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| ReligionThe religious practices of Hindus of Kashmir (popularly known as Kashmiri Pandits) revolve around the worship of Shiva and Shakti. All other deities (gods and goddesses) of the traditional Hindu pantheon are worshipped as various manifestations of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is the Supreme Lord of the universe and Shakti, the Universal Mother Goddess, is his eternal companion.
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| RegionKashmir: Poetry of Nature
Set like a jewelled crown on the map of India, Kashmir is a many-faceted diamond, changing its character with the seasons always extravagantly beautiful. Three Himalayan ranges - Karakoram, Zanskar and Pir Panjal - snow-capped, majestic, frame the landscape from northwest to northeast. They are the birthplace of great rivers which flow down into the valleys below, forested with wild orchards and lily laden lakes. |
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Goddess LakshmîLakshmî is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, both material and spiritual. The word "Lakshmî" is derived from the Sanskrit word Laksme, meaning "goal." Lakshmî, therefore, represents the goal of life, which includes worldly as well as spiritual prosperity. In Hindu mythology, Goddess Lakshmî, also called Shri, is the divine spouse of Lord Vishnu and provides Him with wealth for the maintenance and preservation of the creation.
In Her images and pictures, Lakshmî is depicted in a female form with four arms and four hands (see color plate 6). She wears red clothes with a golden lining and is standing on a lotus. She has golden coins and lotuses in her hands. Two elephants (some pictures show four) are shown next to the Goddess. This symbolism conveys the following spiritual theme:
The four arms represent the four directions in space and thus symbolize omnipresence and omnipotence of the Goddess. The red color symbolizes activity. The golden lining (embroidery) on Her red dress denotes prosperity. The idea conveyed here is that the Goddess is always busy distributing wealth and prosperity to the devotees. The lotus seat, which Lakshmî is standing upon, signifies that while living in this world, one should enjoy its wealth, but not become obsessed with it. Such a living is analogous to a lotus that grows in water but is not wetted by water.
The four hands represent the four ends (see page 55) of human life: dharma (righteousness), kãma (genuine desires), artha (wealth), and moksha (liberation from birth and death). The front hands represent the activity in the physical world and the back hands indicate the spiritual activities that lead to spiritual perfection.
Since the right side of the body symbolizes activity, a lotus in the back right hand conveys the idea that one must perform all duties in the world in accordance with dharma. This leads to moksha (liberation), which is symbolized by a lotus in the back left hand of Lakshmî. The golden coins falling on the ground from the front left hand of Lakshmî illustrate that She provides wealth and prosperity to Her devotees. Her front right hand is shown bestowing blessings upon the devotees.
The two elephants standing next to the Goddess symbolize the name and fame associated with worldly wealth. The idea conveyed here is that a true devotee should not earn wealth merely to acquire name and fame or only to satisfy his own material desires, but should share it with others in order to bring happiness to others in addition to himself.
Some pictures show four elephants spraying water from golden vessels onto Goddess Lakshmî. The four elephants represent the four ends of human life as discussed above. The spraying of water denotes activity. The golden vessels denote wisdom and purity. The four elephants spraying water from the golden vessels on the Goddess illustrate the theme that continuous self-effort, in accordance with one's dharma and governed by wisdom and purity, leads to both material and spiritual prosperity.
Goddess Lakshmî is regularly worshipped in home shrines and temples by Her devotees. A special worship is offered to Her annually on the auspicious day of Diwalî, with religious rituals and colorful ceremonies specifically devoted to Her. Source: Hindu Dharma by Bansi Pandit
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Ashok PanditAshok Pandit shot into prominence with Filmi Chakkar - one of the more successful comedies on satellite TV. Soon after he made Tere Mere Sapne, a serial that depicted the story of a joint family set in today's milieu. He also has to his credit one of the most successful countdown shows on satellite TV - Colgate Top 10.
However the projects that are closest to Pandit's heart are the ones he is currently working on - a serial called Muqammal for Star Plus which is "a woman's search for a complete man".
Pandit is also fiercely passionate about his first movie Meri Zameen. The movie is set in the backdrop of the Kashmir problem and brings to light the plight of the Kashmiri Pandit community to which he belongs. In fact it was this passion and anger that made him shoot a documentary 'Sharnarthi Apne Desh Mein' which won the RAPA awards for the best documentary last year.
Today, Pandit along with wife Neerja, who is a playback singer, and their two children constitute a happy family but one meeting with this talented film-maker makes it clear that Kashmir is very much a part of his sensibilities.
[Courtesy: Indian Television]
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Master Samsar Chand Kaul Master Samsar Chand Kaul (1883-1977) was a renowned educationist, ornithologist and environmentalist of his time, when subjects like bird watching and study at natural history was unknown in Kashmir. By profession, he was a teacher in the then C. M. S. School at Fateh Kadal, later Central High School, Srinagar, continuously for 65 years and developed interest among the students in the natural history around; besides teaching of his usual academic subjects. His keenness in inculcating aptitude among the students towards glorious and everlastting surroundings of mountains, birds, flowers and forests was appreciated by the then British Principal of the School, Mr. C.E. Tyndale Biscoe, who, while writing a foreword to Master Samsar Chand's book "Beautiful Valley of Kashmir & Ladakh", wrote as under:
"I am most grateful to Samsar Chand for having taught his boys to love birds through his teaching of natural history".
Books and Articles:
The Dal Lake
The Manasbal Lake
The Wular Lake
The Hari Parbat and the Shankarachar Hills
Khir Bhawani Spring
Mountain Climbs
The Mysterious Cave of Amar Nath
Pahalgam
Sonamarg
Wild Flowers
Wild Animals
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