The ACB today arrested a headmaster and superintendent of an Adivasi Ashram School while allegedly accepting Rs 20,000 from a barber to continue his contract.

Kishore Patil (49), headmaster of the Adivasi Ashram School at Savroli in Shahpur in Thane district and Dilip Khotare (38), superintendent of the school had allegedly asked for the bribe from the barber to continue his contract, the official said.

Patil and Khotare sanctioned the payment to be made to the barber against students monthly haircut bill and also transferred money into the barber's bank account, said the official.

Thereafter, they asked for a bribe amount of Rs 22,000 for clearing the bills, said the official. The amount was later scaled down to Rs 20,000 after negotiations.

The barber later approached the ACB with the complaint.

The ACB sleuths laid a trap at Shahpur and arrested both the accused while accepting the bribe amount, the official added.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

Read the original here:

HM, superintendent of ashram school held for demanding bribe - Daily News & Analysis

Janet Begley, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers Published 2:31 p.m. ET April 11, 2017 | Updated 20 hours ago

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

"I'm gaining knowledge that's allowing me to grow my own food, chemical free. We have a whole permaculture project in our backyard. It requires very little land and generates a lot of food. It's a very healthy ecosystem," said Anaie Amorim, of Boca Raton, who takes notes during a permaculture course March 26 in the Sustainable Kashi farm area on the Kashi Ashram in Sebastian.(Photo: MOLLY BARTELS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)Buy Photo

SEBASTIAN Its been almost five years since Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, the spiritual head of Kashi Ashram, died and the community is undergoing a transformation to help secure its future.

Although followers still mourn her death, theres been a resurgence at the 80-acre community off Roseland Road along the banks of the St. Sebastian River.

"After Ma died, we didnt know if we were even going to be here, said CEO Durga Das Hutner, 51, who manages Kashis day-to-day operations. But now it feels like were being birthed anew, and its very exciting.

Hutner said the spiritual community has exploded with new visitors over the past two years.

Were seeing people coming to Kashi who are looking for afew minutes of solace from the world, she said. Sometimes, people dont even know theyre wound up or stressed, and when they come here, theyre finally able to relax and find peace. What Ma founded and created is still happening, but were able to touch many more people.

The ashram has opened up the groundsfor retreats to outside groups that share Ma Jaya and Kashis commitment of service to others. There are motivational speakers, programs designed for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorderand classes for yoga and the healing arts that use the newly renovated facilities.

We want to make a difference on the planet, Hutner said. Theres a lot of attention being paid in the world to separation; we want to make connections that bring people together.

A permaculturedemonstration site called Sustainable Kashi introduces people from across the southeastern United States to an off-grid, eco-village where food, energy, water and community are combined to form a self-maintained habitat and agricultural system modeled from natural ecosystems.

Heading up the permaculture initiative is Terry Meer, the founder of the Green Education Center in Orlando. Sustainable Kashi offers a Permaculture Design Course that attracts visitors from across the country tointensive workshops teaching methods of environmental stewardship and community-based self-reliance. The permaculture philosophy teaches the harmonious relationship between people and the earth, advocating a healthy future for both.

We have seven demonstration gardens of about 1,000 square feet, each using different styles of gardening, Meer said. The gardens can be scaled to be done in anyones backyard. But the most important crop we grow here at Sustainable Kashi is community.

"We are in a time when relationships between people and the earth are more important than ever," said Terry Meer (right), founder of the Green Education Center in Orlando, who shows students, Willie Clark (left) of Palm Bay, Emely Pfeiffer (back left), of Markdorf, Germany, and Stacey Della Femina (back right), of Sebastian, how to double-dig, or aerate, the soil March 26 during a permaculture course at the Sustainable Kashi farm area on the Kashi Ashram in Sebastian.(Photo: MOLLY BARTELS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

In addition to the Sebastian ashram, the Kashi Church Foundation operates The River Fund, an organization founded in 1990 to coordinate and fund humanitarian activities for the hungry and homeless in Florida, Uganda and India. Locally, its Feed Everyone initiative serves people in need in Gifford and also helps supply food to local elementary schools for a backpack buddies program.

