Why starve while fasting when you can feast on these nutritious goodies?
'Perhaps the greatest curse that modern technology has inflicted on the people during the pujas is powerful public address systems that blare out songs which you have no option but to listen to,' says Subir Roy.
The Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, an NGO in the heart of Kolkata's red light district, has decided to celebrate Durga Puja, reports Indrani Roy/Rediff.com.Speaking to Indrani Roy/Rediff.com, the sex workers say that they want to get rid of ostracisation and be allowed to celebrate Durga Puja just as others do.
Rediff.com lists a few temples that shun tradition and prefer a rather unusual look. Here are some of the world's most bizarre places of worship.
'Genuine secularism cannot be built on the backs of Hindus alone.' 'In a pluralistic society every religion is duty bound to respect the rights and sentiments of the others.' 'Vande Mataram was a casualty of minorityism. Bharat Mata Ki Jai cannot be allowed to go the same way,' says Vivek Gumaste.
On Thursday, Indrani will be obligated to change into the green uniform sari she receives visitors in, as per jail rules, and meet the gentlemen from the income tax department. She may also at some point on Thursday video conference with Delhi in the INX Media-Karti Chidambaram case where she might become an approver.
Accusing Narendra Modi of using religion for canvassing by putting out Lord Ram's portrait in the backdrop at his Faizabad rally, Congress on Monday approached Election Commission demanding registration of an FIR against him and other party leaders as well as derecognition of BJP.
'My aim is that the message from our ancient texts reach the younger generation of Indians.' 'The trouble is that our literature is in Sanskrit and scientists don't know the language. And the people who know Sanskrit they don't know science.'
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
Celebrations in Mutharamman Temple in Kulasekharapattinam, a coastal town in Tamil Nadu, have devotees visit the temple in an avatar of their choice. They could be dressed as kings or beggars, monkeys or demons, but the more popular is different forms of the Devi.
Tarun Vijay visits 20 Durga Puja pandals in five towns in Bangladesh and comes back impressed.
If the wave has become a tsunami, why is the BJP's prime ministerial candidate playing safe by polarising voters along communal lines, asks Bharat Bhushan.
'The Goddesses were a good example to depict how women were looked upon with so much respect which has gradually vanished somewhere.' 'People don't think or believe that whom they are worshipping are like the real women in their lives.'
It took Gour Hari Das three decades to wrangle out a certificate recognising his work as a freedom fighter. His struggle is now the subject of a film
Navratri celebrations in Chennai are not only about Golu dolls, Saraswathi Puja or Ayudha Puja. These days, Durga Puja and Dandiya Raas too are regular events in the city, reports S Saraswathi.
A look at few gurus who have attracted controversy in recent times.
'She was just a little girl. She didn't understand religion. Who is Hindu, who is Muslim.' 'She was just 8! Why punish her?' The family of the eight-year-old girl who was gang-raped and murdered in Jammu's Kathua district say everything has changed since that horrific crime.
You'll see that there's more to the state than just its forts and havelis!
The charm of Kolkata is still alive says Sumit Ganguli.
'It is a diamond which has a very long competitive history.'
Rediff.com's Indrani Dey digs up chilling details of the ongoing investigation in the Bardhaman blast case, which exposed the a militant network that had been operating in West Bengal since many years.
Twenty-year-old Sheetal Jain is the daughter of a bar dancer and grew up in Mumbai's red light district. She is now in the US pursuing a course in drumming
The India that needs strategic alliances, defence cooperation and engaging meaningfully with neighbouring countries is quietly moving ahead with confidence, says Tarun Vijay
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