Planning a Vacation? See Your Own Country Before Going Abroad

India is one of many countries which has very vast diversity and filled with all kinds of places, with people of all kinds of cultures. In this age of technological marvel, we Indians are trying to catch up with the world and the world is trying to explore our own backyards. We are busy in the western cultures and lifestyles whereas they are more into exploring our cultures, our histories, and our medicines.

How to Choose the Motorcycle That's Right for You

In recent years the biking culture in India has been changed drastically after the introduction of few foreign brands with concentration to the medium capacity bikes. People are getting more and interested in the culture of biking. Biking is fun and it lets you meet new people make new friends and have good times. The answer may differ from people to people as the tastes are all different, some may like the speed, and some the beautifully made machines which look good aesthetically, some may like the machines which roar, and some may like the simplicity of the bikes which has minimalist looks.

6 Advantages of Having Friends From Different Cultures

Today no one feels lonely or miss their near and dear ones, due to INTERNET. This internet age has made life so easy in every aspect of living, especially in terms of connectivity.

Emotions in life are beyond Colours

"What? You'll wear a black dress at her Mehendi ceremony? Wear a joyful colour"

"How can you wear a blue shirt at the mourning?"

Changing Climate in Rurban areas (Rural + Urban)

“Only change is stable…”

Nothing is stable. Everything changes and tends to change. The only thing which is stable is the ‘change’. With the changing pace of today’s life, our style of living has also changed and has been changed. Our way of dressing, eating, thinking, executing things, have changed. In every field, change is visible as a common phenomenon.

Well, It Happens Only in India!

“Love for everyone, hatred for none.” Well, this is what India is famous for. India is a country which houses special people of special characteristics. India is India. No other place like it. And likewise, there are many things that make me say proudly “It Happens only in India”.

#1

Killing in the name of Honour

For those of you who aren’t aware, honour killing is the murder of a family member (usually a woman or a girl) who has apparently brought shame to the family. The ‘shame’ can be anything- refusing to marry a stranger, identifying as a homosexual or even a transgender, being a rape victim, wearing whatever the person likes or even renouncing the faith. Rarely, men are also victims of such a horrible crime for example, if they’re homosexual.

The killers usually use horrible methods like lethal acid attacks, stabbing and throat-slashing, beating and hanging on the victim usually in public, so as to warn the other women to not take the same steps as they did.

Many other times, the minors in the families are closely asked to monitor the behavior of their sisters or unmarried aunts and are asked to perform the killings. They are usually blackmailed and if they refused, they are threatened with punishments and face the repercussions themselves as they have not performed their ‘duty’. Honour killing is one of the most barbaric practices ever performed in any culture. The people practicing this ruthless activity need to understand that there is no ‘honour’ in the killing. Women are usually the ones bringing ‘honour’ to such families and if they dishonour the family, they are erased from the face of the earth.

The United Nations has estimated a roundabout 5,000 honour killings that happen every year. However, they conclude that since most of the honour killings happen in rural areas, many murders are unregistered and thus, the figure might be quite high.

The ‘dishonourable’ women also include the ones requesting a divorce, being politically active and exploring different religions. The only way the honour can be redeemed in the society is by cold-heartedly murdering the relative who has brought them such shame!

Honour killing is as illogical as it is heartbreaking. Which sane human being would want to kill their own family member, who they’ve spent years nurturing? Many psychologists link honour killing to a ‘status anxiety’- the fear of losing their position in the society and the pressure to protect their status.

Such a similar case of honour killing happened late last week, on 16th July 2016 when a Pakistani model, Qandeel Baloch, was strangled by her own brother in the name of honour. The brother even confessed killing his own sister over some controversial social media posts. Even though her brother confessed to killing his sister, Quandeels brother can still escape any sort of punishment.

The legal system of Pakistan has no law against a case of honour killing if the murderer is pardoned by the family and since the murderer is always a family member, the other family members rarely hesitate for granting a pardon. Women and men are pitilessly killed every year if there are even suspicions to go against the code of the family.

Any attempts to make the laws a little more unorthodox have been unashamedly shot down and different bills introduced in the parliament to curb honour killings have been canned as ‘un-Islamic’ by most of the population as it doesn’t respect the cultural traditions of the society. Most probably, the rage over the killing of Qandeel Baloch might not be understood in her home nation, but it’s time that the nonchalant nature of these killings changes and many named and un-named victims of this vicious crime get justice.


Written by Durva Bhatt
A bibliophile who is fuelled entirely by caffeine, sarcasm, fandoms and random thoughts.

Art from different parts of India

As we all are proud to be Indian. Different tradition, culture, language, heritage make us proud to be Indian. Not only culture but also the different style of art fascinates the world. Every part of India either east or west, north or south every part has its own stories and these stories are known for the paintings made at that time. Each and every painting holds one or more secrets about India.

Here are some different styles of art I explored and you must know them too.

1. PUPPETS

The non-living wonderful handmade wooden creatures dressed in Rajasthan manner commonly known as ‘katputlis’ are the main attraction of Rajasthan tourism. 

Different tribal families of Rajasthan make these puppets and make them act to prepare some act or play. Various places in Rajasthan arrange these puppet shows for the tourist so as to understand the Rajasthan culture. 

Using these puppets they do some road shows to make people aware of the problems going on in the society like dowry, women empowerment, child marriage etc.

2. WARLI PAINTING

This tribal art form generally consists of shapes like circle, triangle, and square each shape have their own meaning. 

Circle represents the sun or the moon, triangle derived from mountains, square representing piece of land. 

Warli is originated from North Sahyadri range by tribes called ‘Adivasi’. 

We have a great book on the Warli named “The painted world of warlis”.

3. THANJAVUR PAINTING

It is originated from south of India in the town of Thanjavur and spread across adjoining Tamil country.

It’s a classical south Indian art form characterised by rich colours, simple iconic composition, glittering gold foils and the extensive gesso work.

Hindu gods and goddess and saints are the main subjects of this art form.

4. PAHARI PAINTING

As the name suggest derived from mountain also called Pahari in Hindi.

Originated from Himalayan hills kingdoms of north India during 17th to 19th century.

Some famous masters I like the most are Nurpur, Chamba, Guler, and Mandi.

5. GOND ART

Gond people or Gondi’s are a Dravidian people of central India, spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Western Orissa.

Gondi’s are the 2nd largest tribe of central India.

Gond painting mainly focuses on celebration, rituals and man’s relationship with nature. Paintings use natural colours derived from cow dung, charcoal, plant sap etc.

6. BLUE POTTERY

It is widely recognized as the traditional craft of Jaipur, though it is a Turko-Persian in origin.

Blue pottery as the name suggests blue dye use to colour the pottery.

Some of these potteries are semi-transparent mainly decorated with animals or birds print.

Many decorative things like bowls, vases, coasters, boxes etc. are items included in blue pottery.

Written by Lavika Agarwal

She thinks Success does not come from never making mistakes, but by never making the same mistakes twice.