Author: Palak Jain

Reading books and writing brought me to UdaipurBlog Team. Currently I serve as a writer on UdaipurBlog.com

Events

27th West Zone Inter University Youth Festival

Post author By Palak Jain
Post date December 4, 2011
No Comments on 27th West Zone Inter University Youth Festival

After becoming the 4^th safest city and the best leisure destination, Udaipur is ready with its dynamic youth to show their talents and excel in the Youth Festival that will be commencing from this Monday i.e. December 5. It is organized by Mohanlal Sukhadia University in collaboration with Association of Indian Universities and Central Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. 32 teams from Universities all over India with 1200 students will be taking part in it.

While speaking to press, Prof. I.V. Trivedi (Chancellor, MLSU) told that Central Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Mr. Ajay Makhan, will be inaugurating the festival at 11:05 a.m. in MLSU Auditorium. His flight is scheduled to land at Udaipur Airport on December 4 at 4:15 p.m. after inaugurating the function, he will return to Delhi at 12:05 noon. Chief Guest for the function will be Dr. C.P. Joshi. Chief Orator for the event, Prof. S.A.R.P.V. Chaturvedi from Ramanuj Mission Society, Chennai will address the gathering on “Role of Youth in construction of a better nation”.

Prof. Kailash Sodani from Student Welfare Department stated that the event will be presided over by Prof. I.V. Trivedi. Judges for the various competitions will be decided by Association of Indian Universities. Event Secretary, Prof. Madan Singh Rathore, told that Mr. Raghuveer Meena and State Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Mr. Mangilal Garasiya, will give their esteemed presence in the inaugural function. Also, Mr. Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Dr. Dayaram Parmar and Gajendra Singh Shaktawat will make the closing ceremony glorious with their presence.

Here’s the outline of the various events and competitions planned for the week long festival :-

5^th of December: On the very first day of festival, MLSU auditorium will be filled with rocking voices when Solo Western and Solo Indian/Classical Singing Competition will be held there. Also, Art College will be the venue of Cartoon Making and CTAE for Mime Competition.

6^th of December: Students will amaze you with their sharp minds in Quiz Competition at FMS College. Enchanting voices of Western and Indian Group Singing will float in airs of University Auditorium. Creativity of students will be seen in Solo Classical Instrument Playing, on the spot Painting Competition and Collage Making which will be held in Arts College. Skit Competition will be held in CTAE College.

7^th of December: This day will witness Allocation at FMS College, Folk Orchestra and Folk and Traditional Dances in MLSU Auditorium, Classical Instrument Playing Competition, Poster Making, and Clay Modeling in Arts College and Monoacting Competition in CTAE.

8^th of December: Debate at FMS, Classical Dances and Mimicry in MLSU Auditorium, Spot Photography at Arts College and One Acts Player Competition at CTAE.

9^th of December: The day will be marked with the Closing Ceremony which will start at 10:30 a.m. in University Auditorium. Prize Distribution for the winners of various Competitions is also programmed.

All the Best to various participants. Show your talent and creativity to everyone and keep your sportsman spirit high…. 🙂

Tags College Fests, Inter University Youth Festival, MLSU Youth Festival, Youth Festival in Udaipur, Youth Festival India, youth festival udaipur, Youth Fests

Post author By Palak Jain
Post date November 25, 2011
No Comments on Notebook+ : An Innovative Tool for Engineering Aspirants

Engineering has become the profession of choice for every student that has scored good marks in 10^thboards. You can hold your degree in hands in a shorter period of time compared to other professions and also get a promising job with best payments and perks. The growing desires of students to get selected in best of engineering colleges, which will mark their first step towards a bright career, has made the entrance exams a cut throat competition. Every correct answer confirms your gate pass to IITs, VITs, NIITs, etc. and so aspirants need to excel in every subject and every topic.

Who can better understand the mental state, the confusion and problems these students face than those who have themselves gone through this phase and made their way to IIT itself. 3 students in final year of IIT started a company named “Plancess”. The interesting thing is that one of those 3 students named Nitesh Salvi is from our Udaipur City. 🙂 With an idea of refining student’s preparations, they designed “Notebook+”- set of 3 books that perfectly cover Physics, Chemistry and Maths.

