Gender-SStereotyping ...Page 4 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 INTERNET EDITION : www.dailyexcelsior.com/magazine Biotechnology: A.....Page 2 Manimahesh Pilgrimage Kaushal Kotwal A view of Manimahesh Lake. Manimahesh, the sacred abode of Lord Shiva, is one of the holiest places of Northern India located in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. It is believed that this mountain possesses divine powers, which many pilgrims experience during their visit. The holy pilgrimage to this sacred Manimahesh peak commences in the month of August and continues upto the end of September. Thousands of pilgrims visit this place every year from Himachal Pradesh, Chenab Valley Bhaderwah, and devotees across the country cover a distance of many kilometers to have a glimpse of this sacred peak and lake. Manimahesh Kailash is located in Bharmour sub-division of the Chamba dis- trict in Himachal. The sacred peak is 26 KM from Bharmour. The sacred lake of Manimahesh is sprawled across 5,653 meters. There are several mythical legends about the sanctity of this peak and the lake at the base. It is believed that Lord Shi- va resides with Maa Parvati in Manimahesh Kailash. A rock formation in the form of a Shivling on this mountain is considered as the manifestation of Lord Shiva. The field at the base of the mountain is called by the local people as Shiva's Chaugan. The local people especially Gaddis who reside in the Gaddi valley, which is near the upper region of Ravi river where the mount Chamba Kailash lies, believe lord Shi- va is their deity. The Gaddis called the land of this mountaineous region as Shiva Bhoomi, and themselves as devotees of Shiva. The legend says that before Shiva married Maa Parvati at the Mansarovar lake and became the universal parents, Shi- va created the mount Kailash in Himachal Pradesh and made it his abode. He made Gaddis his devotees. It is worthwhile to mention here that Manimahesh Kailash is invincible as none has so far scaled it. According to a legend, a local Gaddi along with a herd of sheep tried to scale the sacred peak, and he and his sheep are believed to have been turned into stones. Also a snake attempted to climb the sacred moun- tain but failed and got converted into a stone. A crow also met the same fate. It is believed that devotees can only view the sacred peak if Lord Shiva wishes so. This sacred peak remains covered with clouds and mist. The snow covered glacial peak at the head of its own range is the source of sacred lake of Manimahesh situated beneath it. Manimahesh Ganga river originates in a cascade from the lake and joins ing to the Hindu mythology. On the way to the sacred pilgrimage, there are also oth- the tip of the peak. Accordingly pilgrims take the holy dip in the early hours of morn- the Budhil river on its left bank. After the Budhil river rises from the slopes of Kugti er heritages in Chamba. According to a legend, Bharmour was the capital of the ing of 15th day of Janamashtmi, thereafter pilgrims offer prayers to mount Kailash pass and Bada Bangal pass the water shed formed by Budhil and Ravi rivers take ancient kingdom of Chamba. Chamba is the land of snowy surroundings. There is and make floral offerings at the image of lord Shiva established on one side of the the form of an inverted triangle with its base at Khada Mukh. Budhil itself is formed a tall temple of Manimahesh, temple of Dharamraj Ji melted in bronze, which stand lake. The holy mace (chaddhi) from Himachal, Chenab valley Bhaderwah, and oth- by several streams which rise from different faces of the Manimahesh Kailash peak. facing the Manimahesh temple. There are also temples of Maa Bharmani, situated er places accompanied by thousands of pilgrims in the shape of a colorful proces- The streams which rise from the peak are the Bhujla derived from Bhuja meaning uphill few kilometers from Bharmour and temples of 84 siddhas. Lord Shiva has sion singing and recitation of hyms in praise of Maa Parvati and lord Shiva take dips the arm from the left flank of the peak, which meets Budhil below Kugti village, the granted a boon to Maa Bharmani that all pilgrims intending to go on the Manima- in the sacred waters of the Manimahesh lake and pray to Lord Shiva. Dhancho nala rising from the snowy ranges of the southern flank of the peak, flows hesh pilgrimage must have a dip in the Bharmani pool. The religious significance of sacred Manimahesh lake is next to that of the sacred in northern direction. Another sacred stream carrying holy waters of Manimahesh Manimahesh is also considered the abode of three lords of the universe, Bhrah- Mansarovar lake in China. The lake and the peak is the venue of highly revered pil- lake flows to the north of the peak. The Shiva Karotar stream rises from the foot of ma, Vishnu, and Mahesh. According to a legend, Maa Parvati and lord Shiva