MAHARASHTRA & Marathi People

The Marathi people or Maharashtrians (Marathi: मराठी माणसं or महाराष्ट्रीय) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages. Although their history goes back more than a millennium, the community came to prominence when Maratha warriors under Shivaji Maharaj established the Maratha Empire in 1674.
The Marathi people are also known as Maharashtrians. The whole community was called Maratha or Marathe (plural of Maratha) between the 17th and 19th centuries. However, at the beginning of 20th century, due to the efforts of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, the peasant Marathi class called Kunbi started using the word Maratha to describe themselves. So that in current usage, the term Maratha applies mainly to the group mentioned before rather than the wider Marathi community. In the Marathi language, they refer to themselves as marathi manoos. They are called Marathi people because of the language they speak, Marathi.The majority of Marathi people are Hindus. Although Krishna in the form of Vithal is the most popular deity amongst Marathi Hindus, they also worship the Shiva Family deities such as as Shankar& Parvati under various names and also Ganesh. The Warkari tradition holds strong grip on local Hindus of Maharastra.The public Ganesh festival started by Lokmanya Tilak in the late 1900s is still very popular. Marathi Hindus also revere Bhakti saints such as Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram and Namdev.
There are also significant minorities of Muslims, Christians and Neo-Buddhists. The Neo-Buddhists are followers of Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Marathi Muslims belong mostly to the Sufi tradition. Visiting the tombs of Sufi saints is very important to this community. Hindus also visit these tombs in great numbers, especially during the annual Urus.
There is also a 3000 strong community of Marathi Jews, popularly known as Bene Israel Most of the rest have migrated to Israel. Before the migration this community numbered at least 90,000.

Food

There are many communities in the Marathi society which gives the cuisine much diversity. One can even say that the diversity extends to the family level because each family has its own combination of spices. The majority of Maharashtrians do eat meat and eggs, but the Brahmin community is mostly lacto-vegetarian, however, many Brahmins have now taken to Non vegetarianism or Ovo vegetarianism.
Maharashtrian cuisine is regionally diverse. The staple food on Desh (Deccan plateau) is usually bhakri( In Maharashtra a flat bread preparation made using Indian millet called jowar,bajra or bajri), cooked vegetables, dal and rice. The North Maharashtrians prefer "roti" though. In the coastal Konkan region , rice is the traditional staple food. An aromatic variety of rice called ambemohar is more popular amongst Marathi people than the internationally known basmati rice.
"Thalipeeth" is a popular traditional breakfast bread that is prepared using "Bhajani",a mixture of many different varieties of lentils.
Marathi Hindu people have many days throughout the year for "fasting". On most of these fasting days, traditional staple food like rice and chhapatis are to be avoided. However, many other food items such as milk products, potatoes, peanut and sabudana preparations are allowed which result in a full rich alternative "fasting" cuisine.
In South Konkan, near Malvan, an independent exotic cuisine has developed called Malvani cuisine. It is predominantly non-vegetarian. Kombdi Vade, fish preparations and baked preparations are more popular here.
Desserts are an important part of Marathi food. Puran poli, Shrikhand, Basundi,Kheer and Modak are loved by most people. It should be noted that traditionally the desserts were associated with a particular festival, for example, modaks are prepared during the Ganpati festival.

main Festivals In Maharashtra

• Gudhi Padwa
• Akshaya Tritiya
• Vat Purnima
• Ashadhi Ekadashi
• Guru Paurnima
• Nag Panchami
• Gokul Ashtami
• mangala Gaur
• Bail Pola / Pithori Amavasya
• hartalika
• Ganesh Chaturthi
• Gauri
• Anant Chaturdashi
• Ghatsthapana / Navratri
• Dasara
• Kojagari
• Diwali
• Tulsi Vivah (Tulshicha lagna)
• Kartiki Ekadashi
• Bhogi
• Makar Sankranti
• Maha Shivratri
• Holi
• Dhuli Vandan
• Rang Panchami
  Links
• http://www.marathimati.com/