Now you must be thinking of the reason behind naming it “Notebook+” and not only Notebook. Well, that’s because, this Notebook not only allows you to write in it but also sharpens your memory with the important formulas/equations/reactions that are printed at the bottom of each page. It works on a simple fact that anything which passes in front of your eyes repeatedly and many a times gets imprinted in your grey matter for a longer period of time. These 3 “Notebook+” serves as a reservoir of 600 and more important formulas and reactions. Using them continuously will help you memorize these formulas and you can solve any question or numerical in almost no time.

Prudhvi Tej Immadi (AIR-1 in IIT-JEE 2011) is currently pursuing his engineering in IIT Bombay. He says that “Notebook+” is a very helpful tool that is sure to add an extra knowledge in every student that uses it. He finds the definition of Notebook changing from “something in which you can write” to “a book in which you can write as well as learn from it”.

Visit: Plancess.com for more details.

Tags engineering student, notebook +, notebook plus, physics, plancess

Events

Tinted by Tradition – Waswo X. Waswo & Rajesh Soni

Post author By Palak Jain
Post date November 20, 2011
No Comments on Tinted by Tradition – Waswo X. Waswo & Rajesh Soni

Pramod Kumar KG of New Delhi based museum consultancy Eka curates an exhibition of Hand-colored Photographs at Bhagwat Prakash Photo Gallery inside the premises of City Palace Museum to revive the synapse between painting and photography. Scheduled to be inaugurated on 25^th of this month at 09:35 am, “Tinted by Tradition” will continue till March 31, 2012.

This exposition puts up the age old tradition of adding a layer of color to the printed photographic image that finds its birth in the early years of the invention of modern photography in 1839. It displays the works of Waswo X. Waswo and Rajesh Soni that has been inspired from the large oeuvre of work maintained at Pictorial Archives of Maharanas of Mewar. Waswo’s digitally printed studio portraits have been hand coloured by Rajesh Soni, an artist with his roots in Udaipur, whose grandfather Prabhu Lal Verma was a well known artist-photographer in the court of Maharana Bhupal Singh. Waswo says of his work, “In Udaipur I hoped to revisit the territory of late 19^thcentury and 20^thcentury photography, both paying homage to, and also playfully mocking, the genre as practiced by foreign ethnographers and Indian Studio portraitists alike.”

City Palace Museum has always caught hold of many eyes with its holdings of rich culture and archives that take you in a journey to the past, a journey inside the royalties and culture of Mewar kings. The Bhagwat Prakash Photo Gallery was established in the Zenana Mehal present within the courtyards of City Palace Museum in March 2009 that endures the Pictorial Archives of the Maharanas of Mewar. These arrays of photographic materials are made available for research scholars, and through various exhibitions for the tourists visiting museum and also for wider community.

Tags city palace museum, Rajesh Soni, Tinted by Tradition, Waswo X. Waswo

News Udaipur Speaks

ISTE Workshop by IIT-B to impart knowledge about Free and Open Source tools

Post author By Palak Jain
Post date November 5, 2011
1 Comment on ISTE Workshop by IIT-B to impart knowledge about Free and Open Source tools

An important initiative has been taken by IIT Bombay, to work with Engineering Colleges in the country, to enhance the teaching skills of faculty colleagues in core Engineering and Science subjects. This initiative has now become a part of the National Mission on Education through ICT, supported by MHRD.

With a motive to augment the use of Free and Open Source Tools for teaching and computational needs and make the teaching skills of faculty serving in Core Engineering and Science Subjects take a turn for the better; IIT Bombay has started a free two week ISTE workshop from 5^th of this month under the National Mission on Education through ICT, MHRD, and Govt. of India.

Organized under the Distance Learning Programme, theworkshop will be exclusively conducted in the coordinating remote centers across the country with the interaction revolving around the topic “Software Development Techniques for Teachers of Engineering and Science Institutes”. There will be live lectures through AVIEW mechanism on Internet in the centers selected for the same. The workshop will be conducted across five weekends (5-6, 12-13, 19-20, 26-27 November 2011, and 3-4 December 2011) so that the interested participants can gain access to the workshop conveniently even during the semester.

“This workshop is aimed at enhancing the teaching skills of our faculty colleagues in core Engineering and Science Subjects and will benefit the faculty who want to use Open Source Tools for teaching and computational needs. Free and Open Source Software is need of hour as source code is available for study, modification and redistribution. Government of India is laying lot of emphasis on it.”

