Kick off the negativity!

Unhappiness is part of life. Many of us do not accept this fact and choose to blame either fate or God for it. Yes, even for me it was difficult to accept at first, but the period of unhappiness, if wisely utilized can bring about positive changes in a person.

There are so many things in life to be unhappy and frustrated about. But if you carefully sit to make a list, you would find that good things rule your life. Whenever you feel odd and worthless, think of what you have in life and not of what you don’t have. As Buddha rightly said that desire is the cause for sufferings, try to let go your desire of anything. Try to reach your goals and get what you want, but never let it be an obsession…life is not just about achieving high standards and getting the best. 

All I learnt in my time of dullness is that a problem isn’t problem until you see it as one. And the most effective ways that I learnt to tackle with bad times are:

1.       When you have an argument, listen first, take a break, and then decide. As said in Kung fu Panda movie, you cannot reach a good decision when your mind is agitated. 

2.     If you do not find anything interesting in life and you find symptoms of depression growing inside you, then you better switch on the television and watch Friends or How I Met Your Mother, or any other funny series and not some saas bahu family serials. They tend to depress you more.

3.      Read inspirational and spiritual books and quotes. These may help you go on plus may validate some of you past actions and provide you with a sense of peace and integrity and raise your self confidence.

4.      Get closer to your parents. Sometimes it’s difficult, but parents are those people who forgive their child’s mistakes sooner or later…sometimes I think their heart was made out of the same material that makes God. Getting closer to them and helping them may give you an immense satisfaction. Plus it will be easy for you to tell them your problems and convince about something, and they too will find it easy to do the same.

5.      Look at bad times as an opportunity to improve and realize your mistake. Thank God for protecting you from worse things that might have happened. Know that God can tackle all your mistakes all you need to do is believe in him and let him work his way. Give him time, and teach yourself patience. 

Rafting at Sattari

Experience the thrills and spills of white water rafting at Sattari

Goa has taken a major step towards marketing itself as a 365-day holiday destination with its recently commissioned white water rafting activity in the emerald environs of Sattari drawing a number of locals, Indian and international tourists.

Getting to the starting point of the white water course sees adventurers walking through the hamlet of Ustem in Nagargao village and settling by the river bank where Pollard issues instructions and safety tips before the adventure begins.

Adventure sport enthusiasts are provided with rafts, paddles, life jackets and have a trained guide aboard each raft accompanying them. After going through the rules and regulations, Pollard also insists that volunteers from the group jump into the water to simulate an emergency situation. Once that is done with, its time to cast away the moorings as adventurers have to negotiate a series of rapids including one aptly named 'Big Daddy'. If the thrill of the ride is not enough, one can also savour the pristine environs of the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary, and if one is lucky enough, even spot a wild animal or two.

On the way, the rafters are allowed to dive into the waters where the flow is much stable. The nine kilometer ride takes about 90 minutes and concludes at Sonal where one has to make their way back to the main road either by their own transport or one hired from the organizers.

At present, the facility is available through booking which can be done only through GTDC, either directly at one of its residencies, at its offices or online. Currently, two trips are offered per day; the first one at 11am and the second one at 2pm. The facility will continue till October 15. For villagers of Ustem, this is a totally new experience and locals too assemble on the banks of the Mhalshekar Puran to watch the adventure sports.

The Menezes Braganza Pereira house

The Menezes Braganza Pereira house is located at the Chandor Village in Goa. It is known to be more than 350 years old and is situated near the church square in Chandor. This mansion is the most exquisite heritage house in the countryside, the biggest in Goa and also has a Portuguese style facade. It is a museum of chandeliers, painting, porcelain, crystal, period furniture and other antique items.

According to family history, in the 17th century A.F.S. Braganza Pereira was representing Goa under the Portuguese government as a vice consul general in Spain. He was gifted the land by the king of Portugal, Don Luiz on which the mansion is now located. Later after a few generations, the house was divided into two equal halves as it was inherited by two sisters in the family. It was named after their husbands - Menezes Braganza (west wing) and Braganza Pereira (East wing) and is still inhabited by descendants of the two families.

The Portuguese style outer facade that gives entry to both wings of the mansion with 24 windows is the longest in Goa. The house made up of laterite has a garden with mosaic seats, tables and fountains. A nail of St. Francis Xavier is held by the Petite Chapel that is still used in the Braganza Periera House. Two chairs bearing the coat of arms gifted by the Portuguese king are there in the huge ballroom.

