korng di muang nara festival

Thai performers are seen in traditional costumes during ' korng di muang nara festival' in Thailand's restive southern Narathiwat province on September 24. Normality of life is regularly shattered in this Muslim-majority region on the Malaysian border, due to an ongoing separatist insurgency with the toll of around 3,900 people who have died in a five-year insurgency.

Dussehra

Sonia Gandhi (L) puts tilak on the forehead of an actor dressed as Lord Rama during the Hindu festival of Dussehra in New Delhi

India's United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government Chairman Sonia Gandhi lights a lamp during the Hindu festival of Dussehra in New Delhi . Dussehra, which is celebrated at the end of the Navratri (nine nights) festival, symbolises the victory of good over evil in Hindu mythology. On the night of Dussehra fire-cracker stuffed effigies of demon king Ravana are set ablaze across the country.

Navratri

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt (L) and his wife Manyata stand to receive guests for the "Navratri" festival prayers at their residence in Mumbai  The festival, which is held in honour of Hindu Goddess Durga, is celebrated over a period of nine days where thousands of youth dance the night away in traditional costumes.

Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty (L) and his wife Mana arrive to attend the "Navratri" festival prayers at the residence of actor Sanjay Dutt in Mumbai

Holy Bath

Indian Hindu women bathe a child as they take a holy dip in the river water at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers, in Allahabad Sangam is one of Hinduism's most important centers where thousand of devotees gather to perform rituals throughout the year.

Kerala church in hosts iftar party

An ancient church in Kerala became the perfect setting for communal harmony, hosting an iftar party

The iftar was organised in St. Mary's Forane church Athirampuzha.




St: Mary's Forane Church, Athirampuzha ,Kottayam

Janamashtmi

the Kumari

People present the Kumari, or the main "living goddess", to the public for display and worship during the Indrajatra festival in Kathmandu September 3, 2009. Nepal's Newar community began celebrating the Hindu festival of Indrajatra with the worship of the Kumari and the god of rain, Lord Indra.















Reuters Pictures 

Nepal hit by severe goat shortage

The authorities in Nepal have ordered officials to find more goats for ritual slaughter ahead of the country's biggest religious festival of the year.

Officials say that there is a severe shortage of goats to offer as sacrifice in the capital Kathmandu.

The reason for the shortage is unclear, but experts say it is mostly due to demand outstripping supply.

They say that it may be because China has this year exported fewer goats to Nepal, resulting in far higher prices.

The Nepal Food Corporation has now ordered officials to travel to the countryside and buy goats to be brought to Kathmandu ahead of the festival of Dashain on 19 September.

Goats are traditionally slaughtered during the 15-day event to appease Durga, an important Hindu goddess.

source:BBC

Ganesh Chaturthi festival

Hindu devotees carry a statue of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh on a bullock cart during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai,The idols are immersed into oceans or rivers at the end of the ten day long festival that celebrates the birth of Ganesh








Devotees carry a statue of the Hindu elephant god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, for immersion in the sea on the last day of "Ganesh Chaturthi" in Mumbai . Clay statues of Ganesh are made two to three months before the day of "Ganesh Chaturthi", a popular religious festival in India. The idols are taken through the streets in a procession accompanied by dancing and singing, to be immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off of his journey towards his abode in "Kailash", while taking away with him the misfortunes of all mankind






Indian Hindu devotees gather with large statues of the elephant-headed Hindu God Ganesh, before immersing them in the Arabian Sea, on the final day of the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi in Mumbai, India








A Hindu carries a statue of the Hindu god Ganesh for immersion into the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival









source:boston

Ramadan

A boy holds candy in his hand as he reads the Quran in a mosque during Ramadan, in Amman, Jordan











A boy sells dates in Amman, Jordan

BAL KRISHNA AT SCHOOL

BAL KRISHNA AT SCHOOL: A mother and her child dressed as Krishna arrive for Janmasthami celebrations organised by a play group on Thursday





source :Timesofindia

Thiruvannamalai temple

The structure of the temple well planned and built. It has seven prakaras and Nine great Towers. The Eastern tower was built by the King Krishnadevaraya in the Fifteenth Centuary. This tower is called 'Raja Gopuram' it is 217 feet high and was built with stone.

The area of the Temple is 25 acres. It has two big tanks, one as 'Brhamma Theertam' and 'Siva Ganga Theertam'. It has also the 'Thousand Pillar Mantapam' which has thousand pillars in it.

Builders and Contributers :

The temple was built by many kings on several periods. The first two prakaras was the oldest one and built by the oldest and first Pandiyan Kings. Then the Chola Kingsand Pandiyan Kings built the other prakaras. Later in the Thirteenth centuary the 'Hoysala Kings' from Karnataka built some small sannadhis and prakaras in the temple.

The Eastern tower was built by the King 'Krishnadevaraya'. So the temple has 'Stone Scripts' of olden Tamil,Telugu and Kannada. But most of the 'Stone Scripts' were in 'Grantha'-a form of sanskrit language.

Kerala church revels in twin joys

A church believed to have been built in the 9th century in the memory of two Italian saints, who were twin brothers, in Kerala’s Kottayam district is paying tributes to them in a unique way: by inviting twins to pray at the altar.
As many as 151 twins gathered at the church in Kothanalloor on the occasion of a feast for the saints—St Gervasis and St Prothasis— last month. “The annual festivities spread over 10 days in June are to invoke the blessings of the twin saints. They are the patron saints of the church,’’ says vicar Joesph Puthenpura.
The first event took place two years ago when the church realised that there were at least 55 twins in the 702 Catholic families in the diocese. “We asked the parishioners if they would want to invite twins from other places. They welcomed it,’’ says Puthenpura. The first gathering in 2007 attracted 35 twins. The number went up to 96 the next year. There were also three triplets this year.
There is a touch of twins to every ritual. Twin fathers conduct the special mass, twin sisters lead the choir and twins lead the festival procession. “The oldest to attend the event this year were 82-year-old twins with the same name as the patron saints, Gervasis and Prothasis. There was also a female pair by the name Gervasia and Prothasia, both 18-year-old nursing students,’’ the vicar reminisced. The youngest participants were twins born on June 19 this year. As they were born during the festival, their parents named them after the patron saints.