In addition, The Kashi School of Yoga operates in Sebastian and serves as a training site for a style of yoga developed by Ma Jaya called Kali Natha that interweaves the body, mind and soul. The school offers daily yoga classes as well as breath, meditation and qi gong classes for the community.

After Ma Jayas death, a committee of Kashi community members was formed to review and publish some of the written material left behind by the spiritual leader. The first book, called "Karmic Spaces," received a national independent booksellers Gold Medal Award in 2013. "First Breath, Last Breath," was released this month.

Ma Jaya left us with a legacy of her teachings, Hutner said. I think shed be enormously pleased that we are continuing to share her with the world.

Jessica Straight (left), of Orlando, and her son, Alvie Wolf, 6 months, enjoy the company of Anaie Amorim (right), of Boca Raton, and Amy Green (front left), of Orlando, on March 26 during a break from their permaculture course at the Kashi Ashram in Sebastian.(Photo: MOLLY BARTELS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

The next five years at Kashi Ashram will continue to see more changes. There is a fundraising campaign underway called Grow Kashi, with some of the proceeds slated to upgrade facilities on campus, including the dining hall. The community uses the dining hall for its Prasad program that feeds food insecure people around the area.

The question for us now is can we make a bigger impact? Hutner said. What Ma founded is still happening but for those of us who were here with Ma Jaya, its almost like a spiritual growing up.

Where: 11155 Roseland Road, Sebastian Tours: Guided tours throughout Kashis 80-acre community are offered on Interfaith Saturdays at 3 p.m. and can be reserved in advance by calling 772-589-1403. Marketplace: A monthly marketplace featuring a buffet lunch takes place on the second Sunday of each month from October through April. Information: To make a donation or learn about additional giving opportunities, visitwww.Kashi.org.

Read or Share this story: http://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/indian-river-county/2017/04/11/kashi-ashram-diversifying-ensure-its-survival/99274072/

The rest is here:

Kashi Ashram diversifying to ensure its survival | Photos - TCPalm

Financial Express

Videos National 6500kg laddu offered in Surat's Atal Ashram Deccan Herald A 6500kg laddu was offered to Lord Hanuman on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on Tuesday in Gujarat's Atal Ashram in Surat. Hanuman Jayanti 2017 was celebrated on April 11 and if priests and other astrologers were to be believed yesterday's ... Surat's Atal Ashram offers 6500 kg laddu to Hanuman temple on Hanuman JayantiFinancial Express Bhopal: Grand procession to 'Sundarkand'... Hanuman Jayanti celebration witnesses allFree Press Journal all 115 news articles »

Read more from the original source:

Videos National 6500kg laddu offered in Surat's Atal Ashram - Deccan Herald

I didnt know heat until I came to India. I was packing for a three-week trip and thought it reasonable to slip in a sweatshirt among the summery pants and loose, light shirts. Oh, my New Englanders folly. As I sit here writing this at 6:30 in the evening, the temperature has dipped to a pleasant 95 from the oppressive 104 that it reached at midday, and my sweatshirt remains safely stowed at the bottom of my luggage, having yet to make an appearance. Earlier in the day, while we were out with the rest of the crew shooting in a village, the water we brought turned to the temperature of tea.

My mom is an associate producer at Galen Films, operated by Len and Georgia Morris in Vineyard Haven, and the company was hired by a nonprofit based in Delhi called Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) to shoot an eight-minute documentary on their Bal Ashram, or boys home. BBA takes boys to Bal Ashram whom they have rescued from factories, stone quarries, and other places that employ child labor. Once there, theyre given an education, access to therapy, and the chance to play and have a childhood.

The ashram is about a five-hour ride from Delhi, on a stretch of highway that would test the nerves of even the most fearless daredevil. Drivers dart in and out of traffic and tailgate with inches to spare. Long-haul trucks careen down the highway without regard to the direction of traffic, and cows peruse the median, looking for a spare bit of grass to munch on. I find myself trying to rediscover any religion I may have let lapse and praying for my life.

Upon arriving at Bal Ashram whole and intact, we realized that there was more here than an eight-minute video, and any time that we expected to set aside for sightseeing in the nearby city of Jaipur was quickly eaten up.

