The Forgotten Shivlings of Sati Shaktipeeths


Book Description

” Lord Shiva gets married to Sati, the daughter of Prajapati Daksh. Sati goes to Her father’s yajna uninvited, and burns Herself in the sacrificial fire as Daksha insults Lord Shiva and Her. Lord Shiva traverses the creation with Sati’s burnt body on His shoulders, dancing the Rudra Tandava. Lord Vishnu cuts the body into pieces by Sudarshana chakra, that scatter on Bharatvarsha in Bhooloka. Lord Shiva refuses to part with Sati, and establishes Himself along with each Pindi as Swayambhu Shivlinga. Demon Tarakasura attempts to steal the Devi Pindi, and consequently Lord Shiva appoints Kshetrapal Bhairav to protect each Shaktipeeth from evil, demonic forces. The Shaktipeeths are worshipped, and an unknown span of time passes. Bharatvarsha is attacked by the mlechhas. The temples are attacked, broken and plundered. The Shivlinga is broken, and the Bhairav temple is lost. The Pindi is not visible anymore, and the idea of the existence of the Swayambhu Shivlinga is forgotten. At some places, Goddess appears in the dream of devotees to look up a particular spot where She exists. So, Kalighat temple, Attahas Peeth and Kalkaji temple are rediscovered. As a thousand years pass, the memory of the Swayambhu Shivlinga is lost and forgotten. Mahadev remains bound with Sati Pindi as Swayambhu Shivlinga, and waits to be found and worshipped again at each of the Shaktipeeth temples. As the exact spots of the Swayambhu lingam wait to be rediscovered along with the Devi Pindi, the real Shaktipeeth temples await to welcome back the lost glory of ancient Vedic India and Her cultural magnificence. ”




Sri Venkateshwara Nija Pada Adhishtham


Book Description

The book traces refuge for the helpless and destitute animals in the holy feet of the Lord; as apart from the mankind who may be able to think for themselves.




Temple Recipes of Ancient India


Book Description

The ancient Hindu temples offered Naivedyam or Prasadam to the deity as an inherent part of the daily ritualistic worship. This culture is prevalent till date, and some of the large ancient temples in South India follow the same Sattvik culinary preparations that have been epigraphed on the temple walls. The book presents an overview of some temple recipes that are distributed as Prasadams to the devotees.




Oudhr Magadh Nritya Shaili


Book Description

A comprehensive guide for students learning Odissi classical Indian dance; serving as a text book plus reference book.The book provides an insight to the origins of Indian classical dance, development of the Oudhr Magadh presently known as 'Odissi' style of dance. The later chapters give the basics of steps, Odissi dance repertoire, Hasta Mudras and is a guide for students right from introductory stage to advanced levels.




Flute for Everyone


Book Description

FLUTE FOR EVERYONE is designed in such a way that, readers across the world will be able to start in Flute / Bansuri, learn to play prelims, songs and gain interest in Classical Music.Goal is Read, Listen, Play & Learn. Notations are available in both Indian & Sheet Music. Step by step guidance is provided on holding the flute, first time blowing, playing the preliminary notes in multiple octaves, playing with beats & rhythm and then enter to play various world famous songs starting from Happy Birthday To You, Twinkle Twinkle, We shall Overcome, Do a Deer, Jamaican Farewell, Auld Lang Syne. Greatest advantage of this book is that, both notations are provided here - Indian Convention and Sheet Music. Music files are embedded in Kindle Ebook edition. Most of the songs are chosen in such a way that one can learn step by step on Rhythm, Gaps, beats and play methodically.This Book touches on Golden Era Bollywood Hindi Songs, Tagore Song, Bhajans and finally learning the classical ragas in Flute. There is no age barrier to start on the learning. Golden time with Musical Maestros picturize of life of musicians & composers. The Flute & Meditation section enters the world of positive vibes.Before jumping into course, the book will touch you on the brief history of Flute / Bansuri specifically how Pt. Pannalal Ghosh brings flute from the hand of cowherds into a classical instrument. The making of Bansuri is demonstrated from Guruji's words with the detailed steps to visualize the struggle to create a good quality Flute.Next step is to purchase a flute and this book will help you to choose your flute based on the years of playing experience.The Music Course is designed for the learners to get interest in Flute / Bansuri. With the interest of learner, they can finish the topics in 60 days to 6 month to complete.Music course is prepared starting from Holding the Flute, Prelims on the notes, Learn to play double notes at a time, triple notes at a time, 4 notes at a time, learn to pause for Gaps and gradually the notation systems are introduced.Learning Taal is an important factor in music and the learner can play in a Rhythm of various beats like 6 beat (Dadra), 8 beat (Kaharwa) and gradually in 16 beat (Tintal).Once learner can play with Rhythm, then the simple songs all are introduced. Finally the Ragas are introduced. Over the course, 5 Ragas are given with detailed notations, Alaap, Bandish, Antara, Taan and sample Tihai. The Ragas are composed in such a way that the entire musical verse can be practiced as well as performed in a function. For the simplistic progression of Raga in Flute, Ragas are given in most scientific learning order such as Raga Hamsadhwani, Raga Durga, Raga Bilaval, Raga Mand and Raga Bhupali. After every chapter, next steps are mentioned for the learner. For example, Raga Yaman or Raga Desh can be the next steps once learner completes the above 5 Ragas.After the course material, Musical Workshop, Demonstration & Function are illustrated from the Musical Diaries of last performance. In addition to Flute, several Musical instruments such as Guitar, Violin, Banjo, Piano, Harmonica, Tabla are introduced in the workshop & demonstrated to the new students. After that, research topics are discussed on Flute such as - Flute & Meditation, Improvisation to 8 Hole Classical E Flute.Anyone loves music, will get interest on the stories from Musical diaries and the advance topics.Hence, Plenty of learning content as well as musical stories are covered in the Edition 1. Please provide your valuable feedback, suggestions, corrections and keep in touch. Let us know if you are interested in online / classroom courses with certification in Flute, Violin, Mandolin, Guitar, Keyboard, Sarod, Ukulele etc. Hope readers will enjoy reading, practicing and be part of the musical journey.




Temple Culture of Ancient India


Book Description

The book presents the status of temples as they were originally stated to signify in ancient Bharatvarsh. The supremacy of the ancient Hindu temples across the Indian subcontinent were established as they took upon the task of nurturing the classical art forms of dance, music, painting, sculptures, martial arts amongst others.The temples were at the helm of the religious, social, political and educational affairs.




Forgotten Artists of Early Cinema


Book Description

Tens of thousands of artists have contributed to Hindi cinema since 1931. Barring a few famous ones, other are long forgotten and are destined for obscurity. By sheer determination the authors have obtained information on more than 30 such artists, eg Khalil, Baakre, Baby Akhtar and Latika. There are scores of others with similar names. Their biographies and filmographies are often mixed up even in well-known books and popular websites. By deep research the authors have distinguished between more than 25 such cases, eg Shyams, Rajkumars, Zubeidas and Shashi Kapoors. The book is illustrated by more than 60 rare and not-before-seen pictures of these long forgotten artists.







The Re-Establishment of Sri Athi Varadharajaswamy Perumal of Kanchipuram


Book Description

The book establishes the facts and arguments that support the re-establishment of Lord Sri Athi Varadharajaswamy Perumal in the temple after having been buried in water for over seven centuries following the invasion of the temple town of Kanchipuram.