Bhagat Singh- A Great Hero

Bhagat Singh (Punjabi: ਭਗਤ ਸਿੰਘ (Gurmukhi) بھگت سنگھ (Shahmukhi), IPA: [pə̀gət̪ sɪ́ŋg]) (September 27, 1907[1] – March 23, 1931) was an Indian freedom fighter, considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. For this reason, he is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh (the word shaheed means "martyr").Born to a family which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj in India, Singh, as a teenager, had studied European revolutionary movements and was attracted to anarchism and communism.[2] He became involved in numerous revolutionary organizations. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) and became one of its leaders, converting it to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Singh gained support when he underwent a 63-day fast in jail, demanding equal rights for Indian and British political prisoners. He was hanged for shooting a police officer in response to the killing of veteran freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai. His legacy prompted youth in India to begin fighting for Indian independence and also increased the rise of socialism in India

Links

http://www.shahidbhagatsingh.org/

http://www.ferrindia.org

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી, mohandās karamchand gā̃dhī?; IPA: [moɦənd̪äs kərəmtʃənd̪ gä̃d̪ʱi]) (2 October 1869–30 January 1948), also known as Mahatma Gandhi, was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of Satyagraha—a philosophy that is largely concerned with truth and 'resistance to evil through active, non-violent resistance'—which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is commonly known in India and across the world as the Mahatma (Sanskrit: महात्मा mahātmā — "Great Soul" - an epithet given by Tagore) and as Bapu (Gujarati: બાપુ bāpu—"Father"). In India, he is officially accorded the honour of Father of the Nation. 2 October, his birthday, is commemorated each year as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday. On 15 June 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution declaring 2 October to be the "International Day of Non-Violence."[1][2]
Gandhi first employed peaceful civil disobedience in the Indian community's struggle for civil rights in South Africa. Upon his return to India from Africa, he organized poor farmers and labourers to protest against oppressive taxation and widespread discrimination. Assuming leadership of the Indian National Congress, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for the alleviation of poverty, for the liberation of women, for brotherhood amongst different religious and ethnic groups, for an end to untouchability and caste discrimination, and for the economic self-sufficiency of the nation, but above all for Swaraj—the independence of India from foreign domination. Gandhi famously led his nation in the disobedience of the British salt tax imposed in India with the 400 kilometre (250 miles) Dandi Salt March in 1930, and in an open call for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years on numerous occasions in both South Africa and India.
Gandhi practiced and advocated non-violence and truth in all situations. He lived simply, organizing an ashram that was self-sufficient in its needs. Making his own clothes—the traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with the hand spun yarn he spun on a charkha—he lived on a simple vegetarian and, later, fruitarian diet. He underwent long (at times over a month) fasts, for both self-purification and protest.

Books on Gandhi
Several biographers have undertaken the task of describing Gandhi's life. Among them, two works stand out: D. G. Tendulkar with his Mahatma. Life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in eight volumes, and Pyarelal and Sushila Nayar with their Mahatma Gandhi in 10 volumes. Colonel G. B. Singh from US Army is said of have spent 20 years[42] collecting Gandhi's original speeches and writings for his factual research book Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity.

Dalit leader B. R. Ambedkar condemned Gandhi's use of the term Harijans to refer to the Dalit community. This term meant "Children of God";[83] it was interpreted by some as saying that Dalits were socially immature, and that privileged caste Indians played a paternalistic role. Ambedkar and his allies also felt Gandhi was undermining Dalit political rights. Gandhi, although born into the Vaishya caste, insisted that he was able to speak on behalf of Dalits, despite the availability of Dalit activists such as Ambedkar.
Indologist Koenraad Elst has also critiqued Gandhi. He questioned the effectiveness of Gandhi's theory of non-violence and argued that it achieved only a few token concessions from the British. Elst also argued that it was British fear of violence (along with depletion due to the after effects of World War II) rather than non-violence, that led to Indian Independence. According to Elst, this was exemplified by Indian public support for Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army.[84] As praise, "Gandhi's major claim to fame was that he, almost alone among the freedom leaders in the entire colonized world, had sought and developed policies and strategies rooted in native culture rather than borrowed from Western models (nationalism, socialism etc.)—"[85]