They keep the boys on a rigorous schedule that runs from 5 am to 10 pm, and includes activities such as yoga, chores, and classes. There are about 57 boys living on campus, all of whom are former street children or child laborers. They look like happy, normal kids, and barring some visible scars, theres nothing in their behavior to suggest what they have been through. We have three weeks to document life at the ashram and hear the boys stories. As few Americans have extensive knowledge about day-to-day life in India, especially in rural villages, we decided that we needed to give the viewer context of that as well.

I expected India to be a world entirely opposite from Marthas Vineyard, and in many ways it is. There are houses that make up the villages that were intended to be grand homes. Money ran out, however, and the upper floors are unfinished, with metal support bars reaching up into the sky, holes where the roofs should be, and piles of old concrete lying on the dirt floor.

People live in the ground levels while trying to keep the dirt out of the blue barrels of water distributed by the government. Goats, pigs, and stray dogs root through piles of trash, and sewage runs along the sides of the street. Its a shocking comparison between these homes and even the most modest houses on Marthas Vineyard.

Even with this level of poverty, there is beauty in these villages. Young women dress in tunics and loose pants made from the brightest colors, with scarves to cover their heads when the sun begins to bake the air. Older women wear saris with vibrant colors and shiny embroidery. They hang pictures of Hindu gods over their doors, and sometimes there is ornate stonework on the outside walls.

At one point, I went off with the driver to explore the village we were in and shoot aspects of daily life. There is a culture of hospitality in India, and everyone was incredibly welcoming. Almost immediately I was surrounded by a crowd of people showing me around and inviting me into their homes. Even though they couldnt speak English or I Hindi, they made sure to express hospitality, and I can only hope that I was able to show how grateful I was.

The people at the ashram extended their hospitality to us as well. Every day for lunch and dinner we were served potatoes, dal (a kind of lentil paste), rice, and a vegetable. After about two weeks, one of the cameramen we met in Delhi confided in us that the kitchen made the potatoes especially for us because they thought thats what Americans liked to eat; all the while we were thinking that it was normal Indian cuisine.

India has shown me how little I know, from technical things such as what makes a good shot, and how surprisingly difficult it is to hold a video camera steady, to peoples different ways of life. With a population of over a billion people in India, there are a lot of differences.

There are aspects of India that are beautiful and light, but there are also things that are dark and full of decay. Children are trafficked through learn and earn scams, where traffickers set up fake programs for parents to send their children to, to make money and get an education; once the kids are sent away, theyre forced into bonded labor. But then there are spontaneous dance parties that erupt in the middle of the street with a truck blaring music. There are the people who work at BBA and the people who run the factories they raid. One thing is for sure, it will take more than three weeks to understand this place.

Read the original:

Passage to India - Martha's Vineyard Times

The centenary of Mahatma Gandhis Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat was celebrated at the Nehru Centre here on Monday, with the screening of a documentary depicting its founding and construction.

Titled Sabarmati Ashram: The Home of Gandhis Experiments with Truth, the documentary by London-based journalist Vijay Rana depicted to a discerning audience how Gandhi set it up on a 36-acre wasteland on the banks of the Sabarmati river, among other details.

The area was then full of snakes, but Gandhi insisted that none of them were to be killed.

It was at the ashram that many of his revolutionary ideas were conceived, such as economic liberation through spinning wheel and khadi, fight against untouchability, boycott of foreign goods, non-cooperation, peaceful civil disobedience and defying the Salt Law.

While celebrating 100 years of Gandhis Sabarmati Ashram, this documentary is an attempt, in this age of social media when attention span is increasingly fractured, to retell Gandhis story with some interesting visual elements to the Internet generation, Rana said.

The film included an eyewitness account of the April 1930 Salt March by one of his disciples, Sumangal Prakash, who was one of the 78 ashram residents Gandhi had selected as his co-marchers.

AS Rajan, minister in the Indian high commission, said the documentary reflected the values of non-violence, peace, love and harmony that Gandhi espoused, while CB Patel, veteran editor and publisher of Gujarat Samachar and the Asian Voice published from London, remembered his first visit to the Ashram in 1949 as a 12-year-old.

Read the original here:

London documentary recalls 100 years of Sabarmati Ashram - Hindustan Times

The storied Beatles Ashram awaits beyond a long and winding road across the Ganges River in Rishikesh, the Himalayan town where The Beatles lived in 1968 and composed their curious chapter of renunciation.

