Posted April 30th, 2010 by Sushant
What do you look for, in a hill station? Snowy peaks and peach white glaciers? Gentle breeze? Colorful flowers? Lush meadow? Welcome to Valley of flowers situated under the bosom of Himalayan sky. Valley of Flowers is placed in the Garhwal region of Himalayas. This mesmerizing place is also called as playground of the gods. Located in Uttarakhand, this enchanting valley will captivate your senses with its sheer beauty and tranquility. Because of its beauty and rich flora life, The Valley of Flowers was declared a National Park in 1982. Its close to another famous place called Nanda Devi National Park.
Few famous flowers of The Valley of Flowers contains names like potentillas, calendulas, primulus, balsam, lilies, poppies, daisies, geraniums, morinas, wild roses, Arum, blue poppy, lady’s slipper orchid, brahma kamal to name a few. One can also find trees like blue pine, oak and birch etc. its laden with snow from November to may and june onwards city becomes a colored pardise represented by beautiful floral life.
Discovered in 1931 by the British botanist and mountaineer Frank Smythe, the Valley of Flowers is a crucial transition between the great Himalayan mountain ranges and the Zanskar. Mr. Smythe also wrote a book named “The Valley of Flowers” based on study of flora of the region. From that very book, this place got its popular name. This place has incredible floral diversity. You will also find several rare animals. Known for its marvelous alpine plant life, The Valley of Flowers has more than 300 species of flowers. Few of them are endemic and few others are endangered. Like many other beautiful places in India, The valley of Flowers also possesses few legends. Local says, this is the place from where Hanuman retrieved ‘Sanjeevani’, the magical herb which saved life of Lakshman in the epic Ramayana. Other legend says, this place is gaden of lord Indra so it’s also called ‘Nandan Kanan’.
Posted April 6th, 2010 by Sushant
Almost every Indian knows about Vedas. It is perhaps the earliest written records of Indian civilization. Considered to be the literary records of the entire Aryan race, the Hindu Vedas are divided into four major groups. The origin of the word Veda is credited to the word ‘Vid’ which means ‘Root’. So, in a way Veda refers to root knowledge pertaining to essentials of life. All the four Vedas are invaluable fortune of knowledge. The literature is not just about sacred rituals but also tells us about attaining higher levels of understanding about important facets of life like survival, life and death. The four Vedas are; Rig veda, Atharva Veda, Sama Veda and Yajur Veda.
The Rig Veda is supposed to be the oldest one and it contains sacred hymns representing the ancient Hindu thoughts and philosophies. Belonging to the period around 1500-1000 B.C., the Rig Veda is simply a powerhouse of crucial concepts like self-sacrifice, Moksha and knowledge about self etc. It is the basis of all other Vedas. Rig Veda is also the oldest book in Sanskrit and even in any other Indo-European language.
The Atharva Veda is fourth and last Veda and is quite different from other three Vedas. It has comparatively more diverse hymns. It primarily talks about socio-cultural and religious aspects of the society apart from dwelling on dark side of science and other religious aspects.
The Sama Veda contains collection of hymns and sacred texts that are meant to be sung instead of simply recited. These hymns are sung in praise of God. Derived from Rig Veda, the hymns are religious and philosophical in nature. They contain the lessons of Rig Veda. Last Veda is the Yajur Veda that has information regarding the various methods of performing sacred rituals and rites. It is basically a manual that tells about how different religious rituals are needed to be performed. It is an elaborate and descriptive step by step guide to attain the maximum benefit of the religious ceremonies. Yajur means sacrifice and Veda means knowledge. Apart from these four Vedas, there are the Upanishads also that are a crucial part of the Holy Scriptures. The teachings of ancient mystics and sages are explained in the Upanishads.
