Eid-Ul-Fitr : The End of Ramadan

Eid-Ul-Fitr is a Muslim festival that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic Holy Month of Fasting. Eid is celebrated on 1^st day of Shawwal. Eid is an Arabic word which means celebrations where Fitr means to break the fast. Thus Eid-Ul-Fitr symbolizes breaking the fast and everything that is evil within us.

The Prayer of Eid-Ul-Fitr is:

Allaho-Akber, Allaho-Akber. La-illa-ha ill-lal-lah. Allaho-Akber, Allaho-Akber. Wa-lilahill hamd.

Which means:

Allah is great, Allah is great. There is no God but Allah. Allah is great, Allah is great. And all praises are for Allah.

 

A Poster on Eid-Ul-Fitr is made by me...

Olympics : A Unitary Platform for All the Players

Olympics is a big international fair of games of summer and winter. Thousands of players of different countries participated in different games. It schedules after every four years. In 776 B.C., Olympic Games held in Unan. After then, these games were stopped. In 1896, Baron Pierre de Coubertin made an international committee which organize Olympic Games under I.O.C. (International Olympic Committee).

I.O.C. decides when and where the Olympic Games will be held, which players of different countries will participate.

Olympics provide an unitary platform to every countries which makes the players close to one another. There are five circles in Olympics Logo. These five circles describes five Continents (Asia, America, Africa, Europe and Australia). There is a great significance of torch also in Olympics. This torch is burnt with the light of Sun in Europe and then this torch is sent to that country in which Olympics takes place. It continues to burn till Olympics ended.

Olympics 2012 started from July 27 to August 12 in London. These games were played in 1908 and 1948 also in London. 204 countries participated this year. It held in China in 2008 and Abhinav Bindra from India won a Gold Medal in Archery, Sushil Kumar in Wrestling and Vijendra Singh in Boxing won Silver Medals. More than 50 players and 16 players of Hockey of India qualified for different games this year. So Lets pray for best performance of Indian players.

International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking : Global Action for Healthy Communities without Drugs

26th June is observed worldwide as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The Theme for this year is Global Action for Healthy Communities without Drugs. Drug Abuse is now a growing concern. The youth in particular are the worst victims of this menace. Drug Abuse not only has an adverse effect on the user's physical and mental health but also poses a threat to social stability and family well-being.

Harmful Effects of Drug Abuse:

              Impaired health, Infectious Diseases, HIV/AIDS

              Absence from School/College

              Loss of Job/Income

              Possible Death due to frustration or ill health

       Drug addicts may commit crimes like Theft, Rape, Murder, Corruption, Narco-terrorism

Signs of Drug Abuse:

            Sudden Change of Mood/Temper

          Bouts of drowsiness or sleeplessness losing interest in job, studies, telling lies, stealing money

          Keeping Tablets, Cigarettes, Needles or Syringes

In this challenging scenario, not only do our law enforcement agencies like Narcotics Control Bureau require undertaking preventive and enforcement work against drug trafficking, but there is also a need to create awareness on a larger scale, and sensitize the people against the harmful effect of drug abuse. The objective of making our society free from drugs can be achieved only if the enforcement agencies and the people that these agencies serve, work together to neutralize the evil designs of drug pushers and traffickers.

World Blood Donor Day : Every Blood Donor is a Hero

World Blood Donor Day is Celebrating on June 14 every year. World Blood Donor Day 2012 will be celebrated targeting every blood donor with the theme - Every Blood Donor is a Hero. It is focusing on the idea that every one of us can become a Hero by giving blood. While recognizing the silent and unsung heroes who save lives every day through their blood donations, the theme also strongly encourages more people all over the world to donate blood voluntarily and regularly.

Another important objective of World Blood Donor Day is to focus on National efforts on improving the safety and adequacy of national supplies by promoting a substantial increase in the number of safe, voluntary non-remunerated blood donors who give blood regularly.

Facts about Blood Donation:

Any Healthy Person in the age group of 18-65 years can donate blood

One can donate blood every three months

Blood Donation makes you feel energetic and builds self esteem

Our body recovers the donated blood within 24 hours to 7 days

One can donate 350 ml of blood at one time. This is just 7% of the 5 liters of total blood in the body

One can't get any infection, including HIV, while donating blood as all consumables and equipment used during the process are sterile and safe from infection

Blood Donation causes weakness or fatigue is a Myth

One unit of donated blood can save four precious lives

Always go to a licensed blood bank or Voluntary Blood Donation Camp to donate blood

 So let's become Heroes by Donating Blood voluntarily and regularly and save lives..!