Nearly five decades later, the ashram is derelict yet still alive, a peaceful yet eerie abandoned ghost village that the Rajaji Tiger Reserve is now slowly consuming like endless desires eating away humans and demigods of fame and fortune as The Beatles were circa 1967.

John Lennon (left) and George Harrison leave Londons Heathrow Airport for India on February 15, 1968. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr joined them later.

The DailyBrief

Must-reads from across Asia - directly to your inbox

The iconic British band met Transcendental Meditation founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in London in 1967, and their India odyssey followed. And worldwide media attention followed them.

I followed The Beatles to Rishikesh with my photographer colleague Raghu Rai, Saeed Naqui reported in Indian newspaper The Statesman. Almost every newspaper in the world had sent their senior reporters. Not to much avail, though. The ashram was out of bounds for the media.

We walked on til I spotted the Maharishi under a tree with The Beatles. I promptly sneaked Raghu Rai in and he took a shot with the aid of his zoom lens. The Statesman had its scoop.

The Beatles and their wives at Rishikesh in March 1968. The group includes Ringo Starr, Maureen Starkey, Jane Asher, Paul McCartney, George Harrison (1943-2001), Patti Boyd, Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon (1940-1980), Beatles roadie Mal Evans, Jenny Boyd, Prudence Farrow and Beach Boy Mike Love.

Four days before my visit to the ashram this month, the Fab Fours The Longand Winding Road was playing on the opposite bank of the Ganges at the 1960s-themed Dilmar Cafe, better known as The Beatles Cafe.

Lights in the Himalayan dusk turned the Ganges into a river of gold, as the Lennon-McCartney lyrics rang appropriately in this ancient town full of seekers of the true way:

The long and winding road, that leads, to your door Will never disappear, Ive seen that road before It always leads me here, lead me to your door . Why leave me standing here, let me know the way.

The Beatles Cafe menu carries The Statesman article on The Beatles initial days in Rishikesh, and their search for the way.

[John] Lennon was the reclusive one, Naqui reported, and [Ringo] Starr was the friendliest. Paul [McCartney] would come and lie down in the Maharishis secretary Suresh Babus cabin and leaf through the copies of the Junior Statesman [the popular Statesman youth magazine of the 1960s].

Artwork at the assembly hall dubbed the Beatles Cathedral. Nearly two generations of Beatles fans have left their mark on the Beatles Ashram.

Gaping windows, piles of dead leaves in rooms, graffiti on still-sturdy walls are all that are left of the modest bungalows that housed some of the worlds most popular stars.

Igloo-like concrete meditation huts facing the Ganges, a wooden shelf in a ruined room that may have held Paul McCartneys books, a bench in a courtyard where John Lennon might have played his guitar, doors of dwellings left still open like residents had popped out for quick chat and never came back.

Archival British news footage of The Beatles in Rishikesh, in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, northern India.

The Beatles came here to renounce worldly pleasures, and search for the richer treasure of inner peace and contentment. Then reality hit them that this was not the way.

The person most skeptical of the Maharishi, Transcendental Meditation and what The Beatles were up to, was Ringo Starr, the Beatles drummer, said the Statesman reporter. Within a day of his arrival, he told me with considerable amusement, Its like a Butlin oliday camp [Billy Butlins budget holiday camps were popular across England]. Starr left for London shortly after.

The Beatles composed about30 songs here (featured on Abbey Road and the White Album), so thisobviously was no serious meditation center.

Beatles memories live on with wild elephants, tigers, monkeys and public art, as the ashram is now part of Rajaji National Park.

Starr had compared Maharishis enterprise to a holiday camp after seeing idlers in ashram robes. Even the Buddha admitted householders straight away into the order of monks, but instituted a three-month trial for ashram dwellers, to see if they could fit into the hard-working discipline needed in his meditation centers.

Given that idling and irrationality did not get them success, The Beatles could not accept that aBand-Aid solution of mantras, or chanting a word, could deal withall of their personal and cosmic problems.

Graffiti on a white wall near the entrance to the Beatles Ashram declared:You cannot escape your demons, you can only slay them.