Mahashivratri-Great Night of Lord Shiva

                                                      Mahashivratri-Great Night of Lord Shiva

By Shambhavi Parsekar

Mahashivratri is an auspicious and important festival of Hindus, especially for the devotees of Lord Shiva who celebrate the religious festival with great enthusiasm. The Mahashivratri festival, also much popular as 'Shivratri' or 'Great Night of Lord Shiva', is observed on the 13th night/14th day in the Krishna Paksha every year on the month of Phalguna or Maagh according to the Hindu calendar. Devotees on Mahashivratri throng to temples and holy shrines to offer prayers and please Lord Shiva. Like each year, Mahashivratri 2013 was celebrated on Sunday, March 10 by decorating the Shiv temples in colourful ways. 

According to Hindu mythology, Mahashivratri is Lord Shiva's favourite day. Devotees on this day remain on fast or perform hour long spiritual meditation by following rituals to commemorate Mahashivratri and be blessed with grace. In the early morning, they visit temples to offer cold water, milk and bael leaves on the Lingam, a symbol for the worship of Lord Shiva, after properly cleaning it. Many sadhus on Maha Shivratri visit shrines and offer marijuana to worshipers to spread the significance of the festival. Wearing a garland made from rudraksha and applying turmeric vermilion or holy ash on forehead symbolizes a holy ritual on this religious festival. Holy mantras are also recited and special puja ceremonies are held throughout the night to celebrate Shivratri. 

Numerous interesting and intriguing mythological stories are believed pertaining to the celebration to Mahashivratri. In a version, devotees believe that Shivratri is auspicious because it marks the marriage ceremony of Lord Shiva and Parvati. However, many believe that Mahashivratri signifies the auspicious night when Lord Shiva performed the dance 'Tandava' that led to the creation, conservation and devastation of the universe. 

Mahashivratri is not only one of the magnificent festivals in India but also in Nepal and other regions where Lord Shiva is worshipped. Among the various popular shrines, Amarnath temple pilgrimage or Mount Amarnath (about 140 km from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir) is believed to be the holiest in Hinduism. Surrounded by fascinating mountainous terrains and picturesque snowy mountains this shrine remains crowded by pilgrims throughout the year especially on Mahashivratri. 

For women, Mahashivratri is an auspicious festival. They observe fast and offer prayers both to Lord Shiva and Parvati to shower their grace with a peaceful and blissful married life. 

Amid celebrations, to share the excitement and spread the essence of the Mahashivratri festival people send inspirational Mahashivratri SMS and lovely Mahashivratri messages to their dear ones. The collection of Mahashivratri SMS gives individuals the privilege just to say 'Happy Shivratri' or to mark Shivratri 2013 as a special occasion.

The Blame Game -how to succeed in it

One day they will say a girl should not be born in the first place. Her presence sets so many things in motion. Men lose restraint, they are ‘provoked’ to commit heinous crimes which in turn points out the leniency of the authorities and then the laws are rendered useless…! Such a complication she is!

The suspect lawyer’s points of defence in the Delhi rape case of December 2012 deserve a huge round of applause. Fortunately or unfortunately he has never heard a case wherein a respectable lady has been raped. "Until today I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady. Even an underworld don would not like to touch a girl with respect." says Sharma. One can see how much knowledgeable he is about the psyche of underworld dons. One wonders how. That apart, one would certainly want to ask him his definition of ‘respectable lady’. Aruna Shanbag, Soumya, Manorama, have to be then considered mediocre. He should probably share his ‘respectable’ views with the people so that they can decide for themselves whether they are ‘respectable’ or not.

Further he made a crucial point. Unmarried couple should not be in the streets at night. True indeed. Married couples carry the licence with them to move about at night. The mangalsutra is believed to possess powers, thanks to the inputs from the television soaps. But what about the middle aged married lady who was raped in a moving bus (as if they took the cue from the Delhi rapists) somewhere in Middle India? Something wrong with gold may be. Adulterated, perhaps. For that too women must be responsible. They should not order so many gold ornaments as to lessen the power of that one important wedding necklace. 

The best is yet to come. The victim’s male companion is, according to ‘respected’ Mr. Sharma wholly responsible for the incident- failed in his duty to protect the woman. Women of India, this is indeed a grave situation. That one man, who was supposed to be our saviour, has been defeated. The six ‘respectable’ men in the bus who lost control seeing an un’respectable’, unmarried lady had altogether other duties, protecting women being certainly not one of them. Their duty was perhaps  testing the strength of the superman who failed and on his fall, to test his mental strength of bearing the pain of his defeat. 

Loyalty to the profession of law cannot acquire anymore heights beyond this. Duties-responsibilities evidence-buck-controversy-notoriety-blah-blah-blah. Forget the Truth. That is God’s lookout. Since when did humanism become God’s business? Certainly God would not have humane elements, because he is divine. Thank God for that. That he is not human. 

