Thought Lantern

  Today's story is a special offering written by Dr. Deepikha Barathan it is a small story but it is filled with emotions and on the day 2 of Navratri we present this story in front of all so that you can also dive into the devotional stream.  Ria is a girl child of four years old. She is going to L.K.G. She is very excited to go to school. She came home and slept. Her mom put make up on for her and took her to Navratri. Function. She was excited to see the idols of God and Goddess. She was curious in knowing the names of the. And she sat quietly and sang the songs. She finally got the  Prasad and started eating. While seeing the child I was reminded of my inner child wherein my mom used to take me to Golu function. All the nine days we would be dressed up and  go to temple. My dad also would join us. The deities would be glorified in a beautiful way. My parents used to sponsor the  food. At a very young age I understood the kindness in them. This small child br...

                                          Book Link -    https://www.bribooks.com/bookstore/dian-and-durga/ Book Name: Dian and Durga  Author: Jeevasini Patnana Rating: 5/5 A little sneak peak into the story -  What if a lost baby dinosaur had Maa Durga herself as his guide and protector? Well that is the catch of this book although it starts with a fall and Dian the dinosaur slips into the lake and crash lands well not in water but in a Durga Puja Pandal where everyone runs away in fear except the Goddess herself.  Maa Durga comes alive for him she speaks to him in his own language, in a voice that sounded exactly like his mother's one line that touched me "I am the mother of all beings. That's why you see your mother in me."  From this point, Dian new that he was not alone he had Maa Durga by his side all the time but he wanted to go home and he was re...

  Today, on the auspicious occasion of Mahalaya we would like to showcase a reflection written by heart and words equally poured inside this reflection by Anushree Bhattacharya so let's see what she has to say in her reflection.  Title - Mahalaya Reflection  By - Anushree Bhattacharya  There is a nostalgic feeling that awakens the arrival of autumn in every Bengali  heart, no matter where in the world they might be. Long before the dhak (traditional drums) resonates through the pandals & before streets drape  themselves in a tapestry of festive lights, the air undergoes a serene, divine  metamorphosis. It carries the crisp, damp chill of early morning dew intertwined  with the sweet, honeyed scent of shiuli phool (night-flowering jasmine) blossoms  carpeting the green grass. For every "Bong," across the globe, this sensory  awakening culminates in a single, deeply sacred event: Mahalaya . It is not merely  a date on the p anjik...

    In the month of September we got our winners of essay writing competition of Lessons they learnt from the epic Ramayana and they have beautifully displayed this through their essays and today we will display them in front of you.  3rd Place Winner -  Krithika Sudarsanam  Unlike Mahabharata, Ramayana has few characters and its unique feature is that man can have cordial relationship with other living beings too.  The first and foremost lessons is the medians towards parents (biological or fostered) ones; simultaneously according to me and excellent example of sibling bondage: to site a few ones are volunteering of Lakshmana ( the  sibling )to go to forest. Bharata's (the third younger one) dedication and maturity towards respecting the seniority.   Despite Lord himself l being incarnated as a human, the lord followed and obeyed all the earthly rules such as obedience to parents and reverence to the teachers and Gurus.   Lord Rama maintaine...

   In the month of September we got our winners of essay writing competition of Lessons they learnt from the epic Ramayana and they have beautifully displayed this through their essays and today we will display them in front of you.  2nd Place Winner -  Bala Saraswathy DS  Our country is famous for its two epics: The ‘Mahabharat’ and the ‘Ramayana’. While  both the epics stick on to the precious gem of dharma, the ‘Ramayana’ holds significant  importance in the life of ordinary people. Many citizens have not understood this concept; but  actually the ‘Ramayana’ holds the basic rights and laws which should be followed by the  people. Compared to the ‘Mahabharat’, the ‘Ramayana’ is short and quickly palatable. Also  being Rama’s ‘ayan’ or Rama’s story, it also emphasizes the essence of Bhakti or Devotion. In the epic, not only Lord Rama, but also his devotees are depicted. The main characters  include Hanumanji, Vibhishana, Sugriva, S...

  In the month of September we got our winners of essay writing competition of Lessons they learnt from the epic Ramayana and they have beautifully displayed this through their essays and today we will display them in front of you.  1st Place Winner -  Writa Bhattacharjee  My first encounter with the Ramayana was as a child listening to the audiocassette for Chhotoder Ramayan (Ramayana for Children), which tells the whole story of the Ramayana through songs. So many of the songs stayed with me as I grew up, though the songs were not the only elements of the epic that stuck. Over the last few decades, I have read several other versions of the Ramayana in more than one language—from a portion of Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsham in Sanskrit to Devdutt Patnaik’s Story of Ram in English. With every book and every read, I have found something new to admire and learn from this epic tale of dharma vs adharma . Here are a few of those lessons. The first lesson, to put it in modern...