Sunday, February 28, 2010

Ding dong the witch is DEAD ... Subh Holi.




As we speak, Hindus all over the world are igniting bonfires and thus commemorating the death of the witch Holika.

To understand this, let us go back in time. The following story knows quite a few variations, but hey this is India with 1.2 billion people and a religion that is considered to be the oldest in the world. So in a colourful time as Holi one should allow for an equally colourful array of stories regarding the story of witch Holika.

Once upon a time there was the brutal King Hiranyakashyapa. He wanted to be revered as a God himself and establish his own supremacy everywhere. However, his own son, Prahalad refused and continued to pray to Lord Vishnu instead.

Out of frustration and anger, the demon king then decided to kill his son. Despite all his efforts, Prahalad remained safe by the blessings of Lord Vishnu. Finally, the Hiranyakashyapa called in the help of his cruel sister Holika. Legend has it that Holika was blessed with a drape which protected her from burning into fire. As per the plan made by the brother and sister, the demon princess Holika sat with young Prahalad in a huge bowl of fire wearing the drape over her body.

But this time, due to heavy wind the drape came over young Prahalad, saving him from burning and as a result Holika was burnt in fire and thus died on the spot.

This incident thus re-established the faith of people in the ultimate divine power and is thus celebrated as the day of eternal love, devotion, blessings and the victory of Good over Evil.
Holi is also the time of vibrant Love, such as the one between Lord Krishna and Radha.

Picture credits: press agency Reuters



Thursday, February 25, 2010

Shiva Art






















Oh no ...

... not another career switch... , but hey this is what happens when Pakistani-Indian Shahzad Ali Khan leaves his instruments unattended during the radio programme Oba Live: me having a go at the tabla.

And now some real music, not the noise I was supposedly making. The next track is from Rumanian David Deejay. Sexy Thing or Somebody told you how much I love you. Enjoy.



Photography: Shiva art by me,God's photographer.
Tabla photo: Abdellah Dami and his inseparable i-Phone.

Saturday, February 20, 2010



Awesome Dance Tracks

If ever I should decide on career switch number ... ;-)





Ameerah
: Sound of missing you ... TLF iovj



And do crank up the volume!!! OMG, it is almost 03.00 in the morning and while most sensible Dutch people are probably sleeping like a baby, yours truly is still wide awake. Should be living in Bombay where Sunday 21st February is already well under way
.

Anna Grace: Love keeps calling / Let the feelings go



Which religion is true?

An age-old question leaving a trail of blood throughout the history of mankind.

The question also lies at the heart of the famous German play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing: Nathan the Wise (1779). Nathan - himself Jewish - tries to bridge the gap between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Then sultan Saladin asks him which religion is true?

In answer to this question Nathan tells the story of the magical heirloom ring handed down from God to mankind. Whoever wears the ring has the love of God.

At some point the ring ends up in the hands of a father who has three sons whom he loves equally. So, he promises the ring to each of them. Looking for a way to keep his promise, he has two replicas made, which are indistinguishable from the original, and on his deathbed he gives a ring to each of them.

The brothers quarrel over who owns the real ring. A wise judge admonishes them telling them it is impossible to tell, the original one supposedly having been lost at some point in the past. Yet this is a magical ring and in order to find out which of the sons has the real ring, it is up to them to live in such a way that their ring's powers are proven true.

In other words, the brothers should live a life that is pleasant in the eyes of God and mankind (rather than expecting the ring's miraculous powers to do the trick).

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing did not include Hinduism in Nathan the Wise. Not that it matters, for the ring parabel would still hold its ground. Religion is about God and God has many names and faces.

Judaism; seven divine names, such as: Yod-Hei-Vav-Hei, Elohim, El Shaddai and Adonai.

Christianity: Emmanual, Alpha, Carpenter, Everlasting Father

Islam; the 99 names of God, e.g. al Aziz, al Malik, al Gaffur, An Nur, Al Rashid.

All those divine names usually represent virtuous qualities. And believe it or not, Hinduism is not that different. Hindus, too, glorify and praise the thousands of qualities of the One God in his thousands of manifestations (avatars). Thus Lord Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, symbolises Love. Lord Rama, another avatar of Vishnu, stands for Virtue. Hanuman is all about Power and the Goddess Saraswati represents Wisdom.The Bhagavad Geeta (Song of the Lord) has many verses that cleary mention the Oneness of God. The same book acknowledges others paths of worship, for instance through images of clay, stone copper, bronze, gold, silver, glass deities.

We bow. We worship. We do this in churches, temples, mosques, synagogues. We read holy scriptures. We rever Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Shiva, Vishnu, Laxmi, Shiva Linga, images of imam Ali, Husain, even the prophet Muhammad. And let us not forget what is inside the Kaaba: an ancient sacred black stone. Ring a bell?






Monday, February 15, 2010

Shiva-ji

In His most hypnotic form: the Dancing Shiva.


Sunday, February 14, 2010


God in colour




Dilruba

My latest discovery: Azam Ali and her mindblowing track Dilruba, here mixed by Junkie XL. The track contains Hindi, Urdu and Farsi words. Not surprising given the fact that Azam was born in Teheran and raised in India. This year she will be doing the soundtrack for the film Prince of Persia.


Coup Verdonk

Rita Verdonk komt bij de kapper. De kapper vraagt: 'Hetzelfde als de vorige keer?'
Rita antwoordt: ''Nee, doe maar iets wilders ...'

Shivatri, Shivaji, Shiv Bhagwan

Two days ago, it was HIS day, the one who listens to a thousand and one names. For me, simply Shiva. Should have written about this on Friday, but I was desperately trying to get things right for the one who catapulted me into Hindu action in the first place. Who? That is for me to know and for you to wonder. Om Namah Shivah. iovj

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Lebanon: never a dull moment

Some of you may know that yours truly chairs the Dutch - Arab Friendship Association (Amsterdam chapter). We organise all kinds of activities, from a cooking workshop to lectures and films on all things related to the Arab world.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a very renown speaker. None other than the lebanese writer and journalist Melhem Riashy, the anchorman of Arab News Network and not linked to any political party in Lebanon.

Riashy is a busy bee, not only is he senior advisor to Elias Murr, the Lebanese Defense minister, in between he teaches Strategic Communication at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik and he has published numerous books.

Riashy gave an on stage interview to Dutch journalist Arthur Blok regarding the socio political situation in Lebanon. His presence drew quite an audience, even including the Lebanese Ambassador to the Netherlands.

Fair is foul and foul is fair (Macbeth)

Thick fog. Three crooked witches blessed with equally crooked noses fill the auditorium with their eerie voices. And out comes one of the most famous quotes from Will's Macbeth:

First Witch

When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

Second Witch
When the hurly burly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.

Third Witch
That will be ere the set of sun.

Why dedicate a post to this famous opening scene? Well, I saw the play last Wednesday at Het Baken, a secondary school in the Dutch city of Almere, where I teach English - or at least try to. The actors? Fourteen, fifteen and sixteen-year-old gifted students in kilts, whose mother tongue is Dutch, while they performed the play in near perfect English! A tremendous feat, I dare say, and one that deserved a much higher turnout. Yet this being Holland, let's blame the weather.

Nonetheless, I hope this will herald a new annual tradition at Het Baken: performing a classic like Macbeth in a foreign language.

Below, some pictures I took with my brand new Nikon D5000 (still practising...). The last pic has my esteemed colleague Teresa on it, who not only teaches English, but also directed this play.