Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Save our Tigers - Just 1411 Left



From 40,000 to  1411 , no I am not talking about story of dinosaurs extinction. I am talking about the Royal Indian Bengal Tigers . In 1973 , when India launched ‘Project Tiger’ to save the dwindling population of the tigers , then at that time they could never imagine that their efforts are just wastage because even after more than 30 years of declaring  the Tiger as India’s National Animal the life of such a precious treasure of our country is still in danger. Human hunger and pleasure for hunting and poaching have lead to such a vulnerable situation of the Tigers that the value is still decreasing. Even the government is not doing enough efforts to save our tigers. The population is still decreasing day by day. We can’t even Imagine what type of changes it can do to our environment.

Every  living  being , whether it is plants , animals , trees or human itself ; all of us are the part of this life cycle. All of us are essential to keep the stability of this environment. If any of these is missing from the cycle and the life cycle can become unstable. Every organism has its own importance and uniqueness. Tigers are also an important part of this cycle. Tigers are basically carnivorous( Flesh Eaters). That is they hunt on other animals for their survival ( mostly animal not on humans) . So population actually controls the population of other animals which may be carnivorous or herbivorous. Lets suppose that we remove tigers from this life cycle. They the population of the herbivorous animals will start increasing coz their is nobody to hunt on them , which ultimately lead to decrease in plant and trees because now more and more animals will feed on plants and their population will became double and triple year by year. Thus it will ultimately lead to decrease in the plants. And all of you knows what can happen if their is no trees and plants on this planet. Thus you can what can happen if we just remove one component of the life cycle. Although the process is slow , but it is dangerous and harsh .
Human is also an  animal , a Social animal. He is also a part of this cycle. Any change in life cycle will also gonna affect him. But this social feeling in the human has made him so self centered that he only thinks of himself . His Looks , Personality , Hobbies everything . If he thinks that he will wear tiger’s skin he will look like a king , then he will definitely do it. But he doesn’t know , a man is king from his heart and thoughts not from his looks. Even a coward can become a king after wearing this and fake others. Most importantly their is no need to wear such dead stuffs if their are a lot of varieties available in the market which are pure and attractive. But still Tiger skin has a lot of demand in the market. Specially women , are more concerned about their dresses and costumes ends up wearing such inhuman and  anti  natural stuffs. Some of them use it as a wall hanging to show everyone that they are Royals. But nobody thinks it actually requires to Kill an innocent animal  just for some little show off.

End is never predeclared it can only be predicted. Maybe we are trying to say that this animal is going to the extinction. But that doesn’t mean that only this this animal will extinct. Anything can turn out of control when it comes to nature. If we can lead this animal to extinct then remember God can also declared our dates also. and we humans can’t even change it with all our powers. We have some limited powers and we should know how to use it in positive and conservative way. We need to protect this animal , not to leave it helpless when it needs our hands. Our hands are needed to be raised for help not to kill. If you are confused that how you can help saving an animals who is living 1000 miles away from you in a jungle then just think , poachers are killing tigers just for its skin because it has got a lot of demand in international market. But demand is from you only. You are responsibly for demand. If you avoid such things then definitely demand will decrease  and it will affect those poachers. Moreover government is need to make such a strict rules that no one will  even dare to touch this animal. This is the time when they needs us and we really need to help them. I am personally against any type of cruelty to animals and I also hate wearing furs and skins. But I think if i share my feelings then it would definitely help. Thats what I have done and now its your time to act.

...

38th tiger reserve opens in India



India’s 38th tiger reserve and Kerala’s second was open by environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh. It would be known as the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve. 

Tiger at Parambikulam wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala
Tiger at Parambikulam wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala


There has been a sharp decline in the number of tigers in India, with only 1,411 of them left, according to official estimates. 

The tiger reserve was known as the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary when it was set up in 1973 in a 285-sq-km protected area in Chittur area of Palakkad. 

Another 358 sq km of forests were added, and the tiger reserve now has an area of 643 sq km. 

It has a rich diversity of animal life. It also has a variety of trees, including teak, neem, sandalwood and rosewood. 

Kerala’s first tiger reserve — Periyar Tiger Reserve — is situated in Thekkadi in Idukki district. 

Monday, July 5, 2010

Konark Sun Temple - Ancient Temples in India


Konark Sun Temple
Konark is one of the well known tourist attractions of Orissa. Konark, Konark houses a colossal temple dedicated to the Sun God. Even in its ruined state it is a magnificient temple reflecting the genius of the architects that envisioned and  built it. Bhubaneshwar, Konark and Puri constitute the Golden triangle of Orissa, visited in large numbers by pilgrims and tourists.

