Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Baisakhi Regional Celebrations



Baisakhi Regional Celebrations

 Auspicious day of Baisakhi is celebrated in various regions of India by different names and different rituals. This is because the day of Baisakhi holds special significance for Hindus along with Sikhs. For Hindus, April 13th mark the time for New Year and they celebrate the day with rituals like bathing, partying and worshipping. Another legend associated with the day is that Goddess Ganga descended to earth thousands of years ago on this day. Many Hindus therefore celebrate the day in the honor of Goddess Ganga by taking a sacred dip in the river Ganga.
preparing field for a wheat crop before celebrating Vaisakhi harvest festival





Regional celebrations of Baisakhi are marked as Rongali Bihu in Assam, Naba Barsha in Bengal, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vishu in Kerala and Vaishakha in Bihar. In a relatively much different form, Baisakhi celebrations are marked in the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh. Here, Baisakhi is celebrated twice a year in the months of Vaishakha (April-May) and Kartika (November). People celebrate Baisakhi by worshipping Goddess Jwalamukhi and paying tribute to the deity’s idol near a popular hot spring that issues flames.


These different regional ways of celebrating Baisakhi reflect on India’s pluralistic tradition and her rich cultural heritage. Regional celebrations of Baisakhi also portray the unity of people of India in spite of the social, cultural and linguistic differences.

A depiction of Guru Gobind Singhinitiating the first five members of theKhalsa

About Baisakhi festival

Baisakhi or Vaisakhi is a harvest festival, Punjabi New Year and commemoration of the founding of the Khalsa (also known as Khalsa Sirjana Diwas), all rolled into one occasion.
In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh (the 10th Sikh Guru) decided to put an end to the tradition of Gurus in Sikhism. He declared the Granth Sahib (holy scripture) to be the eternal Sikh Guru. He then formed the order of the Khalsa by selecting five fearless leaders of his followers, who were ready to lay down their lives to save others.
Vaisakhi parade in Surrey, BC, Canada

When is Baisakhi festival celebrated?

April 13-14 every year
A band performs at Vaisakhi day celebrations in Kuala Lumpur (2013).

Baisakhi festival celebration:

Vaisakhi is celebrated with a huge deal of feasting, folk music, bhangra and gidda dancing and fairs. The gurudwara all across the world are decorated and illuminated and 48 hour akhand (without break) path is organized.
The Baisakhi fairs are organized all over Punjab and are the main attraction of the festival for many people. People get dressed up in new clothes and sing and dance. There are races, wrestling bouts, acrobatics, and folk music. Numerous stalls selling trinkets, handicrafts, and food add to the sikh celebrations.

Baisakhi Rituals:

In the morning, Sikhs visit the gurudwara as special prayers are organized. Punjabis from all across the globe specially visit Golden Temple in Amritsar or Anandpur Sahib, where the Khalsa was declared.
The Granth Sahib is bathed with milk and water, placed on a throne and read. Karah Prasad (sacred pudding made from flour, sugar and butter) is distributed. In the afternoon, Granth Sahib is taken out for procession, along with music, singing, chanting and performances. Offering seva in gurudwara during Baisakhi has also huge importance.







Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival USA


The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly referred to asCoachella or the Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festivalheld at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, located in the Inland Empire's Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It was founded by Paul Tollett in 1999 and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Live. The event features many genres of music, including rockindiehip hop, and electronic dance music, as well as art installations and sculptures. Across the grounds, several stages continuously host live music. The main stages are: Coachella Stage, Outdoor Theatre, Gobi Tent, Mojave Tent, and the Sahara Tent; a smaller Oasis Dome was used in 2006 and 2011, while a new Yuma stage was introduced in 2013.

The festival's origins trace back to a 1993 concert that Pearl Jam performed at the Empire Polo Club while boycotting venues controlled by Ticketmaster. The show validated the site's viability for hosting large events, leading to the inaugural Coachella Festival being held in October 1999 over two days, just three months after the disastrous Woodstock '99. After no event was held in 2000, Coachella returned on an annual basis beginning in April 2001 as a single-day event. In 2002, the festival reverted to a two-day format. Coachella was expanded to a third day in 2007 and eventually a second weekend in 2012; it is currently held on consecutive three-day weekends in April, with each weekend having identical lineups. Organizers began permitting spectators to camp on the grounds in 2003, one of several expansions and additions of amenities that have been made in the festival's history.
Coachella showcases popular and established musical artists, as well as emerging artists and reunited groups. Notable appearances in the past include: AC/DCAmy WinehouseDr. Dre and Snoop DoggPrincePaul McCartneyArcade FireWu-Tang ClanThe KillersRadioheadDaft PunkMadonnaThe CureKanye WestEminemGorillazThe Black KeysRage Against the MachineBeckNine Inch NailsThe StrokesThe White StripesJay-ZBeastie BoysMuseRed Hot Chili Peppers, and Foo Fighters. Coachella is one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festivals in the United States. In 2014, the festival tallied an aggregate attendance of 579,000 over six days and grossed a record-breaking $78.3 million.
"Even before we looked at [Empire Polo Club], it hit us. We wanted it to be far. So you surrender. So you can't leave your house and see a couple bands and be back home that night. We want you to go out there, get tired, and curse the show by Sunday afternoon. That sunset, and that whole feeling of Coachella hits you."