As I have experienced over the past 24 years, slaying these inner demons needs penetrating depths of the mind, where they are created and multiply as harmful thought patterns.No miracles orgurus can liberate. I often heard Burmese-born Vipassana principal teacher Sayagyi U Goenka (1924-2013) say: Never fall into the clutches of a guru; be self-dependent. The guide shows the way, and the student strives hard to walk on it.

The Beatles with actress Jane Asher, Maureen Starkey and Pattie Boyd in Rishikesh celebrating George Harrisons 25th birthday on February 25, 1968.

The Beatles Rishikesh saga ultimately became a failed quest for the way.

Like realistic people grounded in common sense, they became uncomfortable with the Jai Gurudev cult around the Maharishi, and they found no way to slay inner demons in dungeons of the mind.

John Lennons wry take on The One Word, The Mantra. His Happy Rishikesh Song ends with a painful Something is wrong, something is wrong.

The disillusioned Beatles left first Ringo Starr, then McCartney a month later, and two weeksafterward Lennon and Harrison. They left behind ghosts of their Himalayan saga, of those here going away without finding the way.

Amid people doing quality work and selfless service, I see such spiritually exploited and exploiters continuing to haunt Rishikesh: victims of marketers of mantras, commercial yoga firms, ritualistic practices, and dangerous delusions of the kind that corrupted a fully Enlightened Super Scientists suffering-ending universal practice into a sectarian distortion called Buddhism (Why the Buddha was not a Buddhist).

The Beatles suffered from bad timing, arriving in India a year too earlyandmissing the path that in 1969, from Mumbai, began flowing again like the Ganges of Dhamma (laws of nature) in the land of its origin.

This timeless path looks for the person when the time ripens, through someone informing that there exists such a way, this practice of experiential wisdomshared entirely free of cost. I wish I had done this sooner, is a common feedback I have heard.

So theres time for you yet, Paul and Ringo, to see ifthis is the wayfor which you took the long and winding Himalayan road.

Raja Murthy is an independent journalist based in Mumbai contributing to Asia Times since 2003, The Statesman since 1990, and formerly for Times of India, Economic Times, Elle, Wisden.com etc. He shuttles between Mumbai and the Himalayas.

Continued here:

The Beatles haunt a Himalayan 'Long and Winding Road' - Asia Times

Vadodara/Goraj: Started in 1978 as a primary school by Anuben Thakkar, who aspired to become a nun but could not do so because of lack of college education, Muni Seva Ashram, nearly 30 kilometres from Vadodara, has become a model for village self-sustainability.Today, the ashram is spread over 350 acres and houses a school, cancer hospital, senior citizen centre, cow sheds among other things. But, it has been experimenting with green technologies since early years of its inception. The ashram established a bio-gas plant in 1983 for cooking food for the children coming there.Its efforts to become energy independent did not end there. Over the decades the ashram has worked to make optimum utilization of natural resources and it established bigger bio-gas plants, solar air-conditioning system, solar crematorium, solar cookers, and bio-mass gasifier.The kitchens of the ashram, that feed 3,000 people everyday, are a model for community kitchens. The ashram produces energy on its own for cooking the meals and does not depend on piped or bottled gas. The large solar dishes that grab the eye-balls produce steam for boiling food. And, the biogas that produced at its biogas plant in Bakrol village near Waghodia is bottled and brought for cooking. Ashram's trustee Deepak Gadhia says that the kitchens here have never used the bottled gas of the public-sector companies. Yet, they keep these bottles as a back-up plan. Gadhia is not the only one who has been serving in the ashram but, there are many more engineers like him who have left their jobs in multinational companies abroad and are serving in the ashram as social scientists.Gadhia claims that they keep experimenting with the technologies to make the ashram 100% self-sufficient. During one such experiment they discovered CNG from the gas that is produced from biogas plant. "Once we were trying to remove carbon dioxide from the gas that is produced in the biogas plant to pump more gas in the bottles and we accidentally discovered CNG from it," said Gadhia. The CNG that is produced now is used for running vehicles of the ashram. The large solar dishes also power a 100 tonne air conditioning system of the ashram through vapour absorption chillers. Few years back a solar crematorium was also made for the residents of Goraj village. It is claimed that these are the first solar air condit...

News Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/goraj-ashram-experiments-with-green-technologies-to-become-self-sufficient/articleshow/58099825.cms

Go here to read the rest:

Goraj ashram experiments with green technologies to become self-sufficient - NYOOOZ

Mumbai, Apr 6 A committee of women legislators from both the houses of Maharashtra legislature has found many shortcomings in the security at `ashram' (residential) schools for tribal girls.

Also, in some places authorities were seen to be trying to suppress reporting of incidents of sexual exploitation, it said in the report, submitted today.

Even the food served to the girls was found to be of sub-standard quality.

The 13-member committee said in its report, submitted today, that in some schools, washrooms or toilets are far away from the dormitory, and were unguarded.

Rs 5,000 given to victims of sexual atrocities by the Tribal Welfare Department was too meagre an amount, and it needs to be increased to Rs 50,000, the committee said.

District consultative committees set up under joint chairmanship of district collectors didn't visit the ashram schools regularly, it said.

Cases of sexual exploitation and other atrocities should be tried in fast-track courts, it said.

Most of the ashram schools are located outside the villages and do not have proper access roads; in some schools the boundary wall is incomplete or broken, it found.

The committee of women legislators was set up in December 2015 following alleged sexual exploitation of two tribal girls at a school at Pandhurna in Wardha district.

The report was tabled by Minister of State for Women and Child Development Vidya Thakur in both the houses today.

The committee recommended that CCTV cameras should be installed in ashram schools, and armed women security guards should be deployed wherever possible.

It recommended amendment of rules so that guilty or negligent officials can be dismissed immediately.

There should be `Honorary Guardians' whom the girl students can approach if they have any problem, it said.

There should also be a toll-free helpline where the girls can lodge complaints anonymously, and local police should visit the schools regularly during night patrolling, it recommended.

Mumbai, Apr 6 A committee of women legislators from both the houses of Maharashtra legislature has found many shortcomings in the security at `ashram' (residential) schools for tribal girls.

Also, in some places authorities were seen to be trying to suppress reporting of incidents of sexual exploitation, it said in the report, submitted today.

Even the food served to the girls was found to be of sub-standard quality.

The 13-member committee said in its report, submitted today, that in some schools, washrooms or toilets are far away from the dormitory, and were unguarded.

Rs 5,000 given to victims of sexual atrocities by the Tribal Welfare Department was too meagre an amount, and it needs to be increased to Rs 50,000, the committee said.

District consultative committees set up under joint chairmanship of district collectors didn't visit the ashram schools regularly, it said.

Cases of sexual exploitation and other atrocities should be tried in fast-track courts, it said.

Most of the ashram schools are located outside the villages and do not have proper access roads; in some schools the boundary wall is incomplete or broken, it found.

The committee of women legislators was set up in December 2015 following alleged sexual exploitation of two tribal girls at a school at Pandhurna in Wardha district.

The report was tabled by Minister of State for Women and Child Development Vidya Thakur in both the houses today.

The committee recommended that CCTV cameras should be installed in ashram schools, and armed women security guards should be deployed wherever possible.

It recommended amendment of rules so that guilty or negligent officials can be dismissed immediately.

There should be `Honorary Guardians' whom the girl students can approach if they have any problem, it said.

There should also be a toll-free helpline where the girls can lodge complaints anonymously, and local police should visit the schools regularly during night patrolling, it recommended.

Go here to see the original:

Loopholes found in security at ashram schools for tribal girls - Outlook India

I fell in love with Puducherry (formerly, Pondicherry) at first sight. The sleepy town is one of the biggest tourist attractions in India because of Auroville, and a wonderful study of contrasts of the Tamil and French cultures. The town itself is divided into what the locals call 'the Tamil part' and the colonial part of Puducherry, which transports you to a town that is best suited in a romance novella.

My hotel, a restored traditional Tamil style house near the beach was full of young tourists, almost all of them foreigners and almost all of them dressed in baggy cotton patiala style pants (I was later told that they are called elephant pants, and seem to be a must for every foreign traveler here). A couple from New York staying in the next room tells us that they have come here because they have heard so much about Auroville. Auroville and the Aurobindo Ashram in Puducherry are the reasons that bring the majority of the tourists here, but I later discovered that the small French town has a lot more to offer other than the Aurobindo Ashram-Auroville spirituality package.

