The Guru-Shishya parampara in Hindi film songs

A common recurring theme employed  in Indian film music is the Guru (teacher) singing with his Shishya (pupil) and gently urging him/her to follow the lines s/he’s singing and then take wing...

Lata Mangeshkar - the soul of India

As a kid I strongly believed that If God had to speak she’d sound just like Lata Mangeshkar.

In the Western coastal belt - Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka - most of my generation grew up listening to bhajans of Bhimsen Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar.  The great Bhimsen Joshi renowned for classical music was at stratospheric levels that seemed beyond reach. Even singing his Bhajans was impossible.  Lata Mangeshkar on the other hand seemed part of everyone’s family and a voice that soothed everyone.

The food served at Temple festivals

Each temple in the South Kanara district of Karnataka has its own annual festival that usually involves some festivities and popular customs & rituals.  This usually lasts for a couple of days and sometimes up to a week. What is notable is that meals are served to all devotees attending this festivities usually in the evenings, but in some temples also during afternoons.

What I have found very distinct is the food served at these temple festivals (and I can only talk about the temples thronged by the GSB community).  This food is treated as offerings to the Deity and taken as blessed ‘Prasad’ by the community.