Prince Charles Visit to Uttarakhand.

Prince Charles & his his wife Camilla are scheduled to arrive at Dehradun airport for their visit to the Uttarakhand State next week. They will leave for Rishikesh to attend program at Parmarth NiketanAshram Rishikesh. Later the royal couple will visit Indian military academy & the Forest research Institute in Dehradun city for their official program. Prince Charles will stay at resort in Narendranagar. He will also meet Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.

World Photography Day - Haridwar Rishikesh Tourism

The world photography, which was first coined by Sir John Frederick William Herschel in 1839, is derived from the two words, phos (light) and graphein (to write) Photography is the result of combining several discoveries. Long before first photographs were made, Chinese philosopher Mo Ti and Greek mathematicians Aristotle and Euclid had already described a pin whole camera in the 5^th and 4^th centuries BC.

Ritesh Sah from Kumaon University states that “The other factors, which facilitated the development of photography were the discovery of silver nitrate by Albert Magnus, the discovery of silver chloride by George Fabricus in the 16^th century and William Homberg’s description of the photo chemical effect in 1694.”

The first permanent photograph was an image produced in 1826 by the French inventor Joseph Nicephore Niepce. In partnership with Louis Daguerre of Paris they refined the process of photography. Unfortunately in 1833 Niepce died of stroke and it took six years when on January 7, 1839, Daguerre announced that the first photographic plate has been developed that the first photographic plate has been developed. The French Government bought the patent and immediately on August 9, 1839, it announced the invention as a gift ’free to the world’.

Another photographic process, the Calotype was also invented by William Fox Talbot in 1839 and together both the inventions have marked August 19, 1839, as the year of the invention of photography.

Over 170 years later in 2009 Korske Ara rounded the worldphotoday.org and brought the World Photography Day concept of life. On August 19, 2010, the first global online gallery was established and the same day the world Photography Day was celebrated.

Korske Ara, the founder of World Photography Day, announced, “I believe that a photograph has the power to tell stories, freeze memories, inspire generations and initiate change. I am passionate about photography and the ability it has to change the world.”

Anup Sah a nted photographer and Chairman of the Florist League, said, “On August 18, the photographers of Nainital are going to celebrate the World Photography Day by organising the Sam Circuit International Photography Council (IIPC), New Delhi and the Florist League India.”

Uttarakhand can boast of having one of the best photographers in the country like Amar Nath Singh, Anup Sah, Tirish Kapoor, Brijmohan Joshi, Rakesh Sah, Raja Sah, Rajeev Kala, Ahed Tanveer, Brij Mohan Bisht Mahendra Singh Mohan, Kalyan Singh Sanjwan, Lokesh Pande, Vineeta Yashaswi, Deep Bisht and Damu Lohani etc. Anup Sah and Brijmohan Joshi have been conferred the Diamond Grading by IIPC, Amar Nath Singh the platinum and Mahendra Singh Mohan the gold.

The other photographers have also achieved laurels at the national level in wild life, landscape and nature photography etc. Trish Kapoor, an International Judge in photography and his series on Kailash Mansarover has achieved international acclaim.

Senior citizen, BL Sah is of the view:”Even during the British period Uttrakhand had attained national recognition in the field of photography owing to dedicated photographers like Gangi Sah, NL Sah,  Ratan Lal Sah and Priya Lal, who laid the foundation of photography.”

Brijmaohan Joshi, an eminent photographer, an art historian and founder of the organization ‘Parampara’, who brought the scenic splendor and culture of Uttarakhand to the International Circuit through his mesmerizing photographs, avers, “International Photographic exhibition in nainital in which photographs of the best photographers in the country and from 20 other nations will be exhibited is beaing dedicated to Balbir Singh, a handicapped photographer from Nainital whose presence was felt internationally, but before he could reach the Everest in the world of photography, death laid its icy hands on this extremely talented artist in March this year.”

He was the first handicapped photographer in the country who was awarded the Platinum Grading by IIPC and Associateship by Photography Social Welfare, Government of India had also honoured him with the best Handicapped Employee Award at the national level. Only last year on the occasion of the World Photography day, he shared, “Korske’s vision is becoming a reality to celebrate the power and impact of photography.” Little did we know that this was the last tribute of the great artist to World Photography and this year we will be meeting in his memory for this unique celebration. 

