Durga Puja – The Annual Hindu Festival

Durga Puja which is sometimes referred to as the ‘Durgotsava’ is an auspicious Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Durga. It is one of the popular festivals in states like Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, Bangladesh and Assam.

As per the Hindu calendar month, the famous festival falls each year during the month of September or October. During the course of this major event, the temples are beautifully adorned with flowers, setting up of pandals followed by stage performances, processions and scripture recitation etc.

Durga Puja celebrates the victory of Goddess Durga in annihilating the demon Mahishasura. It symbolizes the good over evil. The date of Durga Puja festival which coincides with Vijayadashami commemorates similar traditions of Hindu community. During this day, the statues of demon Ravana are burned.

Durga Puja is one of the major festivals which are celebrated for a period of about ten days during the month of Ashvina (September-October). Ashvina is the seventh month of Hindu calendar which is commemorated in states like Bengal and Assam,

The Days of Durga Puja

The first day of Durga Puja is termed as the ‘Mahalaya’ which denotes the arrival of Goddess Durga. The celebrations commence during the sixth day ‘Sasthi’. During the successive three days, the goddess is worshipped in three major forms namely ‘Durga’, ‘Lakshmi’ and ‘Saraswathi’. The whole celebration comes to an end during the tenth day ‘Vijaya Dashami’. On this day, processions are held where idols and effigies are immersed into the water.

Durga Puja is indeed one of the popular festivals of West Bengal and other parts of Eastern India. The people actively take part in the celebrations to experience optimum fun, zest and gaiety. In addition, they can take advantage of the shopping sale that provides attractive discounts and rebates on a diverse range of items.

The festival comprises of Shasthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Nabami, Maha Ashtami. The final day of the festival is termed as Bijoya Dashami in which immersion of idol Durga is executed. It is during this day where people begin to share greetings amongst each other to express their love and affection.

Durga Puja Shopping and Celebration

People of all ages wear brand new costumes and head straight towards the shopping mall. Numerous Durga Puja’s is organized all over the city of Kolkata and various other cities located at West Bengal. The decorations are subject to themes and cultural traditions. Durga Puja festival is one of the finest examples of rich culture and heritage.

During this day, the majority of the educational institutions, workplaces and business organizations are shut down to commemorate Durga Puja festival. Colleagues, family, friends and relatives mutually exchange gifts to express their concern you can also send Durga puja gifts to India with our website. Even corporate firms and business organizations bestow gifts to their employees as a token of love and indication of goodwill.

Most of multi-cuisine restaurants and hotels provide attractive discounts on accommodation to entice people during this auspicious occasion. Both local residents and inbound tourist throng the streets to munch on authentic Bengali cuisines and similar dishes.

Diwali – The Festival of Lights

‘Diwali’ or in other words ‘Deepavali’ is referred to as the Festival of Lights which is celebrated all over India. The festival falls each year during the month of October and Hindu month of Kartika Masam. It is a series of lighted lamps which is observed with optimum fun, joy and gaiety. During this auspicious occasion, people light up the entire property with ‘Diyas’ (oil lamp). They offer prayers to Lord Ganesha and Goddess Maha Laxmi to promote welfare, prosperity, wisdom and wealth.

Deepavali is considered to be one of the popular festivals of the Hindu community. It is declared as an official holiday in countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Mauritius and Malaysia. People begin to send Diwali gifts to India to express their affection and love towards their fellow beings.

Diwali is commemorated to indicate the return of Lord Rama after fourteen years of exile. The auspicious event represents the triumph of light over darkness. According to the Gregorian calendar, the festival falls during the month of mid-October and mid-November. Prior to the commencement of the main event, people begin to clean, renovate and decorate the property, workplaces. On the final day, the celebrants are spotted wearing the finest costumes and offering prayers to Lord Ganesha and Goddess Maha Laxmi. The celebration extends for a period of about four days.

Origin of Diwali

Diwali traces its roots back to the ancient times. It was considered to be a harvest festival during those periods. In West Bengal, the auspicious event is dedicated to Mother Kali who is regarded as the Goddess of strength. The first day symbolizes the victory of Lord Krishna in vanquishing the demon Naraka. The second day (Amavasya) represents offering prayers to Goddess Maha Lakshmi. It narrates the story of Lord Maha Vishnu who defeated the cruel and oppressive ruler of Bali and sends him to hell. However, Bali is permitted to visit the planet Earth once in a year to disseminate love and wisdom.

The third day which is Kartika Shudda Padyami signifies that Bali comes out from the hell and rule the planet Earth. The final and fourth day is Yama Dvitiya where the sisters request their brothers to visit the homes. The age-old tradition of gambling during this festival has a hidden legend. There is a common belief amongst the people that Goddess Parvati involved in playing dice with her partner. She proclaimed that whoever gambled during this major event would attain wealth, prosperity and wisdom throughout the year.