Eat My Cake! in White Town

As I strolled through White Town, the french colonial part of Puducherry, you cannot help but look in awe at the hues of yellow, blue and pink houses that line the perpendicular, sea facing part of the town. I came across a cafe called Eat My Cake! which promised to offer a authentic french experience. As I entered, I was greeted by the smell of chocolate and fresh bread. The tiny pink and yellow cafe was opened by three french women just a year ago and offers a different menu everyday. The owners told me how everything about the small cafe is, 'made by women, and run by women.' Their tie-up with a local NGO helps employ women and empower them by making them learn skills like cooking and baking. Also, the coffee is freshly brewed and the ingredients are organic and locally grown. It was a fascinating thing to learn that Puducherry, which welcomes a large part of foreign tourist population, also hosts a large number of restaurants that promise you fresh, organic locally grown food to go with 'the wellness trend'.

As my friend and Iorderan item from the day's menu, Chicken Liver Bagel and a coffee pot in the terrace cafe, I find it interesting to note that food in Puducherry, andeverything else for the matter, comes at its own relaxed pace. Not that its a bad thing, but just a fascinating concept to sit and actually savour food for 4 to 5 hours rather than in Mumbai, where we come from. My friend noted that how our restaurant meals in the city of dreams were always rushed, we were always handed the bill as soon as we ordered dessert.

The Promenade hosts one of the biggest statutes of Gandhiji in India.

The laid back pace of the town was the biggest luxury we indulged in. After over wonderful meal, we strolled through the Promenade(Puducherrys only sea facing, Marine drive-esque boulevard) in the afternoon, we were mesmerised by how other people around us were sitting at the shoreline indulging in the activity of doing nothing. For us, the looking at the sea for hours at the peaceful town was a welcome break from elbowing people out of the way to get into a local train in Mumbai.

We came across an antique shop during one of our strolls. Located near Les Space in White Town, the nameless store housedantiques that were as old as the time when the French started colonising the place, and each and every piece had an interesting piece of history attached to it. Thisis whyI recommend walking over taking a cycle or a bike, because there is so much to see in Puducherry. Each building is unique, and seems to have a history. The town is best taken in, slowly, walking through the streets at a glacial pace staring at the beautiful Franco-Tamil pieces of architecture. Or if you are in the other 'Tamil' part of town, just looking at the old world charm of the city and seeing it transport from a city in Europe to a forgotten era in India in a matter of kilometres.

A walk through the streets

Coming to the reason we were on the trip the food. The variety of food is one of the best things that Puducherry has to offer, and even if you do not include the fascinating cuisines of Auroville there is a lot that can be sampled. One of the most unique cuisines is the Creole cuisine of Puducherry. The french-tamil fusion cuisine was also influenced by the Dutch and Portuguese colonisers.

Creole food is more Indian than french while french cuisine is all about cooking and savouring each item individually, Creole food is more of an Indian curry and rice variety. One of the best places we sampledcreole was at Le Dupleix in White Town. The best dish hands down was Rasam Aux Crevettes (Rasam with shrimp served French style).

Moving on to a different kind of fusion a small cafe called Kasha Ki Asha specialises in giving the picky tourist a literal mix of both the cuisines and overs yummy samplings like Pizza Dosai. The cafe, opened in 2013 by an American woman, Kasha, runs on the same principle as Eat My Cake! it started out as an initiative by Kasha to help and empower women. The best part about the cafe is the beautiful boutique that is a part of the terrace cafe.

Now comes the time to satisfy the sweet tooth. The french brought with them the art of the yummy desserts, and it has stayed. One of our walks through the town landed us in a bakery that calledBaker Street. Being huge Sherlock fans ourselves, we went into the bakery that promised 'an authentic french experience' and were transported to what might have been a bakery in France. Whether it is a simple chocolate cake or a piece of expertly crafted chocolate, 212 Baker Street suprises you with the variety of desserts it stocks.

White Town

And if you want your fill of the best Tamil cuisine, Puducherry hosts excellent restaurants that serve, what is in my opinion, the best rasamin the world. Try out restaurants like A2B Adyar Ananda Bhavan and Surgurewhere the crowd will be a mix of Indian tourists tired of sampling pastas and wine, and foreign tourists keen on trying the local cuisine and fascinatingly trying to eat dosa and rice plates with their hands.