—Coachella founder Paul Tollett, describing the rationale behind the festival's location

History

Further information: Coachella Festival line-ups
On November 5, 1993, Pearl Jam performed before almost 25,000 fans at the Empire Polo Club, a 78-acre site in Indio, California that had previously never hosted a music festival.[4] Although the band's management
chose the fledgling site as part of a boycott of Ticketmaster and the Southern California auditoriums it controlled, the event established the polo club's suitability for large-scale events. Paul Tollett, who was involved in finding the venue for Pearl Jam, said the concert sowed the seeds for an eventual music festival there: "It was a really great show. Really crazy. So we wanted to do a festival five or six years later, and looked at a bunch of different places. But then we thought 'Why not go back out there?'"

1999, 2001–2002

Six years later, on October 9–10, 1999, the inaugural Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was held, courtesy of concert promoters Goldenvoice. Headlining acts included Beck, The Chemical Brothers, Tool, Morrissey, and Rage Against the Machine; other acts included Jurassic 5, DJ Mike Hawk, and Underworld. Originally, promoters had hoped to make the event three days (Friday-Sunday) and even considered the UK band Massive Attack as the third-day headliner. Due to the fires and riots at Woodstock '99 three months earlier, Coachella promoters were not allowed to offer on-site camping, a ban that continued until 2002. The organizers strived to recreate European music festivals with small crowds in a great setting with plenty of turntables. By booking acts based on artistry rather than radio popularity, Coachella earned the title of "the anti-Woodstock".


Tickets sold for $50 for each day; about 17,000 tickets sold for the first day, and 20,000 for the second,falling short of the overall attendance goal of 70,000.[Attendees were offered free parking and a free bottle of water upon entrance. The event went smoothly, with the well-behaved crowd starkly contrasting with the violence that plagued Woodstock '99; the biggest challenges to Coachella concertgoers were temperatures exceeding 100°F and the decisions of which of the 80-plus acts to attend. However, Goldenvoice lost $800,000 on the undertaking, with prominent bands like Rage Against the Machine, Tool, and Beck agreeing to delayed compensation. Tollett was forced to sell Goldenvoice, eventually agreeing to be acquired by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in March 2001 for $7 million.Tollett initially retained full control of Coachella, but now shares ownership evenly with AEG.

In 2001, Goldenvoice moved the festival to the month of April in an attempt to beat the heat and scheduled a single day. Ticket prices were raised to $65. Organizers encountered difficulty booking acts for the festival. Months before the event, promoters did not have a headline act and the festival risked failure. Promoters turned to Perry Farrell, who brought the reunited Jane's Addiction to the project.



2003–2005
The 2003 festival featured Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys, as well as the reunited Iggy Pop and The Stooges, and drew the largest crowd yet. The event began to develop worldwide interest and began to become nationally known.

The 2004 event featured the reunited Pixies, as well as Radiohead, Kraftwerk, The Cure, Belle and Sebastian, and The Flaming Lips. It was Coachella's first sellout, moving 50,000 tickets for both Saturday and Sunday.

The 2005 event ran from April 30 to May 1 and featured Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Snow Patrol, Weezer, M.I.A, M83, Bloc Party, The Prodigy, Keane, Chemical Brothers, Kasabian, Nine Inch Nails, Bright Eyes, Wilco, Spoon, Stereophonics, Tegan and Sara, New Order, Rilo Kiley, and Jem.

2006–2008
The 2006 event featured Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Tool, Daft Punk, Scissor Sisters, James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley, and Madonna in her only Coachella appearance.