Shivaji

Shivaji Bhosle, also known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosle (Marathi: छत्रपती शिवाजीराजे भोसले) (Born:February 19, 1627, Died: April 3, 1680) was the founder of Maratha empire in western India in 1674.
He is considered a great hero in India, particularly in the present-day state of Maharashtra. Using guerrilla tactics well-suited to the rugged mountains and valleys of the region, he annexed

The actual date of Shivaji's birth was under controversy but now settled on date as 19 February 1627.[citation needed] Shivaji was born in Shivneri Fort, Junnar
Shivaji , 60 kilometres north of Pune and about 100 kilometres east of Mumbai. He was named Shiva, after the local Goddess Shivai, to whom his mother Jijabai had prayed for a son. Jijabai had several other sons before Shivaji who did not survive. portion of the then dominant Mughal empire and the Sultanate of Bijapur.

Shivaji started his career as an independent young prince of a small kingdom on a mission. Shivaji used the title of Raja (king) only after Shahaji's death.
His mother made an indelible impression on him with her teachings, with her love of the homeland and its people. Shivaji learned much from his father's failed attempts at political independence: his exceptional military capabilities and achievements, his knowledge of Sanskrit, Hindu ethos, patronage of the arts, his war strategies and peacetime diplomacy. He was inspired and informed by his family's vision of independence and freedom.

At the age of 17 Shivaji carried out his first military action by attacking and capturing Torna fort of the Bijapur kingdom, in 1645. By 1647 he had captured Kondana and Rajgad forts and had complete control of the Pune region.
By 1654 Shivaji had captured forts in the Western Ghats and along the Konkan coast. In a bid to sabotage this move of the Marathas under Shivaji's able leadership, Adilshah had his father - Shahaji arrested by deceitful means, and he sent one army against Sambhaji, Shivaji's elder brother at Bangalore (with Farradkhan at its head) and another against Shivaji at Purandhar (with Fattekhan at its head). However both Bhonsle brothers defeated the invading armies securing the release of their father. Afzal Khan was then sent to destroy Shivaji, in an effort to put down what was seen by Bijapur as a regional revolt.