It's Simple.! It's Safe..!

World Anti Child Labor Day: Stop Child Labour

Childhood is the most beautiful phase of every human which is free from every responsibility and stress. But there are some other children who never enjoyed their childhood and doing work for their family day and night. They are Child Laborers.

According to Indian Law, there is a free and compulsory education for every children of 6-14 aged and told 14-18 aged children to far away from dangerous work. But beside this, children do labor and dangerous work also. These children don't go to school for education.

According to Indian presumption, there are 1.3 crore children of 5-14 aged who are child laborers. We should pull out its roots to stop child labor. Its big reason is Poverty, Unemployment and Population. Because of a large family and Poverty, every member of family is ready to do any type of work. There is another threat in their mind
'Is there any hope to get job after getting education?'
Schools with free education are of low standard and no arrangement of education and high fees of Private Schools that is why People forced their children to do some work.

Today Child Labor is the biggest threat for every country in this world on which Government should take some hard steps. Population should be controlled, necessity of education should be understood, scholarships should be provided to good students of poor families, necessary things should be provided to poor families.

Government celebrates 12 June as World Anti Child Labor Day. Government should applicable laws so hard that people think 100 times to force their children to work...

A Poster of World Anti Child Labor made by me...

World Environment Day: Green Economy - Does it include you?

World Environment Day is celebrated on 5th June every year. It is run by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). WED is going to celebrate its 40^th year since 1972.  The first World Environment Day was on 1973. It is somewhat similar to Earth Day.

Our planet gives us our food, clothes, fuel, medicines and much, much more. Series of global summits and promises alone can’t make any difference to the situation unless they are complemented by local actions. Let us take the opportunity to do something for our environment, reflect on our responsibilities towards the future generations and redouble our efforts to preserve our planet.

Some Green Ideas:

·         Switch off the lights when not needed, use CFLs

·         Take public transportations to work

·         Pledge to become paperless at work, use more of e-mail

·         Avoid use of plastic bags, switch to cloth bags

·         Reducing energy consumption in house and contribute to reduction of Green House Gases (GHG)

·         Cutting down on transportation and thereby contribute to ambient air quantity

·         Buying environmental friendly home and personal care products to promote livelihoods

·         Cutting down on water use and waste to home

·         Stop use of polythene carry bags and non-bio-degradable materials

·         Supporting the organizations that work to preserve natural resources

·         Encouraging residents, business and institutions to contribute in building a sustainable society

·         Reducing the amount of pollution and waste that we generate

The Theme of World Environment Day 2012 is Green Economy Does it include you? A Green Economy is described as one that results in improved human well-being and social equity while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. We can think of a green economy as an economic environment that achieves low carbon emissions, resource efficiency and at the same time is socially inclusive.  

Saint Kabir : One of the Greatest Saint-Poet of India

Saint Kabir is considered to be one of the greatest poets as well as mystics ever born in India. He believed that human beings are equal and being one with God is the ultimate aim of every individual. His love and devotion to the Supreme One clearly reflects in his poetry. The Holy Guru Granth Saheb contains over 500 verses by the great Saint, Kabir. The verses or dohas of Guru Kabir are still read by people with awe and administration.

Saint Kabir was born in 1300 AD. It is said that he was found floating on a lotus leaf in a tank in Benaras by Muslim weaver. The weaver took the vulnerable child under his care and following the traditional manner, gave him the name of Kabir, meaning the great one. Even at young age, Kabir displayed enormous spiritual talent

Kabir always wanted to become a disciple of Ramanand. However since he was Muslim, it was next to impossible for him to get initiation from a Hindu. So he took recourse to a trick. Ramanand daily went to the bathing ghat for his pre-dawn ritual ablutions. Kabir lay on the steps of the ghat in such a way that Ramanand stepped on him. Shocked at this incident, he chanted “Rama, Rama”. Kabir said that he has received teachings from him, in the form of the words “Rama, Rama”, he was Ramanand disciple. Impressed with the intelligence of Kabir, Ramanand took him as his disciple. After some time, by his Guru’s grace, Kabir was able to have the divine darshan of Sri Rama. This divine experience inspired him to write poetic verses. One of his most famous poetic verses is:

