The Festivals of Dakshinayan
Dakshinayan. A beautiful Sanskrit term for telling you that the earth revolves in an elliptical orbit. How funny, no one knows Hinduism was way ahead of it's time. What is Dakshinayan? It is the time when the Sun goes far south to the Earth's orbit. It is the time when days become short and nights become long. A time of upcoming winter and darkness. A time when the crops are yielded. A time when everyone has settled their income. A time when there is a fear of dacoit, thugs, looters. This is the time when people decided to ward off their fear. They gathered in festivals, prayed to Gods, lighted up their homes.... Although there are various festivals all over the country during Dakshinayan, the three prominent ones are Ganesha Chaturthi, Durga Pooja and Diwali. Western world never understood the importance of these festivals, especially when we throw the God's idol in water. They fail to understand, construction and destruction are inevitable events of the universe. A...