bathed grimage track undertaken during the month of August to September corresponding the peak and joins them and the Gauri stream from the Gauri Kund. All these streams on the Radha Ashtmi day at the Gauri Kund, and Manimahesh Kund, and the pil- to the month of Bhadon, according to the Hindu calendar on the 8th day of new constitute the Dhancho nala that confluences with Budhil at Hadsar. grims now follow the same tradition. Manimahesh denotes-the jewel of Lord Shi- moon period. This year the auspicious BADA Nahan as per local pilgrimage is falling The peak lies along the water shed between the Chenab river on one side and va. On the day of the ritual annual dip, one can see dazzling light of the dawn com- on Radha Ashtami day i.e the 8 th of Sept. Taking a holy dip in the sacred lake on Ravi and Beas on the other. Taking a dip in these sacred waters, which originate ing through the top peak of Manimahesh as a huge brilliant cut diamond sparks in this day is considered very auspicious .This pilgrimage is also known as the Man- from the Manimahesh peak, is believed to relieve humans from all their sins accord- the sunlight provided you are fortunate to have a clear sky. It is forbidden to scale imahesh Yatra. CHAUPAL TO AKHAADA Avanti Sopory chased to the graveyard. Dare any one say a thing which Social Media looks to be an oxymoron; is disliked by a section or a person! Verbal bullying, abu- sive language and threatening comments are some of the it has elements which do not look to things to start with. If the episode gets really nasty, it can get fatal too! In recent past when a girl was stalked on a be in confirmation with each other. social media website and later killed for not giving in to However astonishing; they together the accuser's demand. Mudslinging, name taking, accus- ing and losing tempers in public only reflect how we are a reflect a meaning. A meaning that nation full of angry, nasty and unaccommodating people. very easily eclipses the contradiction. Washing dirty linen in public is trending…I guess! In this cascade of public debating and discussing, some "Social" broadly means something participants of virtual talking are far too stubborn to accept relating to society or an organization. a different point of view. They are too rigid and inflexible in their approach and ideas. So therefore what they think or Whereas "Media" is a mean of do is the correct way. Edging towards narcissism. communication; varying from TV, radio, Social media identifies another class of people - citi- zens who think that they have a fundamental right to free- newspaper, etc. Now these two words dom of expression ( regardless of what they post), put have every right to say that "don't try posts, mobilize youngsters to glorify a man who desires to disregard the nation? Through numerous fake social to relate us, we are not even distant media accounts their class aims to make a Hero out of a traitor!! Their virtual importance swells and the curiosity cousins", but in partnership the term quotient of average people rise up and they keep trending "Social Media" is the buzzword. in the social media space. Should this sort of social media popularity be accepted at the cost of disrobing the nation? Social media has become a subject to study, research, What explains venerating a terrorist brandishing a discuss, it has got further classified into different sub-top- weapon of death? These posts radicalize the general pub- ics which call for separate attention. If, we could draw over lic and through these they present themselves as the new memories to a couple of decades ago, a similar concept breed of intelligencer. This breed may not even know the existed. It was minuscule, irrespective it existed. Have we complete issue but still likes to have their dim-informed forgotten the letters, postcards, inlands, telegrams and the say in matters. They bask in the glory of their fake Cyber most latest telephones which were later superseded by telling the world "how king size you live". This display is the most followed on Twitter. He had recently commented Celebrity status. No wonder ISIS in India and abroad has pagers? Albeit, the buzzing of those pagers was so annoy- validated by the number of "likes , "comments" and on the power of social media; quoted here, "…..Social been able to canvass so many educated youngsters into ing. Didn't people communicate, fight, discuss and argue "shares" done by the friends from the friend list. Not just media gives everybody a voice, everybody an opportunity, in those years when Doordarshan and AIR were the only the youngsters or the mid-aged even the senior citizens are everybody a democratic opportunity to express themselves. their cause. Reason enough for the cabinet minister to means of news? Weren't those trunk calls from a family, hooked to the various modern day tools of communica- What's