Indian Culture

India will host an international summit on Buddhism in New Delhi. Delegates from 30 countries will participate with the exception of China and also Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The maiden conference being organised by the Union Culture Ministry and the International Buddhist Confederation will discuss contemporary global issues through a Buddhist perspective. The delegates include prominent scholars, monks, diplomats and members of Buddhist …

It is said that he arrived at the location of the shrine after reaching India in 52 AD. Devotees believe he performed a miracle and left a footprint on the hilltop. Who was Saint Thomas? In Christian mythology, it is believed that when Jesus Christ set out to preach his beliefs and message, he …

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister inaugurated the Shar Nyima Tsho Sum Namyig Lhakhang (Gonpa) at Gyangkhar village. Key details: Gyangkhar village is located at Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The Gonpa has a great historical importance for for the people of Shar Nyima Tsho Sum. The 11- 12th century Gonpa was on the verge of collapse but was renovated. The sacred place …

Union Home Minister Amit Shah conferred the prestigious Maharashtra Bhushan Award on veteran social worker Appasaheb Dharmadhikari. Who is Appasaheb Dharmadhikari? Also known as Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari, he was born in the village of Revdanda in Raigad district on May 14, 1946. He is dedicated towards what he calls “social awakening”. To spread this message, regular congregations or Shri …

Kerala celebrates Vishu with traditional zeal Key details: Vishu is celebrated in Kerala to mark the start of the Malayalam new year. The word “Vishu” in Sanskrit means “equal” and hence it celebrates the spring equinox, when day and night are nearly equal. Vishu Kani: Vishu Kani is an assortment of auspicious items. It is …

Vice President greets the nation on the eve of Mahavir Jayanti Mahavir Jayanti is an important religious festivals in Jainism. It celebrates the birth of Lord Mahavir, the twenty-fourth and last. Birth of Lord Mahavira: Mahavir was born in the year 599 BCE in Kundagram (which is today’s Kundalpur in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar). He was born in a …

Nagaraja Thira’ was performed recently at the Sree Muchilottu temple at Kuthiravattom in Kozhikode. ‘Thira’, like Theyyam, is a dance that is part of a religious ritual performed in the temples of Kerala. While the person participating in Theyyam is considered god, the person taking part in ‘Thira’ is considered as possessed by god This art form …

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the people on Utkal Dibasa. Utkala Diwas, also known as the Odisha Diwas, is the foundation day of Odisha. Every year, the state celebrates April 1 as the day of its origin. On this day, the state of Odisha was declared an independent province when divided by Bihar. The state …

The Dalai Lama has named a US-born Mongolian boy as the tenth Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa, the head of the Janang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and the Buddhist spiritual head of Mongolia, a report by the Times said. Janang Tradition The Janang is one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Its origins in Tibet can be …

The Parsi community in India, which follows Zoroastrianism, celebrated Nowruz on March 21, marking the beginning of the New Year. Nowruz begins on the first day of the Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian solar calendar at the spring equinox, and continues for 12 days. In 1079 AD, a Persian king Jalaluddin Malekshah introduced …

Union Home Minister said the government would move forward to open a corridor to the Sharda Peeth in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) on the lines of the Kartarpur corridor. Key details: The Sharda Peeth, a revered site for the Hindu community. It is located in the Neelum Valley in PoK in the valley of Mount Harmukh. It is a ruined Hindu …

A Sufi Samvad (Sufi Dialogue) programme was launched by a political party as a means of reaching out to the Muslim community. Key details: It is a year-long programme. It will end with a big meeting set to be addressed by Prime Minister of India. The idea of the programme is to go among the Muslim …

Oscar awards were held recently. About the awards: These awards are also known as the Academy Awards. These are given for artistic and technical merit for the American film industry. It is given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is the oldest worldwide entertainment awards ceremony. What is the Academy? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts …

Also known as burnout culture and grind culture, hustle culture refers to the mentality that one must work all day every day in pursuit of their professional goals. Hustle culture is a lifestyle of someone who continues to work and only rests for a short time. This is done because those who run the culture feel that …

Thirteenth-century temple ruins have been recently unearthed amidst a shrub jungle northeast of the Durga temple, atop a hillock in the Pushpagiri Kshetram of Vallur mandal in Andhra Pradesh’s Kadapa district. The hillock, also known as Pushpachala, is famous for the chain of temples. With the river Penna flowing southwest, …

Rock samples dating back 4. 1 billion years and bearing traces of the weather-proof mineral zircon have been found in Telangana’s Chitrial, around 100km north of Hyderabad. It can shed light on geological events from a dark age when the earth was in its infancy. The latest research from a …

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) stumbled upon a 1,300-year-old stupa right in the middle of a mining site in Odisha’s Jajpur district from where Khondalite stones were supplied for the beautification project around the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri. “We have managed to unearth a Buddhist stupa …

Keeladi is a tiny hamlet in the Sivaganga district in south Tamil Nadu. It is about 12 km south-east to the temple city of Madurai and is located along the Vaigai river. The excavations here from 2015 prove that an urban civilisation existed in Tamil Nadu in the Sangam age …

Fossils of an extinct species of animal that scientists reported in a sensational discovery from India’s Bhimbetka Rock Shelters in 2021 have been found to be belied hopes. Gregory Retallack, the lead author of the February 2021 paper that reported the discovery, has acknowledged to The New York Times that they are …

The Sansad Ratna Awards were instituted in 2010, inspired by the teachings of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who launched the first edition of the Award function in Chennai. They seek to recognise and felicitate the top-performing MPs on the basis of their work in the apex legislative body. So far, …