Voyage Vedas

  Nivasaa - A Resort in Lap of Nature :- It was end of August 2021, I was on my customary visit to Dehradun, that is when we first heard of Nivasaa . Probably the tagline for the Resort says it all  Nivasaa, The Nature's home . We heard that it is place in midst of the forest where people can go and relax. The place is not far off from Dehradun. One can come over to this place for a day or can also plan to stay in the Swiss Tents available in the complex. Anyways we were keen to explore the place.  Nivasaa - A Resort in Lap of Nature Nivasaa Location : Nivasaa is not too far from the center of Dehradun. It is ahead of Raipur on the Thano road. It is on the way towards the Airport via Thano, few kilometers ahead of the Dehradun International Stadium. It probably takes around 30 minutes to reach Nivasaa from Dehradun. The entrance to the place is off the main road. One has to do a bit of off-roading for around 600 meters to reach Nivasaa . It is a sort of a dirt track that takes

Festivities of my Childhood - Part4 : Until now I gave a description of how we used to celebrate festivals as a community affair. I shared my memories of Holi during my Childhood (Read  here ). I talked of the fun and frolic we had during Durga Puja (Navratri) and Dussehra (Read  here ). I also shared the memories of all the festivities during Diwali (Read here ). In continuation I share remembrances of few more festivals. Krishna Janmashtami : Janmashtami or Krishna Janmashtami , the birthday of Lord Krishna was celebrated with a lot of religious activities. People celebrate fasting, singing and praying together in Temples. I remember kids used to prepare " Jhankis " (Tableau) depicting various life incidences of Lord Krishna. I remember there was a Shiv Mandir near our house which used to celebrate Janmashtami with a lot of religious fanfare. The Mandir was decorated with a lot of Jhankis . At midnight Janam Utsav  (festival of birth) was celebrated. Later Durga Mandir,

Festivities of my Childhood - Part3 :- Until now I gave a description of how we used to celebrate festivals as a community affair. I shared my memories of Holi during my Childhood (Read  here ). I talked of the fun and frolic we had during Durga Puja (Navratri) and Dussehra (Read here ). In continuation I share remembrances of few more festivals. Diwali : Diwali is the festival of lights that is celebrated few days after Dussehra. Diwali is a festival extended for 4-5 days. Starting from Dhanteras the festivities go on till Bhai Dooj (Bhaiya Dooj). As kids we would light candles and earthen Diyas to illuminate our house. This was the festival we as kids celebrated for a week of fortnight. As kids we would start igniting fire crackers 7-15 days in advance. Daily we would play with various kinds of fire crackers until Diwali when we lighted and exhausted all of our fire crackers. I remember us burning fire crackers, rockets anaars , charkhi , fire rail, rolls in steel pistols etc. It

  Festivities of my Childhood - Part2 :- Until now I gave a description of how we used to celebrate festivals as a community affair. I shared my memories of Holi during my Childhood (Read here ). In continuation I share remembrances of few more festivals. Durga Puja or Navratri : We used to celebrate Navratri twice in a year. It was the Navratri after monsoon, in the months of September or October (Sharada Navratri), that used to be the observed with lot of festivities. This is the time when Devi Durga is worshipped. The Festivities continue for 9 nights (10 Days). On each day a incarnation (form) of Devi Durga is worshipped. People be on fast on all the 9 days, many people keep fast on specific days as well. On 8th day Kanjika Pujan is done. On this day small girls are invited to homes and are worshipped as a form of Devi Durga. People give them food and other items (including money) as Dakshina (gift), symbolizing a Dakshina given to the Goddess. The little girls visit few houses