Shivaji's Forts

Shivaji is well known for his forts; he was in possession of around three hundred at the time of his death. Many, like Panhala,Rajgad existed before him but others like Sindhudurg and Pratapgad were built by him from scratch. These forts were central to his empire and their remains are among the foremost sources of information about his rule. The French missionary Father Fryer witnessed the fortifications of Gingee, Madras, built by Shivaji after its conquest, and appreciated his technical knowhow and knowledge.
The hill fort Salher in Nashik district was at a distance of 1200 km from the hill fort Jingi, near Chennai. Over such long distance, hill forts were supported by seaforts. Sea fort Colaba,near Mumbai was at a distance of 500 km from seafort Sindhudurg. These all forts were put under a havaldar with a strong garrison. Strict discipline was followed. These forts proved useful during Mughal-Maratha wars.
Along with Rana Kumbha of Mewar and Raja Bhoj of Shilahar, he stands as a grand figure in the art of fortification in Indian sub-continent. There are a number of legends about these forts. Even today thousands of youths visit these forts in his memory.
Notable features of Shivaji's forts include:
Design changes with the topography and in harmony of the contour, no monotony of design
No ornate palaces or dance floors or gardens
No temple complexes
Not much difference in the area of higher or lower ranks
Marvelous acoustics in the capital
Sanskritization of fort names
Community participation in the defense of forts
Three tier administration of forts
System of inspection of forts by higher ups including the king
Distinct feature of forts like double line fortification of Pratapgad, citadel of Rajgad
Foresight in selection of sites
Chhatrapati Shivaji was a devout Hindu and he respected all religions within the region. Shivaji had great respect for Warkari saints like Tukaram and Sufi Muslim pir Shaikh Yacub Baba Avaliya of Konkan .[5].
He also visited Mouni Maharaj temple and Samadhi at Patgaon (Bhudargad Taluka near to Gargoti) in Kolhapur district. Shahaji had donated a huge piece of land to Shaha-Sharif Durga of Ahmednagar.
Shivaji allowed his subjects freedom of religion and opposed forced conversion. The first thing Shivaji did after a conquest was to promulgate protection of mosques and Muslim tombs. One-third of his army was Muslim, as were many of his commanders: his most trusted general in all his campaigns was Haider Ali Kohari; Darya Sarang was chief of armoury; Ibrahim Khan and Daulat Khan were prominent in the navy; and Siddi Ibrahim was chief of artillery.
Shivaji had respect for the Sufi tradition of Islam.[6] Shivaji used to pray at the mausoleum of the great Sufi Muslim saint Baba Sharifuddin. He also visited the abode of another great Sufi saint, Shaikh Yacub of the Konkan, and sought his blessings. He called Hazrat Baba of Ratnagiri bahut thorwale bhau, meaning "great elder brother".
Kafi Khan, the Mughal historian and Bernier, a French traveler, spoke highly of his religious policy. He also brought back converts like Netaji Palkar & Bajaji in to Hinduism. He prohibited slavery in his kingdom.
Shivaji applied a humane and liberal policy to the women of his state.[6] There are many instances in folklore, which describes Shivaji's respect for women, irrespective of their religion, nationality, or creed.
Shivaji's sentiments can be seen in an admonishing letter he wrote to Aurangzeb, in which he wrote: "Verily, Islam and Hinduism are terms of contrast. They are used by the true Divine Painter for blending the colours and filling in the outlines. If it is a mosque, the call to prayer is chanted in remembrance of him. If it is a temple, the bells are rung in yearning for him alone

Kids and Money - Why Is It So Hard?

We learn so many things as we grow up. We learn how to walk, talk, and get away with not doing our homework. We learn how to play complicated games, many of them involving pretend money. So, why is it so hard for us to learn how to manage money? Why do so many people struggle to make ends meet, even on reasonably high incomes? Why do so few people manage to provide sufficiently for themselves in retirement? It’s not rocket science.

We know what it takes. And there are some people doing it. So why isn’t basic money management as widely understood as basic geometry? Imagine what life would be like if making money came as easily and naturally as riding a bike or tying your shoelaces. Imagine graduating high school with a permanent, secure, passive income already in place.

You wake each the morning to find more money has appeared in your account overnight! If you want to travel, you do. If you want to paint, write, or do any other creative activity, you do. You choose your occupation based on what you love to do, not the burden of having to pay the bills. You have all the time you need to socialise with your family and friends, to stay in shape, and to practice your spirituality. This world is not a pipe-dream. It’s not unrealistic. The world is alive with opportunity, more so now than ever before, and the opportunity is expanding exponentially. With the right knowledge and attitudes, today’s kids can capture their share of that opportunity, and set themselves up for life. So, why isn’t everyone doing it? Because not everyone’s parents have the right knowledge and attitudes to pass along to their kids. Some of those who have the knowledge and attitudes are still setting themselves up in life, working long hours, and find it difficult to break the knowledge down into terms their kids can understand. What can we do about it? As parents, we need to be conscious that financial education ranks up there with education about nutrition, health, and communication. We must educate ourselves, so that we can educate our children. There are many places to go on the web to get that vital financial education.

The Cash Smart Kids program (http://www.cash-smart-kids.com) provides lessons for the kids, plus additional reference material for their parents. The Rich Dad website (http://www.richdad.com) is rich in content, and contains information about the Cashflow series of educational board games. There are numerous e-Books, ezine articles, and offline financial publications with an online presence. And, of course, there are dozens of relevant books in your local book store.

Guaranteed Extra Cash Online

For college students and other people who feel burned out trying to balance paying the bills and living at the same time, ads like these can prove to be irresistible. Many of them make perfect sense and easily hook you based on good concepts.

