Let us enjoy the glorious  spring  season  (albeit a brief one) which is now  in full swing, a delightful  phase before  the hot weather, lasting nearly six months, sets in…

This year too, the month of March is virtually crammed with a lot of festivities. The list starts off with Mahashivaratri which falls on 6th March. The latter part of this month will witness many festivals overlapping each other. On March 20^th Muslims celebrate Eid-e-Milad-ul-Nabi / Mouloud(Birth of Prophet Mohammed) which happens to be a rather low-key affair and marked by solemnity and prayers. The very next day, on 21^st March, the Parsi community will usher in their New Year with Navruz  (a.k.a Nowrooz).Almost at the same time, the diminutive Indian Jewish community will observe the festival of Purim, from  20^th to 22^nd.of March. The same day, 22^nd of March   is Holi, the riotous spring festival played with colours. This festival is eagerly looked forward to, by the old and the young alike.

You can learn more about these festivals, by logging onto the following URLS: 

http://www.indiaheritage.org/newlet/march07.htm
http://www.indiaheritage.org/newlet/march06.htm
http://www.indiaheritage.org/newlet/march05.htm

Did you know that the full moon on Holi (Phalgun Purnima=full moon of the month of Phalguna of the Hindu calendar) happens to be one of the loveliest full moons in a year? The evening of Holi presents an enchanting spectacle─the full-orbed moon shining in a dark cloudless sky, with a balmy breeze that sets many a young heart beating fast, and bringing on a wistful, romantic mood. It  has been an eternally favourite theme of poets, novelists and dramatists, down the centuries…

The Dinosaurs were here! Sounds amazing? Yes, they were there at Balasinore (Kheda district) Anjar (Kutch) and Meerakhedi (Dahod district) in Gujarat. Did you know that these three places collectively comprise one of the three largest dinosaur sites in the world. Experts believe that this area had been a major breeding ground for dinosaurs about 65 million years ago, as numerous clutches of dinosaur eggs and fossils of the giant reptiles have been excavated from here.  

The tourism department of Gujarat plans to develop a fossil park and dinosaur interpretation centre, at this place. So why not make a dash for it, before the place gets commercialised and becomes too crowded? Imagine, treading upon the very same tract of land where those “Terrible Lizards” crept and crawled, many million years ago, when our planet was still in its nascent stage... I am sure the very thought will send a tingle down your spine... the fossils are bound to give you a fair idea about the massive stature and size of the extinct creatures. But sadly enough, what was once a nursery and a hatchery for dinosaur’s eggs has now been reduced to nothing but a graveyard…

Since Balasinore is not too far from Ahmedabad, the state’s capital, it is convenient to make the city a base for your journey to Dinosaur Land. The city is well-connected by trains to most major cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Vadodra and Udaipur. Ahmedabad airport operates flights to various destinations, both within the country as well as overseas.

The Origin of Shoes?

Do we ever pause and think what we would do without something to wear on our feet?

In fact, footwear has been an inseparable part of our wardrobe for more centuries than one can remember. Shoes have now become a major item of fashion. In the book of Exodus, 3:5, when God appears to Moses in the burning bush, His first command is "Put off thy shoes from of thy feet, for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Hindu scriptures make it mandatory for devotees to remove their footwear before entering a shrine; according to Islamic traditions too, shoes are to be removed before entering a mosque or prayer hall. In several communities ranging from Indian Hindus to Arabs to the Japanese, street shoes are to be removed before entering people’s homes. Among Hindus and Muslims alike, it is also customary to remove footwear, before entering a house where a death has taken place.

The most ancient and rudimentary type of traditional, ethnic Indian footwear is the Paduka. It  is basically a piece of wood cut roughly in the shape of a foot with a post and knob which slips between the big and second toe to provide a grip for the foot. The design is ideally suited to the tropical Indian climate. Open and airy, it keeps the soles of the feet raised above the hard ground. Besides, the durable material used for making padukas protects the feet from rocks and thorns strewn on the ground. To this day, padukas are worn by sadhus ( hermits) and sanyasis (ascetics) who live unostentatious lives… 

Some other versions of the basic paduka have plastic or stiff cloth straps in place of the post and the knob.These are colloquially known as khadaun and form common dailywear.  

The Mughals who arrived in India from Central Asia around the 16^thcentury wore shoes with curved fronts. These were jewel-encrusted with designs done in gold and silver thread. These shoes complemented their dazzling gold-enriched silken robes, to display power, wealth and taste, and were worn mainly for glamorous ceremonies and events. The footwear of the Mughals provided the inspiration for today’s ethnic range of juttis, mojris and nagrais made of untanned leather, embroidered with sequins and colourful threads.

Chappals, (a type of sandals) are the typical outdoor footwear worn by men, women and children through most parts of the Indian subcontinent. A chappal comprises a foot-shaped piece of leather with a toe strap or toe ring and a strap across the middle part of the foot. Some chappals are fitted with straps joined at the apex to resemble an inverted “V.”

In the West, shoes enjoyed great importance in social relationships and interactions. In some cultures, the bride's father threw his shoes at the newlyweds to signify the transfer of authority from father to husband. At Anglo-Saxon weddings, a bride customarily passed her shoes to the groom, who then tapped her on the head with a shoe, to symbolise his authority over her. In olden times, in England, people threw old shoes at individuals going on journeys or newly-wed couples, leaving the church, as a sign of good luck.