Most sexual assault cases in India do not come to fore because of this perspective. For pure egotistic satisfactions, the blame becomes a ‘passing-the-parcel’ game until the victim herself is left with it. And sometimes this proves more painful than the act itself. Nirbhaya’s soul, wherever it is, must be tossing in pain. Her male companion, unfortunately, will have to endure this pain for his lifetime and thereafter. But those who blame it on the innocent, how far will they run away from all this? When a human fails in his duty to respect another human, he or she will face the trial sooner or later. It would be much easier to run the trials in court and outside the court humanely, so that it will be much simpler to plead Not Guilty before the Divine.

MAHASHIVRATRI: A FESTIVAL OF RELIGIOUS FEVER

Mahashivratri is a  festival in Goa that is celebrated with great devotion and religious fervor by Hindus, in honor of Lord Shiva who has traditionally been worshipped by tribal communities. It is celebrated on the 14th day of the Maagha    or Phalguna month of the Hindu calendar.

Shivratri literally means night of Shiva and according to legend it marks the night when lord Shiva performed the "Tandava". On the festival day, devotees fast day and night and worship Shiva Lingam, to appease Lord Shiva.

According to Hindu mythology, Mahashivratri is Lord Shiva's favourite day. On the day devotees wake up early in the morning and visit the nearest Shiva temple, to offer cold water, milk and bael leaves on the Lingam, a symbol for the worship of Lord Shiva, after properly cleaning it. The worship continues the full          day    and    night.

At some of the temples, Jaagran or nightlong vigil might be observed in which the devotees sing hymns and devotional songs, in praise of Lord Shiva. They break their fast in the morning by partaking the prasad offered after the aarti, the  night before.

In Goa, Mahashivratri celebrations can be best seen at the Shiroda and Ramnath temple both in ponda also at sanguem, Harvalem, Kavlem and Mangesh Temples.

Exam Season

                                Exam Season

By Shambhavi Parsekar
It’s March and the air is getting thick with early jitters and apprehensions that run high this time of the year. Those affected by this season’s demands are the young, freedom loving, studies avoiding, idealistic persons we call students. And those tormented even more are their office-going, responsibility-driven, parents with ever rising expectations.

Nothing is ever enough in this exam crazy, percentage hungry system of ours. To get the best, you have to be better than the best. Even if it doesn’t make sense, there’s no time to stop and think. The mantra is: perform or perish. And so we march into the maddening exam season.
But we have to learn to relax. I know this sounds crazy, especially when you are trying to figure out complex derivatives, memorise never ending lines of dates and achieve breakneck speeds at writing answers. But too much pressure will surely get you negative results. Exam season need not be all about burning the midnight oil and having nerves on edge. It can be turned into a positive, fulfilling experience. An experience that can be life enriching and equip children to deal with tough situations later in life.
The most important thing about answering an exam is planning. First plan how you want to go about studying. Then plan how you would like to answer the paper. The first step in planning is to know your strengths and weaknesses. Then according to the time frame at your disposal, always devote more time to weaknesses. This is the only way they can be turned into strengths. But when answering the exam, always begin with your strengths, and keep tougher sections for later. More than half the work is done with proper, carefully considered planning.
Another part that goes together with planning is goal-setting. Planning is not complete without a measurable goal. It shouldn’t be abstract, vague or unrealistic, or else it becomes unattainable. And if it’s unachievable then you lose motivation, and it results in stress and negative thinking. It always helps to break down a bigger goal into micro goals, and reward yourself when you achieve them. Breaking down the entire history syllabus into micro goals, like completing chapters within specific time frames, will help you learn the entire subject and feel good about it.
It’s always better to understand and learn. But there are certain areas like formulae and dates which you have to just commit to memory. Using mnemonic devices and revising everyday ensure an impeccable recall when it’s needed most. The human attention span is around thirty minutes. So it’s important to take short breaks in between when you get tired of studying. The best method to determine your attention span is to notice when your mind starts wandering. This happens when you are just staring at the text or blindly reading text without understanding or processing the material. This means it’s time for a break. But don’t let the break be too long or else they will defeat the purpose.
Always make time for relaxing. Watching TV and playing computer games are not always the best option when studying as they are addictive and strain the eyes. Some physical activity or social interactions give a mental break. This refreshes the mind and improves concentration and memory. Avoid any medications that promise to make you smarter or boost memory. Believing in yourself and your abilities and working hard are more reliable ways of improving performance. Remember, when it comes to exams, it’s always better to keep a cool head and positive attitude.