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Showing posts from July 9, 2022

Beyond Ram and Ravana: The Living Gods of Kulasai Dussera

In the coastal village of Kulasekarapattinam in Tamil Nadu , faith takes on an earthly form during Kulasai Dussera . Here, gods and goddesses descend to dwell among men—not through idols, but through devotees who embody the divine in a spectacle of trance, transformation, and devotion unlike any other festival in India. As India celebrates Dussehra with fireworks and effigies of Ravana, over eight lakh devotees converge at the 300-year-old Arulmigu Mutharamman Temple , where the air hums with chants, drums, and the sound of transformation itself. A Festival of Transformation   The Kulasai Dussera, observed during  Navaratri , spans ten days and culminates in the dramatic  Soorasamharam , the slaying of the demon Mahishasura by Goddess Lalithambigai—an incarnation of  Mutharamman , the fierce guardian deity of the town. Unlike Dussehra elsewhere, where the focus is on the Ramayana, the myth here centers on  female divinity and creation’s power to restore mo...

Series I: Fishing

  Figure 1: Preparation of net (Copyright © 2022 Swattik Jana) The Ganga, India's most significant river, has an estuary at Diamond Harbour. Therefore, fishing is a primary source of income for the majority of the local population. There are a lot of folks that go fishing every day during high tide and own modest fishing boats. Two guys are seen in this photo setting up a fishing net for the morning high tide.  Figure 2: Fishing net stand in Canning (Copyright © 2022 Swattik Jana) Wet nets are being stoted in one of the the canal of river Matla rather than keeping near home after completion of fishing. This techniques is efficient for loading and uploading and reduce the space for net storage.  Figure 3: Finding better place   (Copyright © 2022 Swattik Jana) A man finding better place for theinstallation of fishing net at waterbody in canning.  Figure 4: Instllation of net (Copyright © 2022 Swattik Jana) A man carring two net for installation at suitable place. ...