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Showing posts from August, 2008

Kerala: The Cradle of Christianity in South Asia

A documentary film "Kerala: The Cradle of Christianity in South Asia"(30 minutes)was screened on 2 Aug at the Kerala house in Delhi. This film depicting the rich and colorful texture of the Indian version of the Middle Eastern (Chaldean and Antiochene), Roman, and Anglican traditions of Christianity in Kerala against backdrop of one of the most attractive tourist regions in the world. The film highlights a relatively less known aspect of the cultural complexity of the region, provides yet another reason for calling Kerala as "God's own country", and makes India more intimate. Verily, a visual and aural treat. Script: Dr. Joseph Palackal, Direction: Jain Joseph FIIT. Joseph Palackal, a St. Thomas Christian from Kerala, is an Indic musicologist, singer, and composer. He earned degrees in Hindustani classical vocal music, psychology, and Christian theology in India and a doctorate in Ethnomusicology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His

Love for Kite Flying

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The Sky line of Delhi on 15 August each year takes festive look with the millions of kites dotting the horizon . The young , old, men ,women all join this fun and cheer each other .This day is also a big holiday in the country being its independence day. Kite flying is just not limited to India alone. In my travels to some of the distant lands I have found keen interest among the people in this fascinating sport . The Kites in China were distinct and so were the ones in Trinidad, Argentina, Chile and of course in the U.S. This sport some how to me is very engaging and provides a sense of fulfillment. I was initiated into kite flying as a kid by my elder siblings and it was such a magical feeling preparing for the big day when the citizens of Chennai would all climb up to to their roof tops on the festive occasion of Deepawali ( Festival of Lights) to engage in this fascinating event. The art of preparing the " Manja" ( String specially treated to have a cutting edge) was some