Source: Times of India

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Hustle – bustle of Kanwar Mela in Haridwar

The city, Haridwar become a perfect example of Ganga Yamuni tehzeeb these days. On one side, Ramazan is approaching its last days of fasting and Islamic devotees wearing skull cap can be seen around offering prayers in mosques.

The hustle-bustle of the Kanwar mela in Haridwar & Rishikesh came to an end on Monday with devotees offering Ganga water in temples to mark Shivaratri fest.

The last day of Kanwar mela (Sunday) witnessed a deluge of dak kanwarias on bikes and other vehicles reaching the holy city to fetch water from Ganga River to be offered at their native Shiva temples. Clad in saffron Ts and shorts, these Hindu devotees could be seen everywhere in the Haridwar city as well as in Rishikesh. If the fortnight long fest had 30% rush of kanwarias, 70% darted to the sanctum sanctorum in the last two days.

An eyewitness to the rush, a resident of Shivalik Nagar, Haridwar said, “I counted 63 bikers in one minute crossing the road leading to Haridwar Roorkee national highway.”

“This time it was total reversal in the influx pattern of kanwarias and the turnout was far more than expected. Earlier it used to be 70% Kanwarias on foot and 30 % on bikes and heavy vehicles but this time it turned out to be the other way round 30 % on foot and 70 % on vehicles, “SSP Rajeev Swaroop said.

Capacity of Bairagi camp is to hold 30,000 vehicles and it busted to its seams on Saturday and Sunday, with other dweeps like Chamgadar tapu filling to their capacity as well, he added.

The bedecked temples of Haridwar such as Daksh Mandir in Kankhal. Bilwakeshwar temple on hill bye pass road, Neeleshwar mahadev on Nazibabad highway, Til Bhandeshwar mahadev beckoned thousands of devotees on Monday morning.

Since early morning, devotees thronged the temples to offer bilwa leaves, and fruits and milk on the Shivalinga.

However, a drizzle and light showers after 9am left many devotees confined to their homes. 

Source: Times of India.

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Kanwar Yatra Haridwar, 2013

The two week long Kanwar Teerth Yatra, also known as Kanwar mela, starts with the first day of the month of Sawan of the Hindu calendar. It culminates an Shiv Chaudas of the month and gives a big boost not only to the econo – my of the region, but also to the communal harmony in this part of the country. Millions of Shiva devotees called kanwariyas, mostly from Western UP, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Rajasthan, undertake the journey of faith to fetch Gangajal from Haridwar, Rishikesh and remote holy places like origin of the Ganga.

With lakhs of kanwariyas marching back to their destinations with Gangajal, reverberating the entire route with chants of ‘Bum Bum’ and ‘Bum Bum Bhole’ and thousands of Muslims having Roza these days in the holy month of Ramzan in villages and towns falling on the kanwar route, the en-tire region presents a unique picture of communal amity.

As this year, the sacred month of Ramzam of the Muslim calendar coincides with the pious month of Sawan of the Hindu calendar, the people of both the communities are performing their rituals side by side and echoes of ‘Bum Bum Bhole’ by the kanwarias and ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ by the rozedars are simultaneousiy heard in the entire region. Many Muslims offers their services as special police officers (SPOS) to help the police force to maintain law making the kanwar yatra hassle free. The Hindus hold Roza Iftar parties for their Muslim brethren, while the members of the Muslim community may be seen welcoming the kanwarias offering them food, tea, water, etc. as they pass through their colonies. It is a perfect picture of the harmony between the two communities.

The Kanwar Teerth Yatra passes through many Muslim dominated colonies, but it has always remained free from communal tension. Another positive feature of the Yatra is that most of the kanwars are made and embellished by the Muslim artisans and laborers from the district and by those coming here from the adjoining districts of UP, such as Bijnore, Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar, weeks before the commencement of the Yatra.

Abdul Hussain of Bijnore says that his family has been coming to Haridwar to make and sell kanwars for the last five years. “We earn about rupees one lakh each year by making, decorating and selling kanwars. It is not only a source us a great satisfaction that we are lending a helping hand in the holy mission of our hindu brothers and Ansari, a prominent social activist of Jwalapur township in the district, “Only the rituals are different. The underlying spirit of all the religions is the same.”

The manifestation of communal harmony on such a huge scale, as witnessed in the region these days, is rare and speaks volumes of the composite culture of the country.

Source: Times of India.
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