-Piyush Javeria

Remote Center Coordinator and Workshop Coordinator

The workshop will benefit faculty colleagues, teaching in engineering and science institutes, who wish to use open source software tools for all their computational and teaching needs, thereby improving the quality of instruction and learning in their colleges / institutes.

With as much as 60 participants registered from all parts of Rajasthan, Techno India NJR Institute of Technology from Udaipur is also selected as a remote centre for this workshop. The workshop will be transmitted live through internet to various coordinating remote centers across the country. Because of this, various faculties that are providing their services in the city will come hand in hand with the Free and Open Tools that have become the need of the hour in the field of teaching, ultimately improvising their teaching skills.

Tags bombay, iit, India, iste, njr, remote center, Software Development Techniques for Teachers of Engineering and Science Institutes, techno, udaipur, workshop

Photos

[Pictures] Diwali in Udaipur

Post author By Palak Jain
Post date October 27, 2011
4 Comments on [Pictures] Diwali in Udaipur

Diwali is the festival of lights – a day when light conquers over darkness, may it be darkness in our surroundings or the darkness that resides in our lives and hearts. There spreads the kingdom of light everywhere, in every corner, in ever house, in every life, in every heart..
And when light spreads in our beautiful lake city even light feels proud for being in as charming city as Udaipur, even words in dictionary fall short to describe the enchanting beauty of our city at a diwali night.

So here we bring to you sum exotic pictures clicked by Amit Kothari, Mujtaba RG, Yash Sharma and Prasun Bannerjee from the main markets of the city that are sure to dazzle you with their glow and fancy.

Team UdaipurBlog wishes you a very happy and prosperous new year and we pray that the glowing lamps may illuminate your lives with the light of everlasting joy, happiness, health and success. 🙂

Tags celebration, dazzle, deepawali, diwali, firework, fireworks, India, lighting, market, Rajasthan, udaipur

Festivals

Exotic celebration of Rath and Kshama vani parv

Post author By Palak Jain
Post date September 14, 2011
No Comments on Exotic celebration of Rath and Kshama vani parv

Rath yatra | Paryushan | UdaipurBlog.com

The days during Paryushan have been at their best when people tried to restraint their desires and try to bond up with their ‘aatma’. The parv ended with a message to continue one’s expedition for finding permanent happiness and to swim through the river of ‘karmas’ to reach the island of eternity.

The day following paryushan, that is 13^th of September on Ashwini Krishna Ekam, was a day of jubilation. Idols of god from every temple were taken in a ‘Ratha’ or ‘Palki’ for a round in the city with huge pomp and show. Men and women, children and aged move in the ‘Ratha Yatra’ dancing, playing traditional dance forms of ‘Garba’ and ‘Ghoomar’. Everyone was drenched in the euphoria of coming a step closer to their inner self during these 10 days. Here are a few glimpses of it where you can feel the colors of high-spirit and ecstasy aviating in the atmosphere.

At the evening, ‘Pooja’ is conducted in every temple when people pray for peace in the world. Praying is made to bestow god’s grace on everyone so that each one is granted with knowledge and a judgment to distinguish right from wrong. In the end, people ask forgiveness from each other for their wrong intentions, words or deeds that have harmed anyone or have hurted the feelings and emotions of someone. The air around, along with the hearts, becomes pure with sounds like “Micchami Dukdam” and “Uttam Kshama”. As been said in an ancient saying “The one who forgives is always bigger than the one who asks forgiveness”, everyone exculpate the mistakes of others.

I, on behalf of Udaipur Blog team, bow in front of Udaipies and ask your forgiveness for any wrong action or deeds that have hurted one’s sentiments or personal faith and opinion. We will be trying our best not to repeat them in the coming years. 🙂

Photos by: Gaurav Bhattacharya

Location: Jain Temple, Keshav Nagar

Tags digambar, jain, jain temple, mahaveer, pajusan, palki, paryushan, Rajasthan, rath, samvatsari, shwetambar, udaipur, yatra

Social

A Life during Paryushan

“Param Puneet Parv ye paawan, Bhavyo ko lagta manbhaawan”

Such a true line. King of all Jain Parvas- Parvadhiraj Paryushan is awaited by every Jain year long. It has been said that to reach the ocean of ‘Moksha’ or Salvation, one has to follow the river of ‘Sanyam’ or self-restraint by walking along the banks made up of 3 precious gems viz right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. Paryushan is the time to explore the way to this river.