Importance of Lights and Crackers

Both interiors and exteriors are illuminated with lights and firecrackers. The sound of crackers indicates joy, the enthusiasm of the people living on the planet Earth. The fumes exuded from the firecrackers are believed to exterminate insects such as mosquitoes.
Diwali is a major event where changes are made for the forthcoming year.

9 Surprising and Interesting Facts About Flowers to Know

Some of you might already know and some of you will just learn today, you will never know enough of fun facts on the flower. Not just do flowers give us emotional and visual well-being, but they also have an amazing history and appeal. Let us dive right into these beautiful flower facts. Here’re some strange facts about flowers, both the rare breeds and one we see quite often.

  1. Tulips Make an Amazing Salad

    Many varieties of the tulip have got edible petals and also make amazing salad ingredients. Colorful, peppery and crisp; they will brighten up your lunch and add some exotic twist in your evening snacks.

  2. Tulip Bulbs are Substituted for Onions

    But, it is very important to make sure you use only fresh bulbs that have not been exposed to any pesticides, or your culinary adventures might not taste very good.

  3. The Largest Flower on Earth is… the Smelliest

    Growing up to 10 feet high and 3 feet wide, Titan Arums is the largest flower on Earth. However, it has not really become the household hit because of the fact that flower smells like the rotting flesh.

  4. Roses Have Connection To Fruit and Almonds 

    Roses share an amazing link with apples, almonds, cherries, raspberries, plums, peaches, pears, and nectarines. Rose has what is called rose hips that are the berry fruit in certain roses. The rose hips can be used for making jellies and teas as they’re loaded with Vitamin.

  5. Smell Chocolate in Flowers 

    Do you think flowers cannot get more miraculous then check out Chocolate Cosmos? And these beautiful and dark burgundy flowers exactly smell like chocolate. Just amazing! Some other varieties of the flowers that smell like chocolate include:
    • Black Salsify
    • Orchid Chocolate
    • Chocolate Mint
    • Daisy Chocolate

  6. Saffron is From Crocus Flowers 

    Probably you have seen saffron on the supermarket shelves; however, do you know this most expensive product is harvested from crocuses?

  7. Dandelions are Filled with Nutrients

    Do you know that just one cup of the dandelion greens gives 7,000 to 13,000 IU of vitamin? Not very bad for any plant that some people think as a weed.

  8. Bamboos also Produce Flowers 

    You would have never thought of bamboos as the flowering plants; however, they do make flowers few years. Whenever they do, flowers of same species bloom at the same time.

  9. Get sleep with Gerbera Daisies 

    Suppose you want to better night’s sleep, you can place some gerbera daisies close to your bed. They emit oxygen and will absorb toxins and carbon monoxide during the night, it is said to be very helpful for anybody who is suffering from the sleep apnea.

Final Word

Whereas not every flower is fragrant and beautiful, some flowers also have evolved to be the highly strangest of ways to ensure survival. 'Corpse flower', named because of the putrefying smell of the decaying animal flesh grows on the plant that is very small. To attract insects and bugs this flower became bigger and smellier and attracts pollinators to reproduce efficiently.

Send Unique Teacher’s Day Gifts Online to Make Him Feel Special

On every 5th of September, India celebrates Teacher’s Day to commemorate the birthday of Dr. S Radhakrishnan. The former President of India, Dr. S Radhakrishnan was a great diplomat, educationist and a scholar. Teacher’s Day is the day to spend time with your teachers, show respect and gratitude by way of gifts. On this day, all the schools organize cultural programs and dance shows to appreciate and honor teachers. The day is perfect to appreciate the hard work that the teachers put up for the entire year. Indeed, the future of young India lies in the hands of teachers. The lessons you are taught in the school have deep impact on your life. Teacher’s Day is the day for the teachers to relax and for the students to show how much they appreciate and honor the hard work put in by the teachers. You can offer a variety of gifts like personalized cards, photo frames, pens, notebooks, calendars to show your honor.

Look Online for The Gifts

With the advent of the internet, the process of gifting is simplified. You just need an internet connection to browse through the range of gifts available. There are hundreds of gift options among which choices can be made. Buying cards, gifts and other items are easier now with the advent of the internet. There are many shops and dealers online who supply a range of items. Buy Teacher’s Day gifts among the extensive range of items at affordable rates. If there is a lack of time to make it to the physical shop, choose an online shop for gift purchases.

Why to Send Gifts on Teacher’s Day?

It is rightly remarked that a good teacher is just like a candle who lights the path of the students while gets consumed in the meanwhile. Students are like flowers blossoming, maturing and evolving into the human being only with the help of a good teacher. A teacher only shows the right path after the parents. All those boring lectures that irritate you and restrict you from sending texts in the classroom are really valuable. If any teacher is inspiring and is known to make a great difference to the lives of students, you should give awesome gifts to him/her like flower bouquets, pens, chocolates, personalized coffee mug carrying his image or his favorite quotation. This will really make your teacher feel special, loved and cared.
Find a range of Teacher’s Day gift items online and place orders. There is no better way of thanking your teachers for all those efforts than beautiful gifts.