Organizers extended the 2007 festival to three days and featured Red Hot Chili Peppers, the reunited Rage Against the Machine and Björk, all of whom headlined for the second time. Other notable performers included Arcade Fire, who had made a memorable 2005 Coachella appearance, LCD Soundsystem, Manu Chao, a rare American performance by former Pulp-frontman Jarvis Cocker, and Scarlett Johansson, who sang with the reunited Jesus and Mary Chain. The festival compiled an aggregate attendance of 186,636, a new best, and grossed $16.3 million.

For the first time since 2003, the event did not sell out, although the 2008 festival featured headliners Prince, Roger Waters, and Jack Johnson, along with notable appearances from Portishead, the reunited The Verve, M.I.A., Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, the reunited Love and Rockets, and the reunited Swervedriver. Another noteworthy performance during the 2008 festival was that of singer/songwriter Adele. The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $13.8 million,but due to tickets not selling out, it lost money.

2006–2008
The 2006 event featured Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Tool, Daft Punk, Scissor Sisters, James Blunt, Gnarls Barkley, and Madonna in her only Coachella appearance.

Organizers extended the 2007 festival to three days and featured Red Hot Chili Peppers, the reunited Rage Against the Machine and Björk, all of whom headlined for the second time. Other notable performers included Arcade Fire, who had made a memorable 2005 Coachella appearance, LCD Soundsystem, Manu Chao, a rare American performance by former Pulp-frontman Jarvis Cocker, and Scarlett Johansson, who sang with the reunited Jesus and Mary Chain. The festival compiled an aggregate attendance of 186,636, a new best, and grossed $16.3 million.

For the first time since 2003, the event did not sell out, although the 2008 festival featured headliners Prince, Roger Waters, and Jack Johnson, along with notable appearances from Portishead, the reunited The Verve, M.I.A., Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, the reunited Love and Rockets, and the reunited Swervedriver. Another noteworthy performance during the 2008 festival was that of singer/songwriter Adele. The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $13.8 million, but due to tickets not selling out, it lost money.

2009–2011
The 2009 festival occurred a week earlier than usual. The new dates were April 17, 18 and 19, with the third annual edition of the country-music Stagecoach Festival set to start the following week. The event featured headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers, and The Cure. On Friday, McCartney blew past the festival's strict curfew by nearly an hour. Sunday, The Cure had their performance end abruptly, with the festival cutting stage power after passing their own curfew by thirty minutes. Notable performances included Franz Ferdinand, M.I.A. (whose 2005 encore set in a tent was a first at the fest), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and rare appearances from artists Leonard Cohen and Throbbing Gristle. The festival drew an aggregate attendance of 152,962 and grossed $15,328,863.

Organizers did away with single-day ticket sales in 2010, offering instead only three-day tickets, drawing mixed reviews. Headliners included Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz, along with LCD Soundsystem, the reunited Faith No More, a reunited Pavement, Thom Yorke of Radiohead and his live band Atoms for Peace, Tiesto, and supergroup Them Crooked Vultures.[21] Other notable acts were Fever Ray, deadmau5, La Roux, MGMT, Florence and the Machine, Spoon, Bassnectar, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, She & Him, Céu, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Specials, a rare Plastikman live set from Richie Hawtin, Sly Stone , and David Guetta. The festival drew 75,000 spectators each day, for an estimated average aggregate of 225,000 attendees, surpassing previous attendance records. The festival grossed $21,703,500.


The sun sets over the Coachella Stage in 2011
Prior to the 2011 festival, Goldenvoice made several investments and improvements locally to help support


Coachella. In addition to funding an additional lane for Avenue 50, which borders the festival, the promoter cleared additional space on the polo grounds by leveling a 250,000-square-foot area and moving horse stables. The headliners for that year's event were Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West and The Strokes, while other performers included Duran Duran, Mumford & Sons, the reunited Big Audio Dynamite, PJ Harvey, and the Black Keys, among another 190 supporting acts.The 2011 festival grossed $24,993,698 from 75,000 paid attendees, for an aggregate attendance of 225,000 across the entire three-day weekend.

