Hindu Culture

Unearthing of some objects, believed to be Stone Age tools, during excavation of a tank at a village nearby, has prompted the Visva Bharati University's archaeology department to seek assistance of the Archaeological Survey of India to unravel the mystery. "The scientific excavation is likely to throw new light on the possible existence of stone age people in this part of Bengal," sources in the university's archaeology department said. They said that the tools "bear similarity with those used by the Middle Paleolithic people some 40,000 years ago". Archaeology department head Subrata Chakraborty said that some moulded iron substances, circular in shape, were also found during excavation of the tank at Sekhampur village, near this sub-divisional town ofWest Bengal's Birbhum district. All these came to light last month when excavators, while carving out a tank from a water pool, came across the artefacts "believed to be stone age tools".   The artefacts consist of borers, scrapers and tools, which, according to the Visva-Bharati archaeologists, bear 'testimony' to the tools used in the Stone Age.   Chakraborty told PTI here that his department had examined the tools, but could not come to any conclusion about the period pending detailed inquiry by the ASI.   "After finding the specimens collected during excavation, we believe these have the features of Middle Paleolithic period," he said, suggesting wider excavation of the tank.   Chakraborty said after he had written a letter to the state's higher education minister Satyasadhan Chakraborty, which was later forwarded to the chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, state government sent a team of experts fromstate archaeological department to visit the site.   "However, report of that team is still awaited", he added.   Meanwhile, the district administration has taken steps to ensure that there is no further digging of the tank and, as such, the entire area has been cordoned off to ward off any undesirable elements from nearing it.

ASI sources in Kolkata were not available for comment on any new archaeological find in Birbhum.Article Source

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At first sight, the gravy coloured waters of the river Thames would seem to have little in common with the Ganges.But over the past two years, archaeologists from the Museum of London have been puzzling over seemingly well-preserved finds such as urns, wall plaques and statuettes of Hindu gods found along the foreshore. They initially thought the urns were Roman, since the Thames has given up everything from prehistoric axes and Viking swords to Roman curses and medieval pilgrim badges, which all bear witness to the peoples and cultures that have played their part in the capital's history. Yet according to Hindu priests, these latest artefacts are either ceremonialwater carriers used in purification ceremonies or containers for the ashes of dead relatives.

Soapstone and metal statuettes of the elephant god Ganesha and the monkey god Hanuman have been washed up from Bankside in the City right down river to the East End. Other objects include ghee lamps used during recent Diwali celebrations and an intricately painted copper Yantra plaque - a talisman to ward off evil spirits. Faye Simpson, community archaeologist at the Museum of London, believes the findings, which are currently on show at the Museum in Docklands, were either placed in the Thames in the hope that they would find their way back to the source waters of the Ganges, "or more likely the Thames has become a surrogate for the Ganges and has a religious significance of its own, and part of the spiritual life of Hinducommunities". But Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Great Britain, disagrees with the Museum of London's interpretation. When a household deity gets chipped or broken, Kallidai says, it cannot be used for worship and must be buried, burned or immersed in water. "I don't think [the river] is being used as a surrogate for the Ganges, which is specifically associated with many important events in the lives of Lord Krishna and Lord Rama. I think a lot of these artefacts are being disposed of in a sensitive way by being immersed in the river." Article Source

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Diwali (Deepavali) is the one Hindu festival that unites the whole of India. It is traditionally known as the "festival of lights", for the common practice is to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home, in courtyards, gardens, verandahs, on the walls built around the home and also on the roof tops.In cities, especially, candles are substituted for diyas; and among the riches, candles are made to substitute for fashionable and classy neon lights. The celebration of the festival is customarily accompanied by the exchange of sweets and the explosion of fireworks. Diwali(Deepavali) is an occasion for cheerfulness and togetherness.This is an occasion for young and the old, menand women, rich and poor - for everyone to celebrate.

Irrespective of their religious and economic background, the festival is celebrated throughout the country to ward off the darkness and welcome light into life as light is always associated with hope for the future. Deepavali is celebrated 20 days after Dussera, on Amavasya - the 15th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Ashwin (Aasho) in (Oct/ Nov) every year. Diwali celebrates Rama's homecoming, that is his return to Ayodhya after the defeat of Ravana and his coronation as king The legend related to the festival is that King Dashratha had three wives namely Kaushalaya, Keykayee and Sumitra and four sons Rama, Bharat, Laxmana and Shatrughan. Rama was the son of Queen Kaushalaya and Bharat was the son of Queen Keykayee.Keykayee wanted Bharat to be the next King of Ayodhya, while KingDasharatha wanted Rama, his eldest son to be the future King. Queen Keykayee made full use of the two wishes King Dasharatha had promised her earlier in life. Keykayee asked for sending Rama to exile for the period of fourteen years and to crown Bharat as the king, though Bharat refused to accept the kingship. During that time Lord Rama fought and won fierce battle in the southern part of the Indian sub-continent, killing the king of Demons, Ravana who had forcibly taken away his wife Sita. Deepavali marks his victorious return to his kingdom along with Hanuman, the Vanar who helped him in achieving success.The legend states it took 20 days for Rama to return to his kingdom after defeating Ravana. As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies many different things to people across the country. In north India, Deepavali celebrates Rama's homecoming from fourteen years of exile that is hisr......

Archaeologists say they have discovered the site of an ancient temple in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It is the latest in a series of archaeological discoveries in the area struck by December's tsunami, which desilted large areas of the coastline. The brick temple dates back more than 2,000 years to the late Tamil Sangam period and was discovered on the beachfront near Saluvankuppam, just north of a famous World Heritage site at Mahabalipuram.The discovery lends more weight to growing evidence that a huge tsunami hit the east coast of India during this period,obliterating large habitations along the coastline. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) made the discovery while looking for a 9th Century Pallava temple.

"The tsunami exposed inscriptions on a huge rock that had previously been protected as a site of importance," said T Satyamurthy of the ASI."These inscriptions dated back to 935 AD and said that Krishna the Third, from the Rashtrakuda Dynasty in Karnataka, had given gold to a temple to pay for keeping an eternal flame alight."This led us to dig further. Near the surface we found coins, pottery, stucco figurines and bronze lamps and so we knew there must be something more. Soon we discovered the remains of the 9th century Pallava temple."As they continued to excavate they came across the earlier Sangam temple. Thedistinctive shift from courses of brickwork to large granite slabs indicates the different periods."The Pallavas just built on the brick foundations left behind after the Sangam temple was levelled. The two periods are there, clear to see," said Dr Satyamurthy.Tsunami depositsBut it is the question of how these two temples were destroyed rather than their age that has fired the interest of the teams involved. Layers of sea shells and debris in the sand show that tsunami activity had twice levelled the temple complex."The Pallava structure was destroyed by waves some time in the 13th Century and evidence suggests that beneath it, we are looking at the remains of a brick temple that was destroyed by a tsunami approximately 2,200 years ago," said BadrinarayananS, a retired......