Guru Govind dono khade kisko lago pay

Balihari Guru apne, jine Govind diyo batay

The hallmark of Kabir’s work consists of his two line couplets, known as the Kabir ke Dohe. The dohas reflect the deep philosophical thinking of saint Kabir.Saint Kabir always advocated the Impersonal Aspect Of God (Nirguna) and therefore, was against idol worship. As per his view, all human beings are equal and the societal caste system that is so widely prevalent in our country is fallacious. He said that the true Guru is the one who can be attained through direct experience. The common ways of realizing God, like chanting, austerities, etc., are worthless. Through his poetry and thoughtful words of wisdom, Kabir talked about piety, generosity, humility and tolerance. His poems appealed not only to Hindus, but also appealed to devotees of all religions seeking a path to a God. Many Brahmins of Kashi objected to Kabir’s teachings because he was raised a Muslim, and many Sufi mystics opposed Kabir because he associated with Hindus Sadhus. Despite this, countless Hindus and Muslims alike found immense inspiration from Kabir’s insightful poems. Even today, we sing some of Kabir’s Bhajans in BAPS Mandirsworldwide.
A Portrait of Saint Kabir is made by me..

Saint Kabir : One of the Greatest Saint-Poet of India

Kevin Pietersen : A Modern Batsman bid adieu to International Limited Overs Cricket

Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen, on 31 May 2012, retired from all forms of international limited overs cricket. But he would still available for Tests. His decision of retirement comes just four months ahead of the world T20 in Sri Lanka where England is the defending Champions. He is 32 years old and thought that it was the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players came through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015. The terms of England Players’ central contract state that any cricketer making unavailable for either of the one-day formats automatically rules himself out of consideration for both formats of the game – ODI & T20.

The 31-year old Pietersen has played 127 ODIs and 36 international T20s for England, making his international debut in 2004 against Zimbabwe in Harare. Pietersen has scored 4,184 runs at the average of 41.84 in one-day internationals and averages 37.93 in international T20 cricket. The flamboyant batsman, who discussed his position with the ECB during the Test against West Indies at Lord’s, has a contract till September 2012. That contract will be downgraded to reflect the fact that he will only be selected Test cricket from now.

Pietersen was born in 27 June 1980 in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province. He is a South African born English Cricketer. Pietersen is married to Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor on December 29, 2007 at St Andrew's Church in Castle Combe. He was captain of the England Tests and ODIs from August 04, 2008 to January 07, 2009. Pietersen became the fastest batsman to reach both 1,000 and 2,000 runs in One Day International cricket and the quickest in terms of time to 5,000 Test runs. He has the highest average of any England player to have played more than 20 innings of one-day cricket. He has the second-highest run total from his first 25 Tests, behind only the Australian Donald Bradman and was the fastest player, in terms of days, to reach 4,000 Test runs. He became only the third English batsman to top the ICC One Day International rankings. In July 2008, after a century against South Africa, The Times called him "The most complete batsman in cricket". In 2012, The Guardian called him "England's greatest modern batsman"

A Portrait of Pietersen is made by me...

Kevin Pietersen - The English Wall 

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru: A National Leader

Jawaharlal Nehru was born November 14 (Children’s Day since 1957), 1889 in Kashmir. He was the son of Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani. He studied in England at Harrow, Cambridge and Inner Temple. He also qualified for Bar. Then he married to Kamala Kaul in 1916.

After then he drawn into freedom movement and joined Indian National Congress in 1919 and attracted to Mahatma Gandhi. He was also imprisoned several times. He was elected Congress President for three times in 1930, 1936 and 1937 and designated Gandhi ji’s successor.

His daughter was Indira Gandhi; grandsons were Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. He was elected as a Prime Minister of undivided India at 1946 against partition. He was also the 1^st Prime Minister of Independent India. After 1947, he identified with economic planning, heavy industry, mixed economy, parliamentary democracy internally, non-aligned movement externally. He was devastated by Indo-China War in 1962.

Pt. Nehru was also famous in children. That’s why Children Day is celebrated in India on his birthday. He was also awarded for Bharat Ratna in 1955. He had written many books as Towards Freedom, The Discovery of India, Letters from a Father to a Daughter, Glimpses of World’s History. He was died with Heart attack May 27, 1964 at the age of 74.