Unfortunately, many times the product or service does not match the brilliance of a great idea for making money from home or through the Internet. As I’ve learned myself, the further you go down this road, the more excited you get. You basically get hooked, and if you aren’t careful, you will end up working hard and falling further into debt than you can imagine. Much like gambling, the lure of easy money and independence can make just about anyone fall prey to work at home scams that feed off your dreams to get to your wallet so they can go on to the next victim. Hopefully, you will never fall victim to these scam artists.

However, the fact of the matter is that these scammers would not be wasting their time if they were not making any money. And as long as people continue to get mixed up in this business, these scammers are going to stick around to trick more and more people. The best way to keep a scammer’s claws away from your credit card is to do thorough research on each opportunity that you are considering. This means doing much more than simply reading a bit about it online. In my personal experience, I have been taken by companies who were savvy enough to pollute the Internet with staged testimonials, guarantees, questionable references to big name endorsements, and even appearances in the Better Business Bureau.

A colleague of mine who invested in vending machine placement services even went so far as to physically go to the manufacturing plant to tour the warehouse as well as contact the Better Business Bureau of that state. What he received, in return, were twenty malfunctioning candy machines with a list of local businesses who had apparently agreed to receive them. Not only did none of these businesses know what he was talking about, many of them were hostile when he showed up to place them. What you want to do is check message boards such as the ASK section of Yahoo.com. Another simple method of weeding out the scams from the genuine opportunities is to go to a search engine and simply type in the company name followed by the word “scam”. If you do this, and you are barraged by an endless list of complaints, you my friend have found a nugget of gold in a sea of mud. In terms of the Better Business Bureau, it is best to contact them directly to ask about any complaints, and also find out how long a company has been listed. The Better Business Bureau operates state by state. They will be able to tell you if they have any complaints on file. If they do, you will want to avoid the opportunity at all costs. But if it appears that a company is doing business the right way, you can continue your own research. Being in the Business Bureau is not necessarily that hard to accomplish. Many scammers can use their money and connections to set up a front to initially qualify for the Better Business Bureau just long enough for them to collect their cash from unsuspecting victims, close shop, create a new identity and start again. Before you decide to do anything, attempt to get in touch with the company that you are interested in. Can you get a human being on the phone? Do they have an actually physical address? How long does it take them to respond to your e-mails, if at all? If you cannot even talk to the company before you start, there is not chance that they will be around when you really need them. I once made quite a bit of money selling vacation vouchers on auction sites. The marketing plan was sound, and the money saving vouchers was a hit. Only problem was, I could never get in touch with their customer service department to handle my customer inquiries and complaints once I realized that the promises that existed in writing on the vouchers were misleading at best. This proved to be such a problem that it took me over a year to recover from the negative publicity on my auction site. Of course, there are legitimate home based businesses out there. With the Internet and all the low cost, web producing tools available, there seems to be a renaissance in entrepreneurship. Basically, just find a product or service you can market online, and do your research. Sell on EBay if you don’t want to build your own website. You can have a website their and all search engine marketing is already done by EBay. The Small Business Association has an office in downtown Tacoma and contains invaluable information on their website http://www.sba.com. Since small business is the backbone of our country economically, sources such as these are eager to help you create a plan with realistic expectations. However, like anything else worthwhile, you have to do your homework and work hard at it. The problem is that too many people make you think you can practically go online and make money just clicking on a mouse. You want to steer clear of any business that asks to you to pay for their “Top Secret” e-book that will teach you how to make an automated income.” Think about it, if you are in dire need of cash, can you imagine any other situation in which you would not only work for free, but pay for the privilege to work. There are no magic formals or secrets worth paying for. All of the information in these e-books can be found for free through your own research if you have common internet skills. If you don’t want to work hard and just make a few easy extra bucks without donating your blood or volunteering to be a guinea pig, it is possible to make some good extra money filling out online surveys or through mystery shopping. There are real opportunities out there which require no fee to get started. Not only that, several of them will even give you a $5 bonus just for signing up. If a company such as this is legitimate, they would be making lots of money through the success of its members. Companies that require that $49.97 start up fee only make money through the fee and only want to teach you how to get other people to do the same. The products are all useless lists and general information that anyone with a functioning mind could figure out on their own, or get for free by doing their own research. In 12 years of trying to make a living on the Internet, the following are the best companies I have ever encountered for making a few extra bucks filling out surveys, playing games and mystery shopping. They probably won’t pay the rent, but if you’re interested in making an extra $400 or $500 a month or eating out at nice restaurants and going to movies for free, you may want to check these out: Mystery Shopping Providers Association: ." target=new>http://www.mysteryshop.org/shoppers/">. This site contains all the information you will ever need on starting up as a mystery shopper. It is also a portal for the best sites to go to for mystery shopping jobs online, and they don’t require that you invest a penny. InboxDollars.com. (you can sign up for free and get $5 just for signing up. You can make a few hundred dollars in one day, theoretically, if you are willing to use a credit card to sign up for free or paid trials. Just make sure you have the patience to fill out the long surveys and keep detailed records so you can remember to cancel your free trials before you get charged. Also, you can fill out surveys to make a dollar or two which are completely free. I’ve made about $400 with this site.