When we went to Surguru, we were seated with two tourists from London, who were watching YouTube videos about how to eat rasam rice with their hands before getting to the real act itself. Why were they here, and not in a French cafe that serves organic food, I asked. The girl, a backpacker who was visiting India for the first time said that French cuisine was passe for them, and the only reason they went to the cafes was to use the free Wifi. 'Spicy Indian food' was more fascinating. That was the time it struck me, what's a novelty for me is 'the plain old' for them and vice versa, and Puducherry works well in balancing both sets of tastes.

Puducherry might seem like a small, sleepy town that only houses the Aurobindo Ashram and its offshoot shopping experiences, but it is more than that. If you are looking at a long, peaceful getaway or a short escapade from the city life and the thought of Goa makes you cringe, Puducherry is just a hop, skip and jump away from Chennai airport (3 hours by bus). The town is a novelty in itself, if not the food, or the shopping that gets you, just strolling through the pink, blue and yellow houses around town are fascinating in itself and make you feel like you are in a movie.

Read the rest here:

Puducherry: There's more to this sleepy town than Auroville and the Shri Aurobindo Ashram - Firstpost

(MENAFN Editorial) Ananda Yog Ashram Trust successfully organized two days musical Yog Mahotsav at Laxman Maidan in Dungarpur, Rajasthan headed by Yog Guru Swami Ganeshanand Jee on the first and second of April 2017. With its whole sole aim in spreading awareness for the power of Yoga and Meditation, the camp was a grand success in the city. Ananda Yog Ashram Trust is the name always known for providing the most pleasurable Yoga learning sessions. Being headed by Yog Guru Swami Ganeshanand Jee, the Yog Ashram Trust has benefitted many with its Yoga and meditation lessons. From time to time the trust organizes Yog Mahotsav in various parts of the country and not only this, the special Yoga sessions are also organized abroad for the devotees of Swami Ji. This time the trust organized Yog festival at Dungarpur Rajasthan. Organized under the supervision of city council of Dungarpur the festival was a grand success. People of the city actively participated in the festival both in the first day and second day of the event.

The venue for Yog Mahotsav was Laxman Maidan Dungarpur and the festival was organized under the supervision of Mr. K.K Gupta the Chairman of the city council of Dungarpur. Thousands of devotees actively participated in the two days event which was organized at the heart of the city. Yoga leads a person towards mental peace. A healthy body is a key to happiness in life and yoga helps the body to remain healthy always, preached Swami Ji to people during the Mahotsav.

'The two days Yog Mahotsav at Dungarpur was a grand success with the participants not only from the city but the devotees of Swami Ganeshanand Jee from various parts of Rajasthan also witnessed the grand event. Under the guidance of Swami Ji and the perfect coordination of the city council, Dungarpur Yog Mahotsav became another memorable event of the trust. With the promise to organize another Yog Festival in the city soon the Mahotsav concluded on a positive note. Devotees were overwhelmed by the Yoga techniques of Swami Ji and promised to implement Yoga in their daily life schedule," concluded the PR Manager of the Ananda Yog Ashram Trust at the end of the conversation.

The Ananda Yog Ashram Trust is a renowned organization that is engaged in spreading and imparting yoga and meditation lessons. Swami Ganeshanand Jee is the founder of the trust. Swami Ji is actively engaged to explore his spiritual plan and vision of the trust to the millions of aspirants from the globe. Ananda Yog Ashram Trust' is created to facilitate the spiritual, health, education Related activities to the aspirants. The trust is managing several projects for the mankind benefits. Some projects are Health Care Activities, Free Yoga Camps, Education, Disaster Management, Old Age Home, Ayurveda, Gausala, and Rehabilitation.

Media Contact Company Name: Ananda Yoga Ashram Trust Contact Person: Swami Ganeshanand Email: Phone: 91 - 9910118333 / 9811265730 Address:Tughlakabad Extension, Opposite: Tara Apartments City: New Delhi State: Delhi Country: India Website: http://www.swamiganeshanand.com/

MENAFN0704201700703268ID1095376684

See more here:

Ananda Yog Ashram Trust Conducted 2 Days Musical Yog Mahotsav at Dungarpur, Rajasthan - MENAFN.COM