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Teachers’ Day in India is celebrated on September 5^th of every year to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. He was the first Vice President of India (1952-1962), and the second President of India (1962-1967). Radhakrishnan was one of India's most acclaimed scholars of comparative religion and philosophy. He is considered through his efforts to have built a bridge between East and West by having shown the philosophical systems of each tradition to be comprehensible within the terms of the other. He wrote authoritative exegesis/journal of India's religious and philosophical literature for the English speaking world.

When he became President, some of his students and friends requested him to allow them to celebrate his birthday, September 5th. He replied, "Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if 5th September is observed as Teachers' Day". His birthday has since been celebrated as Teachers' Day in India. Teachers’ Day is also celebrated in various other countries across the world on various dates, a day which is intended to be a special day for the appreciation of teachers. Also, World Teachers' Day is held annually on 5th October since 1994 to commemorate teachers’ organizations worldwide.

Its aim is to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers. According to UNESCO, World Teachers' Day represents a significant token of the awareness, understanding and appreciation displayed for the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development. Education International (EI), the global union federation that represents education professionals worldwide, strongly believes that World Teachers' Day should be internationally recognized and celebrated around the world. Every year, EI launches a public awareness campaign to highlight the contributions of the teaching profession.

On this day, students show their appreciation to the teachers by wishing them and presenting the gifts including cards and flowers. Also, at some schools/institutions on this day, the responsibility of teaching is taken up by the senior students as an appreciation for their teachers.

Many many happy returns of the day.

# posted by Srikanth @ 5:11 PM 309 Comments

Krishna Janmashtami, also known as "Krishnashtami", "Gokulashtami", "Srikrishna Jayanti" or sometimes merely as "Janmashtami", is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, an incarnation/avatar of God Vishnu. Janmashtami is observed on the eighth day, Ashtami tithi, of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhaadrapada (the sixth month) in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatra (western star name: Aldebaran) is ascendant.

The festival falls between August mid and September mid months of the Gregorian calendar. The ritual performed on this occasion is to fast the previous day (Saptami, seventh day), which is followed by a night-long vigil commemorating the birth of Krishna at midnight. At midnight, the deity of the infant Krishna is bathed, placed in a cradle and worshipped. The fast is completed after Aarti, a special prayer. In the early morning, women draw patterns of little children's feet outside the house with rice-flour paste, walking towards the house. This symbolizes the entry of the infant Krishna into his foster-home. This is performed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and commemorate his love for people.

Sometimes, Janmashtami is celebrated for over two days as “Rohini” nakshatra and Ashtami may not fall on the same day. The first day known as Krishnashtami, as the birth of Bhagawan/Lord Krishna falls on the eighth day after Raksha Bandhan, and the second day is known as Kalashtami.

Special programs and events are conducted in regions of Mathura and Vrindavan on this day. Mathura is reputed to be the birthplace of Krishna. While the Rasa Lila or dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna, recreates the youthful Krishna's day; Govinda, an event in which teams of young men form human pyramids to reach a pot, that is positioned at a convenient height, and break it. The topmost person on the human pyramid reaches and breaks the Dahi Handi (a clay pot filled with buttermilk) and when that happens, the buttermilk is spilled over the entire group, symbolizing their achievement through unity. The festival is thus celebrated with great joy and communal togetherness by one and all.

Many many happy returns of the day.

# posted by Srikanth @ 4:36 PM 1 Comments