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Dasai in detail 3

by mantru

The eighth day is called the Maha Asthami: The fervour of worship and sacrifice to Durga and Kali increases. On this day many orthodox Hindus will be fasting. Sacrifices are held in almost every house through out the day. The night of the eighth day is called 'Kal Ratri', the dark night. Hundreds of goats, sheep and buffaloes are sacrificed at the mother goddess temples. The sacrifice continues till dawn. While the puja is being carried out great feasts are held in the homes of common people where large amount of meat are consumed.
The ninth day is called Nawami: Temples of mother goddess are filled with people from dawn till dusk. Animals mostly black buffaloes are slaughtered to honour Durga the goddess of victory and might and to seek her blessing. On this very day the god Vishwa Karma, the God of creativity is also worshiped. All factories, vehicles, any machinery instruments and anything from which we make a living are worshiped. The tenth day is the Dashami: On this day we take tika and jamara from our elders and receive their blessing. We visit our elders in their home and get tika from them while our younger ones come to our home to receive blessing from us. The importance of Dasain also lies in the fact that on this day family members from far off and distant relatives come for a visit as well as to receive tika from the head of the family. This function continues for four days. After four days of rushing around and meeting your relatives Dashain ends on the full moon day, the fifteenth day. In the last day people stay at home and rest. The full moon day is also called 'Kojagrata' meaning 'who is awake'. The Hindu goddess of wealth Laxmi is worshipped. On this day the goddess Laxmi is given an invitation to visit each and everyone

Peace Pagoda

by Donna_in_India

This Buddhist stupa (Peace Pagoda) was designed by Dr. M. Okha, who also designed the Japanese Temple nearby. Under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii founder of the Nipponzan-Myôhôji Buddhist Order, it took 3 years to construct. The Peace Pagoda is all white and is 94 feet high and 75 feet in diameter. There are sculptures all around the Pagoda that portray the four incarnations of the life of Buddha.

There are 70 Peace Pagodas around the world - built with the intention of uniting people of all races and religions in their search for world peace.

Both the Peace Pagoda and Japanese Temple are very calm places. Spend some time visiting both and enjoying the wonderful views.

See my Darjeeling travelogues for additional photos of the Peace Pagoda.

Dali Monastery, monks playing cricket

by sachara

We walked the 7 KMs way back from Ghoom to Darjeeling. Along the road we visited the Dali Monastery. This is an important Monastery with 250 monks . The other monasteries are in Bhutan and Ladakh.

In the courtyard we saw young monks playing cricket.

Darjeeling, The Queen of the Hills

by bradbeaman

"View of Kanchenjunga from Darjeeling"

Darjeeling in West Bengal, India is known as the “Queen of the Hills.” Darjeeling's temperate climate led to its development as a hill station during the British Raj to escape the heat. Darjeeling gets its name from the Tibetan words Dorje ("thunderbolt") and ling ("place"), translating to "The land of the thunderbolt."

Darjeeling is internationally famous for its tea. The Darjeeling tea plantations date back to the mid 1800s. The distinctive hybrids of black tea and fermenting techniques are considered the best in the world and that is why Darjeeling tea is nicknamed “The Champagne of Teas.”

Darjeeling is a three or four hour mountainous drive from the Bagdogra Airport (IXB). I would not recommend taking the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (toy train) to get to Darjeeling. You can take the toy train joy ride at Darjeeling but the famous toy train will take you 9 hours which is too much of a good thing.

Do stop at Kurseong another wonderful hill station on your way to Darjeeling.

Kangchenjunga translated means "The Five Treasures of Snows" is the third highest mountain in the world at 8,586 metres (28,169 feet) after. It is located on Nepal's eastern border with the state of Sikkim in India.

The Batasia war memorial dedicated in 1995 was constructed in memory of gorkha soldiers of Darjeeling hills who laid down their lives for the country in all wars and operations since Indian independence. The toy train goes around the memorial making a circular path to gain height here.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is more famously known as the "Toy Train." It has been named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built between 1879 and 1881 and is 86 km long. It is still to this day powered by a steam engine.

The railway line is considered an engineering masterpiece. The train begins is Sliguri at 100 meters and ends in Darjeeling at 2200 meters.