wrong with that?" That's the power of social media comment on and create various cyber crime prevention relative or even a friend; received by a neighbor as inter- tion. An old sepia picture shared by an Indian baby and the well-worded 140 letter characters. organizations in India.140 letter characters…can threaten active as today? Letters had a long life cycle, starting from boomer gets instant likes and comments as well. It turns Social media has made the word look smaller and clos- the sovereign fabric of India. dispatched, to in transit and finally delivered. But how bad the string of conversation nostalgic and emotional. The er. The time-zones between various continents do not Another confusing aspect of social media is the mes- where they when elaborate point of view had to be shared peers and colleagues rekindle their decades old cama- matter any longer. The conduit of communication sage people share. More often than not, the messages writ- with someone who was not physically close? raderie in the virtual space. Shouldn't we find ourselves to between people across the world is kicking and alive; 24/7. ten and shared are misinterpreted and mis read. Then what failed the social media of yesteryears? What be fortunate to be living in such times? Was it imaginable Instant gratifications and celebration; galloping across Interpreted as convenient and suitable to reader; so there killed the snail mails? - Nothing, but the speed of the for our parents to think of such a social networking tool continents is a wonder from the technology. Because goes the art of patient comprehension. Even a fifth stan- internet facilitated instant replies and updates. News, fifty years back? social media is not just a term, it is a new word reality. dard student is asked to annotate the passage he reads. emotions, letters, mails, opinions, pictures, gets trans- eBay, founder Pierre Omidyar writes and quoted here, Professional websites like LinkedIn are an excellent plat- Sadly grown-ups think they had enough of English lan- ferred within the blinking of the eyes. And the receiver can "We have technology, finally, that for the first time in form for job seekers. They look for references, guidance guage skills. This draws me to an article, which delves into respond, like, comment in the same minute. Facebook, human history allows people to really maintain rich con- and recommendations from seniors, peers and friends the faltering art of careful reading. It suggests going back LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging, MySpace, Instagram, nections with much larger numbers of people". Even from cross-over industries. People share pictures on to the basics of English reading. Whatsapp are only some of the new age conversation celebrities, industrialist, politicians connect with their Instagram and can encourage the photographer in them. Since people share a lot of their personal information mediums. Alas! The poor daakiyawala had to give in to Mr fans, customers and citizens on Twitter, Facebook, Life is good. Everyone is at the virtual chaupal, talking and whereabouts, it is a perfect breeding place for crimes Zukerberg and the many Young Turks from his tribe. Instagram, Pinterest and the likes of it. They stay connect- and sharing not just their personal and professional and misdemeanors. Anyone can be easily spied and shad- Unlike the humble daakiyawala, who did not allow the ed and post their comments and pictures for general con- achievements but also their personal idealism, political owed if the person imprudently shares his personal infor- letter to reach to the wrong hands, these flamboyant sumption. Recently we read a deluge of Rio Olympics com- statements or simply endorsing a social thought or want- mation. Cyber security can do the policing but personal Young Turks find the contrary to be trendy. For them, dis- ments on Twitterati. Good or bad it's all there; on record. ing to give an opinion on the current socio-political vigilance is important. Not everything shared in the cyber playing everything up in the open is about flexing attitude. Even the US Precedential candidate is trolled; if his com- unrest; and just then, goes the equilibrium. Scene changes space is real and true. There are many fake accounts and Showing off the vacation destinations, or a new car, a new ments on public wall are in bad taste or unsentimental. from a virtual chaupal to a virtual akhaada. Lest anyone events shared. Irrespective of who says what - safeguard- dress or even the child's first day at school; is only about Actor, Amitabh Bachan has been an active social media writes or endorses any picture or statement, which may ing the sovereignty of India is important. India should be user and an online blogger. With 22 million followers, he is not be to someone's like or appreciation; that fellow is trending.