In India all of us are familiar with the sight of old shoes hanging on the rear bumpers of trucks and other commercial vehicles − placed to ward off the evil eye!

Shoes have undergone manifold changes in their shapes and appearance, influenced by climate changes as well socio-political events. In almost every society the style of footwear was dictated by the fashion prevalent among the upper classes.

The ancient aristocratic Greek women owned numerous pairs of shoes, with a style to match every occasion. Slaves would carry an array of their mistress’ shoes when she was travelling, so that she would have an entire range at her disposal during her journey.

In ancient Egypt, the sandal demonstrated a person's rank in society. Slaves either went barefoot or wore crude sandals made from palm leaves. Ordinary citizens wore sandals of woven papyrus, comprising a flat sole tied to the foot by a thong between the toes. Sandals with pointed toes were reserved only for the higher stations of society. Colours such as red and yellow were taboo for people below the rank of aristocrats.

The idea behind the ancient Chinese custom of binding women's feet was primarily beautification. Extremely small feet made a woman entirely dependent on attendants or family members for undertaking journeys beyond the home, thereby ensuring that she maintained a low, subdued profile in a male dominated society.

 During the Middle Ages, in the colder regions of the world, strapped sandals gave way to covered footwear. A single piece of untanned hide was wrapped around the foot and tied with a leather thong. The long journeys undertaken by European Crusaders (1095 -1272) made strong and durable footwear a necessity.

From the 12^th century onwards, shoes roughly hewn out of single pieces of poplar or willow wood were associated with the Netherlands and Sweden, gradually becoming the predominant footwear of the European peasants. They were called klompen by the Dutch. The French term  for these wooden shoes was “sabot" which went on to be  traditionally worn many other European countries, besides France. In Britain the sabot took the form of the clog, a piece of fabric or leather, mounted on a solid compact piece of  wood.

In Japan, wooden shoes mounted on thin wooden blocks three or four inches in height have been worn for centuries by both men and women. The Japanese chose the wood with an ear for the sound made by the wooden blocks, since noisy clodhoppers were considered a social menace.

The medieval aristocrats began to wear elaborate, unwieldy footwear, indicating that the wearers did not have to perform any kind of manual labour and consequently led lives of luxury.

Pointed shoes were reportedly the invention of a certain Count of Anjou (France) who wished to hide his deformed feet. Gradually fashionable shoes in Europe grew so long that the toes had to be stuffed to prevent the wearer from constantly tripping over the ends. The clergy objected to these fashions, alleging that these overly long shoes prevented the faithful from kneeling in church.  Eventually the length of the shoes had to be forcibly reduced with the help of law.

King Henry VIII of England introduced the trend of broad shoes in England, presumably to hide his gout-swollen feet. Soon shoes expanded to such widths that Parliament passed a law limiting the width of a shoe to six inches. The custom among Frenchmen of wearing high-heeled shoes at the court of Louis XIV, grew out of the king's desire to camouflage his diminutive stature. It was only in 1818 that specific, separate shapes for the left and the right shoes began to be manufactured and the shoe of each foot acquired a distinct contour. Prior to that, either shoe could be worn on either foot with equal discomfort!

Pandanus/Kewra Tree 

Pandanus, (Botanical name: Pandanus odoratissimus,Family: Pandanaceae), commonly referred to as Fragrant Screw Pine (Umbrella tree, Screw pine, and Screw tree) is a shrub with fragrant flowers which grows in wild  abundance in Peninsular and South East Asia, Burma, and southern parts of India (including Bengal, Orissa and the Andamans). In our country it is commonly known as Kewra (Hindi), Mugali (Malayalam & Telugu), Ketaki (Sanskrit &Bengali), Thazhampoo (Tamil), and Kevada (Marathi & Gujarati).

Pandanus is a small, slender, branching tree with a flexible trunk supported by brace roots. During summer, the tree bears very small flowers with a strong fruity smell. Flowers go into the making of perfume, aromatic oil (kewda oil) and a fragrant distillation "keorra-ka-arak". Only male flowers are used for making kewra water. Each tree has spirally arranged, stiff leathery, pointed, strap-like bluish-green leaves. The scent of pandanus leaves develops only on withering; the fresh, green plants hardly have any odour. The flowers together with the fleshy pulp of the pineapple-like fruit, are extensively used in cooking. The leaves render a delightful aroma to each dish. A strip of leaf about 10 cm (4”) long is dropped into the pot each time rice is cooked, while two or three strips are allowed to simmer in a curry. Several species of pandanus are valued because their leaves, which can be used as plates for eating. Children in the countryside use pandanus leaves to make toy boats which they set afloat in the ponds and lakes nearby.

If you want to keep your home smelling nice and fresh, you could shred a few pandanus leaves and leave them in saucers around the house. The leaves exude a distinct perfume while drying. If you want to grow the plant at home use a large pot. But bear in mind, though pandanus loves humidity, yet the soil on which it grows, must be well-drained and the roots should not be soggy. The plant requires sunlight for its growth, but it must not be exposed to unlimited and strong sunlight which would prove harmful.