It is also known as Raksha Bandhan which means a 'bond of protection'. This is an occasion to flourish love, care, affection and sacred feeling of brotherhood.

Not a single festival in India is complete without the typical Indian festivities, the gatherings, celebrations, exchange of sweets and gifts, lots of noise, singing and dancing. Raksha Bandhan is a regional celebration to celebrate the sacred relation between brothers and sisters. Primarily, this festival belongs to north and western region of India but soon the world has started celebrating this festival with the same verse and spirit. Rakhi has become an integral part of those customs. 

An insight of Rakhi Rituals

On the day of Rakhi, sisters prepares the pooja thali with diya, roli, chawal, rakhi thread and sweets. The ritual begins with a prayer in front of God, then the sister ties Rakhi to her brother and wishes for his happiness and well-being. In turn, the brother acknowledge the love with a promise to stand by his sister through all the good and bad times.
Sisters tie Rakhi on the wrist of their brothers amid chanting of mantras, put roli and rice on his forehead and pray for his well-being. She bestows him with gifts and blessings. In turn, brothers also wish her a good life and pledges to take care of her. He gives her a return gift. The gift symbolizes the physical acceptance of her love, reminder of their togetherness and his pledge. The legends and the reference in history repeated, the significance of the festival is emphasized.

Unconditional Bond of Love

Raksha bandhan has been celebrated in the same way with the same traditions for many years. Only the means have changed with the changing lifestyle to make the celebration more elaborate and lively. This day has an inherent power that pulls the siblings together. The increasing distances evoke the desire to be together even more. All brothers and sisters try to reach out to each other on this auspicious day. The joyous meeting, the rare family get-together, that erstwhile feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood calls for a massive celebration. 

For everyone, it is an opportunity to reunion and celebrate. People also share tasty dishes, wonderful sweets and exchange gifts. It is a time to share their past experiences also. For those who are not able to meet each other, rakhi cards and e-rakhis and rakhis through mails perform the part of communicating the rakhi messages. Hand made rakhis and self-made rakhi cards are just representation of the personal feelings of the siblings.

src : www.wikipedia.org


Friday, March 29, 2013

Happy Holi !!


Happy Holi once again to one and all.

It was great to see you all at the Holi and potluck event and we would also like to thank everybody for the delicacies prepared.

Memories stay afresh and so are pictures which revive them.

So Please find below some of the colorful pictures taken today which promise to get a smile on your lips any day.. :)







                                                                                                        :: Thanks to Sandy for Photographs

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

ISA 2013 Elections


ISA 2013 Elections

Its time for us (the current ISA Core team) to bid adieu and hand over the roles and responsibilities to a new team. This year, we would have our elections in between then end of Feb - beginning week of march based on Dr. Midha's schedule (we would inform you about the date) We encourage you to send your nominations for the Core posts by emailing us at isa.drishti@gmail.com. The last day to apply would be 25th Feb 2013 when the clock strikes 12 at midnight! Please email a brief write up about you (we need your name for sure), the post you are interested in, any previous experience related to the post and the reason for your interest. Just to remind you all, the following posts are open -

President (currently Kashyap Uppuluri)
Treasurer (currently Raja Chegu)
General Secretary (currently Subadhra Janardhanan)
Event Manager (currently Arvind Subramanian)
Sports Secretary (currently Pradeep Addagatla)
Public Relations Officer (currently Prajakta Govardane)
Web Adminstrator (currently me!)

If you have any queries related to the tasks carried our by each role, please feel free to contact the current Core Team directly or email us at isa.drishti@gmail.com.

--ISA Drishti

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Happy Republic Day!


India celebrated its 62nd Republic Day on 26th January 2013 to honor the Constitution of India.


Happy Republic Day


Sunday, January 13, 2013

Happy Sankranthi


Historically, Sankranthi is the transmigration of the sun from one Rashi to the other. It is considered as the Indian New Year and is celebrated as a major harvest festival to mark the arrival of the sun and the end of winter. It is celebrated differently in different places but the most common celebration in most states is flying kites. Lohri is celebrated in the northern part of India to mark the end of winter by dancing and playing around a fire.