http://www..sendearnings.com.(almost identical to InboxDollars.com) http://www.treasuretrooper.com. (a lot of free surveys and cool games). http://www.tiktikcash.com. By far the best of the survey sites. The free surveys are tremendous. You can make a dollar or two in one minute. This site has the shortest, most painless surveys. I made over thirty bucks in less than after signing up.

4 Powerful Steps to Gaining Confidence with Women

Dating is a source of recreation, and it is important to always keeping mind that it is also another way of getting to know and meet more people. This will make it less intimidating in going up to a woman and talking to her, if you tell yourself that it is pretty much the same as initiating a conversation with a stranger: scary, but not extremely so. Men all over the world try endlessly to strike upon the right technique or pick up line, all to secure that first date, and then the subsequent and elusive second date. No technique or pick up line is going to work for you, if you lack self confidence. Women look for a man with value, who can contribute to a relationship. If you lack confidence, however, fret not. Below are 4 powerful steps to gaining confidence with women.

Step 1: Online Dating Yes, laugh if you want. It is a fallacy that online dating is only for the old or the desperate, but this is not true. It is a great meeting ground for getting to know other people first, before deciding if it is someone you would like to meet in real life. It also gives you the opportunity to let the real you shine through, especially if you tend to seize up upon being in the presence of women. This should give you an indication of what dating is like face to face, it should be about getting to know the other person better, and not about using techniques to secure a second date.

Step 2: Your Personality No one likes to hear someone spend the entire evening whining about the bitch at work, or how they deserved a promotion more than so-and-so. Similarly, keep the negativity away from your date: it is a sure conversation killer, and you can be assured that your date will never want to see you again. Be positive, and allow your personality to shine through. That is the major determinant on whether you will make it to a second date. Being positive and smiling will also help you to act more confident than you actually are, and confidence is a big draw for women.

Step 3: Location Suggest a neutral location that your date will feel comfortable in. Pick somewhere central with people, so that she does not feel intimidated or threatened. However, do not go overboard and pick an overly crowded location. This will limit the conversation and the noise levels and crowd will reduce the interaction and opportunities for you to get to know each other. Plan out an activity that you think she will enjoy, such as going to the drive-in movies, or a board game café where you can spend quality time with privacy for conversation, without it being too threatening for her.

Step 4: The Bill Always pay for the bill. Going Dutch is not an option on the first date, simply because manners dictate that the guy should pay for the dinner, or the movies. Paying for the bill without hesitation will also make your date feel like she is being treated like a princess, and that you value her company. It is also a subtle signal that you are a stable person who is capable of treating a woman right. Follow these 4 simple steps to gaining confidence with women. Remember, it is not about tricks and techniques, it is about holding your nervousness at bay to allow the real you to establish a connection or rapport with your date.

Semenax - Ejaculation and Male Potency

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