Shwetambars who celebrate the festival for 8 days, have ended up with their Paryushan on 1st September, 2011, the last day being celebrated as ‘samvatsari’ or a day when everyone asks for forgiveness for his/her wrong deeds, words, feelings or actions which have hurt others.

The Digambars have started their expedition in search of internal peace from 2nd September , 2011 . This festival is observed and celebrated in Digambars for ten days; hence Paryushan is also called ‘Daslakshan Parv’. In the following ten days, sounds of bhajans and recitation of pujas, reflecting the joys and pleasure of people, is heard all over.

These 10 days are the days to turn your back on the external world as well as to the all relations of this world and move your eyes towards your inner self- ‘your aatma’ the one which is the purest of all, the one which is the sole truth. It is neither black nor white, neither male nor female, neither young nor old. It just has an immense power to find its way out to the eternal world. Today, the 11th of September 2011 is the last day of Paryushan in Digambars this year.

Each day of the Paryushan stands for the ten characters that reflect the true conduct of Jain disciples. First day stands for ‘Uttam Kshama’ which asks to forgive others of their wrong deeds. Second day is for ‘Uttam Mardava’ which is the converse of ego and pride. Third day gives the motive of being simple known as ‘Uttam Arjava’. Fourth day- ‘Uttam Socha’- when you limit all your worldly desires. Fifth day- ‘Uttam Satya’ says never tell lie or anything which can hurt someone’s feelings. Sixth day encourages you to win over your five senses or ‘indriya’, the day is of ‘Uttam Sayam’. Seventh day, ‘Uttam Tapa’, is the day to break free your soul from the chains of ‘eight karmas’. Eighth day is ‘Uttam Tyaga’ which shows the importance of charity in every person’s life. Ninth day is ‘Uttam Ankinchanya’ when one limits his belongings or possessions. The last day is of ‘Uttam Bhramacharya’.

Sixth day is also celebrated as ‘Dhoop Dashami’. People go in every Jain temple round the city and put ‘Dhoop’, which are the scented pieces of a dried log of tree, in front of idol of god. The belief behind this is that ‘Dhoop’ represents the ‘karmas’ and, as they have burnt the Dhoop, one day they will be able to burn all their karmas and liberate their soul.

One can easily sense the exaggerated peace and contentment on each face during these days. Everyone floats in the ocean of spirituality enjoying the confrontation to their inner self. It seems like everyone is adamant to break the vicious circle of birth and death and reach their real home, their final destination ‘Mokshapuri’.

Every Jain Temple is flooded with the people of all age group during these ten days. Every morning starts with the ‘Abhishek’ of idols of god. Then follows the recitals of ‘pooja’ where people praise ‘Deva-Shastra-Guru’ and wish to follow the path shown by them. Then Muniraj or religious guru addresses the disciples to guide them in the path to discover those three precious gems.

Paryushan is not a festival to rejoice and celebrate but it is a ‘parva’ to discipline yourself. Jains live with perfect simplicity and put a check on everything ranging from food to clothes and thoughts to deeds. People don’t eat underground beets and roots. Meals are not taken after sunset. People also observe fasts (eating once in a day) and ‘Upwasa’ (neither food nor water) either for one, two, three, five or ten days.

But now-a-days paryushan is losing its sanctity and purity. The young generations do not understand the rationale behind observing paryushan. They only take it as a burden when they have to follow many regulations. And for them I can only say that if they can’t discipline themselves, when they can’t limit their desires, then they are not brave enough to be the descendents of that Mahavira who have won his five senses. But why to blame them? The real culprit hiding behind the scene is growing “nuclear family system”. I am always indebted to my grandparents who have put these seeds in me at an early age and so today I have full faith in my religion and the preaching of my Gods. At last, I would like to wish everyone with the greetings of the Paryushan Parv. Be a true self 🙂

Tags digambar, jain, jain temple, mahaveer, pajusan, paryushan, Rajasthan, samvatsari, shwetambar, udaipur

Social

Udaipur Bandh – “Anna Udaipur Tumhare Sath Hain”

Post author By Palak Jain
Post date August 19, 2011
2 Comments on Udaipur Bandh – “Anna Udaipur Tumhare Sath Hain”

Today Udaipur witnessed an efficient bandh throughout the day after Udaipur Chamber of Commerce along with Bhartiya Janta Party took an initiative to support the Jan Lokpal bill and our national hero Anna Hazare and supported a bandh. The bandh produced a powerful percussion against the government and the corrupt government officials.