Konark is also known as Konaditya. The name Konark is derived form the words Kona - Corner and Arka - Sun; it is situated on the north eastern
Sun Chariot
corner of Puri or the Chakrakshetra. Konark is also known as Arkakshetra.

This temple built in 1278 CE by the Ganga  King Narasimha Deva  is one of the grandest temples of India and was referred to as the Black Pagoda. The ruins of this temple were excavated in late 19th century. The tower over the Garbagriha is missing, however the Jagmohana is intact, and even in this state, it is awe inspiring.



Legend has it that Samba, the king of Krishna and Jambavati entered the bathing chamber of Krishna’s wifes, and was cursed by Krishna with leprosy. It was decreed that he would be relieved of the curse by worshipping the sun God on the sea coast north east of Puri. Accordingly Samba reached Konaditya Kshetra and discovered an image of Surya seated on the lotus, worshipped him and was relieved of his curse.

It is said that the temple was not completed as conceived because the foundation was not strong enough to bear the weight of the heavy dome. Local beleif has it that it was constructed in entirety, however its magnetic dome caused ships to crash near the seashore, and that the dome was removed and destroyed and that the image of the Sun God was taken to Puri.
Sungod


The Temple: 

The Konark temple is widely known not only for its architectural grandeur but also for the intricacy and profusion of sculptural work. The entire temple has been conceived as a chariot of the sun god with 24 wheels, each about 10 feet in diameter, with a set of spokes and elaborate carvings. Seven horses drag the temple. Two lions guard the entrance, crushing elephants. A flight of steps lead to the main entrance.
The nata mandir in front of the Jagamohana is also intricately carved.  Around the base of the temple, and up the walls and roof, are carvings in the erotic style.  There are images of animals, foliage, men, warriors on horses and other interesting patterns. There are three images of the Sun God, positioned to catch the rays of the sun at dawn, noon and sunset.

Melakkadambur
The Melakkadambur Shiva temple, built in the form of a chariot during  the
age of Kulottunga Chola I (1075-1120),  is the earliest of this kind, and is still in a well preserved state.  It is believed that this temple set the pace for the ratha (chariot) vimana temples in India, as a distant descendant of Kulottunga I on the female line, and thefamous Eastern Ganga ruler Narasimha Deva, built the Sun Temple at Konark in the form of a chariot in the 13th century. Kulottunga Chola is also credited with having built the 
Suryanaar temple near Kumbhakonam. Temples dedicated to the Sun are not a common feature in the Tamil speaking region of the Indian subcontinent.

Kamasutra Temples, Khajuraho


Lord Ganesh statue
Besides the temples exemplary for their architecture and bold artistic statement, Khajuraho is just a small modest village with no more than 3000 residents surrounded by the forestland. As Khajuraho gets a fair number of tourists from all over the world every year, hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops have sprung up in large numbers at the entrances to the two distinctive groups of temples here. Aeroplanes are not a thing of curiosity for the villagers anymore and the emblem of a warrior fighting a lion single-handedly and with his bare hands seen frequently at the temples is said to be the depiction of the valiant warrior-king who was the head of the clan of the Chandela Rajputs who built the temples. Chandelas are believed to be the descendants of the Moon God himself. The construction of the temples is said to have started in the mid- 9th century and continued until the early 12th century and due to the lack of records of the building activity, the names of the thousands of sculptors, architects and masons, who must have contributed in their construction has been lost forever into obscurity.

Kamasutra Temples
Chandela dynasty had already lost its glory by the time the last temple was completed. Khajuraho was the capital of the Chandelas for a brief period but for most of the part, it was their religious center. However, there have been many theories regarding the sculptures adorning the facades and interiors of the Khajuraho temples. Some of them believe these temples to be centers of tantrik mysticism, which regards sex as an important part of human development and the attainment of the Absolute. Others believe that they were constructed as such to lure men and women back to the family and worldly life, which play an important part in Hinduism, from the austerities preached by the Buddha that were gaining favor with people of that time. Since thick forests surrounded these temples thus shielding them from the Muslim armies. T. S. Burt, the British engineer who re-discovered the temples in the mid-19th century found the sculptures offensive.



However, the local villagers and tribals have regularly

Kamasutra

used the temples ever since they were constructed, especially, the temple of Matangeshwar Mahadev for worshipping. It was General Alexander Cunningham who worked hard to gather details about them for the first time in his Survey of India reports. It was his efforts that stirred interest in people about the place. Later, the roads were constructed, facilities were provided for and luxury hotels were planned here and thus, started the resurrection of Khajuraho