Monday, 13 April 2015

Thai New Year (Songkran) water festival April 13 to 15 2015

The Songkran water festival 2015 will take place from April 13 to 15. Our expert advises on where to join the water fights in Bangkok and around Thailand, and looks at the history of the celebration

Water throwing along the western moat of Chiang Mai, Thailand

New year traditions


The traditional water pouring is meant as a symbol of washing away all of their sins and the bad and is sometimes filled with fragrant herbs when celebrated in the traditional manner.
Revellers take part in a water fight during the Songkran water festival in Bangkok, Thailand.
(Borja Sanchez Trillo/Getty Images)
Songkran Elsewhere




Songkran is celebrated as Sangken in northeastern areas of India, as the traditional New Year's Day by the Buddhist Community. The Sangken festival is celebrated by the people of the Khampti tribe. The festival is also celebrated by Singpho, Khamyang, Tikhaks (Tangsa) and Phakyal community of Arunachal Pradesh, and Tai Phake community of Assam. Sangken generally falls in the month of 'Naun Ha', the fifth month of the year of the Khampti Lunar calendar coinciding with the month of April. It is celebrated in the last days of the old year and the Lunar New Year begins on the day just after the end of the festival.
The tradition of soaking people (mostly women) with water is typical in Poland, Slovakia and the Eastern Czech Republic during the original Easter celebrations on the beginning of April.
In some villages in South India, especially Karnataka, a festival called Okhali or Okhli is celebrated where every household keeps a barrel of water mixed with chalk and turmeric and throw it on passers-by. The date of Okhali coincides with that of Songkran in Thailand and Thingyan in Myanmar and not with the dates of Holi which is a north Indian festival.
Songkran at Wat Thai in Los Angeles
The cleansing ritual is supposed to bring luck and prosperity for the coming year

New Year celebration, Rot Nam Dam Hua, a traditional way to celebrate with elders. Most Thai people go back to their hometowns to meet their elders.

In Hua Hin, sand sculptures can be admired around the Beach House Retreat, April 13-15.
Songkran "Nang Dan" Parade, Nakhon Si Thammarat: watch the spectacular Nang Dan cultural procession, join the locals in paying homage to Phra Maha That Chadi Nakhon Si Thammarat, and purify the Phra Buddha Sihing at Suan Si Thammasokarat and Hor Phra Shiva, April 12-14.

Patong Beach, Phuket: join local and international tourists in marking the Thai New Year along Patong Beach, April 13-15, 10am-10pm.
Hat Yai Midnight Songkran: witness one of Thailand’s most unique ways to celebrate Songkran as the clock strikes midnight at Nipat Uthit 3 Road, Sanehanusorn Road and Wat Mahatta, April 11-15, 10am-11pm.
Songkran Ko Samui: join local and international tourists at popular Chaweng Beach, April 13, 8am-8pm.

The use of chalk (Thai: ดินสอพอง) is also very common having originated in the chalk used by monks to mark blessings.

Some children having fun at the Bangkok Zoo during Songkran.
What to wear for Songkran

As it’s hot, and clothes are likely to get ruined by sustained water and talc attacks, it’s advisable to wear as little as possible and to leave precious items of clothing in one’s luggage. Still, near-nudity is frowned upon and the Ministry of Culture appears to be scandalized each year by what it deems to be morally indecent incidents. One should certainly keep one’s camera fully clothed though – without waterproof housing, it’s likely to fall victim to the watery shenanigans.

Revellers take part in a water fight during the Songkran water festival in Bangkok, Thailand.
(Borja Sanchez Trillo/Getty Images)

Revellers take part in a water fight during the Songkran water festival in Bangkok, Thailand.
(Borja Sanchez Trillo/Getty Images)

Revellers take part in a water fight during the Songkran water festival in Bangkok, Thailand.(Borja Sanchez Trillo/Getty Images)

Revellers take part in a water fight during the Songkran water festival in Bangkok, Thailand.
(Borja Sanchez Trillo/Getty Images)

Revellers take part in a water fight during the Songkran water festival in Bangkok, Thailand.
(Borja Sanchez Trillo/Getty Images)


People in a tuk tuk getting soaked during Songkran in Chiang Mai

A truck load of people after a "hit", Chiang Mai, Thailand

North of the ancient city Persepolis in Iran ( Mysterious Persian Cliff )

Mysterious Persian Cliff


North of the ancient city Persepolis in Iran is a weird cliff named Naqsh-i-Rustam located. The construction of the cliff is amazing, and it’s weird that people way back then actually succeeded in shaping it that way. It has massive doors that goes right into the walls of the cliff. It’s a total of 4 entrances that are shaped as giant crosses also known as Persian Crosses.

They are perfectly carved into the walls. Inside the entrances you will find a small camber where the king would be in his sarcophagus, but now it is empty of course. The cliff is also known as the Persian Empire and its rulers were Xerxes, Darius and Cyrus.


On the outside it also has a carved statue with people and horses, and inscriptions of the oldest on record with the name of Iran can also be found there. Today tourist attraction and a good way to get to know an old Persian history and culture. Something that can remind of the Persian Empire with a beautiful view of this cave in the town of Georgia which is actually a monastery.








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