To uphold the noble cause of driving corruption out of our country, people of the city showed their support for Anna Hazare. One was easily able to sense the involvement of common masses in the protest while passing through the main markets of the city. Today the ever-swarming streets, markets and circles had an atypical silence in the air. A number of schools, colleges, shops, business groups remain closed. But the emergency services were kept free from bandh.

Agitation was felt on every face, be it a school student or a senior citizen, a college student or a businessman. Many peaceful processions were taken out at different places with people holding banners high up in the air and shouting slogans like “ek do teen char, band karo ye attyachar” and “jab tak sooraj chand rahega, anna tera naam rahega”. Protests were held even in front of the “Collectorate”. Traffic was stopped at Surajpol and Delhi Gate. Udaipies also observed an half an hour silence at Fatehsagar and sustained the non-violent spirit of the protest.

At a whole, the Udaipur Bandh received a powerful participation from public which showed that each and everyone is united with great leaders like Anna Hazare, Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, etc. who are striving for providing a better future to every Indian.

We all want to see India free of this virus named “Corruption”… Jai Hind!!

Photos by Gaurav Bhattacharya:

Tags anna hazare, Udaipur Bandh

News

Sisarma Continues to Flow

Monsoon is at its peak in lakecity, and the charm and beauty of the city is worth watching these days with the water level of the lakes still going up.

Sisarma is flowing at 3 feet from the last two days of heavy rainfall in the region. Pichola was recorded with an increase of 6 inches, Badi with 2 feet, Udaisagar with 4 inch and Fatehsagar with 1 inch and the level of Madar touched the level of 18 feet and gates can be open at any time. The Jakham dam, T.D. Dam and Bageri ka Naka also overflowed.

Faces glowed with a smile after seeing the lakes sparkling with water. Everyone is optimistic to see an active monsoon in the following days. Hope that our major lakes like Fatehsagar, Pichola, and Badi will be brimming in the near future and continue to enchant the Udaipies and the tourists.

Here are some more Pictures Clicked By Mujtaba R.G. !!!

Tags Sisarma River, Sisarma udaipur, Sisarma Village

Food News

Cafe’ Rocks: A new Exciting Destination to open on 19th August

Post author By Palak Jain
Post date August 17, 2011
7 Comments on Cafe’ Rocks: A new Exciting Destination to open on 19th August

Today I will take you on a journey to a perfect lounge where you can enjoy with your friends having your favorite fast food, or you can chat with special someone over a cup of coffee, or spend a leisure time listening music and reading your favorite novel. You can even complete your office presentation or your college records and school projects in a peaceful environment as here you can find free Wi-Fi facility, as well as healthy environment and food. It’s Café Rocks, completely according to its name, always rocking. And the long wait has come to an end with the café opening on 19th August at 4A, Ashok Nagar Main Road.

Here you will find a perfect environment that will uplift your mood and the aroma in the air will relieve you from the very tensions of life. The royal architecture and interior designing of the place will surely attract you. Yummy pizzas and sandwiches are there in front of you to sensitize your taste buds and you can’t stop yourself from gulping them down. Your date will be perfect when it will end with the desserts. And most of all, its specialty-coffees will make you forget all other Cafes.

Still worried about something?? Oh I got that. Relax you need not worry about your budget as Café Rocks befriends your pocket very easily whether you are a college student, a housewife or a high profile businessman.

So the next time when you are planning to give a birthday treat, or throwing your anniversary party, or want to have a get together with friends, a romantic date, or even a business meeting, switch on for Café Rocks and you will always memorize and cherish those special moments.

Meanwhile take a glimpse at the new destination in Udaipur, opening on 19th August.

Tags cafe, coffee, cup, day, fast, food, hangout, lounge, meeting, place, rocks, udaipur