A Portrait made by me...

123^rd death anniversary on 27^th June

Goofy : Walt Disney's Cartoon Character turns 80

Goofy, the famous cartoon character created by Walt Disney Productions in 1932, made its first appearance on May 25 in Mickey’s Revue, a short movie that features Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Horace Horse and Clarabelle Cow. Goofy, a tall dog that wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a hat originally designed as a rumpled fedora, is the closest friend of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. And this year, he turns eighty! Many people used to see Mickey and friends, also adored Goofy. They used to be addicted to this cartoon series.

Goofy is normally portrayed as extremely clumsy with little intelligence, but occasionally he is shown as intuitive and clever. He used to mess up things for his friends Mickey and Donald. For the lovers of Goofy, they can’t believe that he has turned eighty! He looks so young.  Goofy’ s  cute catch lines like gwarsh, ah-hyuck and his laugh which goes like hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo have found a place in nearly everyone’s childhood memories.

Since Mickey’s Revue, Goofy made several regular appearances in most Mickey Mouse animations and enjoyed his roles in Disney’s cartoon short films and television shows. Some of his favorite onscreen roles have been starring in the How to Cartoons, where he bumbled through his explanations, Goof Troop with his son Max and more recently in the popular series, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He also appeared in numerous movies like Mickey’s Christmas Carol, The Prince and the Pauper and Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers that have brought laughter and cheer to generations of Disney fans.

A Portrait of Cartoon Character Goofy is made by me...

Goofy

Guru Arjan Dev Ji : A real Martyr

Guru Arjan Dev Ji was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India on 15 April, 1563. He was the 5^th Guru of the Sikhism and became Guru on 01 September, 1581 following in the footsteps of Guru Ram Das. He was born at Goindval, and was the youngest of the sons of Guru Ram Das and Bibi Bhani, the daughter of Guru Amardas. He appointed Bhai Buddha as the chief priest of the Golden Temple. He placed the Adi Granth on the seat reserved for him and himself sat among his disciples. Sukhmani Sahib Path was also composed by Him. Before his death, He nominated his son Har Gobind as the next Guru of the Sikhs.

On the 16^th June of every year since 1606; the Sikhs have commemorated the martyrdom of their first martyr, the fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji. Sikh history until then had been peaceful and non-violent. All the Sikh Gurus taught the message of compassion, love, dedication, hard work, worship of one God and the commitment to peace and harmony for all the people of the world.

Relations between Akbar and Guru Ji were cordial but things changed after the accessions of Jahangir. In late May 1606, Guru Arjan Dev was arrested for His refusal to accept Islam and brought to Lahore where he was subject to severe torture. He was made to sit on a burning hot plate while hot sand was poured over His head and body. It is said that Mian Mir (a Muslim Sufi Saint and friend of Guru Sahib) tried to intercede on behalf of Guru Sahib. Guru Ji forbade him to interfere in the Will of Almighty. Guru Ji’s body was blistered and burnt. For several days, the Guru was subjected to this unrelenting torture. Subsequently, Guru Arjan Dev Ji was taken for a bath in the river, Ravi. As thousands watched, he entered the river never to see again. The martyrdom of Guru Sahib changed the entire character of Sikhism radically from a passive people to courageous saint soldiers.

Many reasons have been given for this tragedy. It is stated that Jahangir was annoyed because Guru Arjan Dev ji gave his blessings to his rebel son, Prince Khusrau Mirza.

There are also some Mughal accounts which state that Guru Arjan Dev ji blessed the rebel son of Emperor Jahangir which prompted the emperor to take action against him. But the memoirs of Jahangir make it clear that he in fact was looking for an excuse to, in his own words to bring him into the assembly of the people of Islam.

It is also stated in some sources that one of the courtiers of Jahangir who had first laughed at the suggested marriage between his daughter and the Gurus son, which was later rebuffed, could not put up with the insult and poisoned the ears of the Emperor. Consequently Jahangir imposed a fine of Rupees two Lac (two hundred thousand) on Guru Arjan Dev ji and also ordered him to remove certain passages from the Adi Granth, which were objectionable to Muslims. On the Guru's refusal to do so, he was tortured.

The manner in which Guru Arjan Dev ji was martyred "convinced the Sikhs that they must arm themselves and fight, if they wanted to live". It proved a turning point in the history of Sikhism.