The Optimistic

Forget the wonders of modern chemistry. You don't need to talk to your doctor about Viagra. All you need is a traditional fungus used both as an aphrodisiac and a performance-enhancing drug. The best part you’ll be helping out developing economies that are thriving on a thirst for the fungus, known as “Kira Jari”. As the name suggests, Himalayan Viagra has been used for at least 1000 years as an aphrodisiac or as a treatment for hypo sexuality. The fungus is rare and used for another purpose: A natural pesticide. It works by mummifying caterpillars, then growing the fungus out the top of their heads. There is a fungus that attacks caterpillars in the Indian Himalayas. People in north India call it “Kira Jari”. In neighboring Tibet it is known as “Yarsagumba”. The fungus mummifies its prey and then grows out of the top of the dead caterpillar's head. It appears above ground just as the snow melts in May or June. Over the last five years or so, Himalayan villagers have b

Bhadu Puja Bhadu  is the social festival of South Bengal. The festival starts from the first day of Bhadro.  the fifth month in Bengali Calender.  and continues till the end of the month. It has its origins in the story of a princess called Bhadravati (Bhadresvari) of Panchakote who committed suicide. Bhadravati's devotees make an image of her and sing and dance before it throughout the month. On the last day of Bhadra, they gather on the river bank and immerse the image in the water. Songs, mainly focussing on marriage, form the main attraction of the festival in which both professional groups and amateurs take part. Celebrations include fairs and cultural programmes. Bhadu festival is mostly celebrated in Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum & Bardhaman districts of West Bengal. Tradition / Oral History:- Bhadu was an orphan found by the chief (mukhya) of Lada village. Raja Nilmoni Singh Deo of Kashipur in whose kingdom Ladha is located has just introduced a new st

Durga Puja 2019 : Countdown Begins Durga Puja  The first grand worship of Goddess Durga in recorded history is said to have been celebrated in the late 1500s. Folklores say the landlords, or  zamindar,  of Dinajpur and Malda initiated the first Durga Puja in Bengal. According to another source, Raja Kangshanarayan of Taherpur or Bhabananda Mazumdar of Nadiya organized the first  Sharadiya  or Autumn Durga Puja in Bengal in c. 1606. The origin of the community puja can be credited to the twelve friends of Guptipara in Hoogly, West Bengal, who collaborated and collected contributions from local residents to conduct the first community puja called the 'baro-yaari' puja, or the 'twelve-pal' puja, in 1790. The baro-yaari puja was brought to Kolkata in 1832 by Raja Harinath of Cossimbazar, who performed the Durga Puja at his ancestral home in Murshidabad from 1824 to 1831, notes Somendra Chandra Nandy in 'Durga Puja: A Rational Approach' published in  The Stat

Durga Puja 2019 : Dates & Times Durga Puja , also called  Durgotsava , is an annual Hindu festival in the Indian subcontinent that reveres the goddess Durga .It is particularly popular in, West Bengal, Bihar Jharkhand Odisha, Assam, Tripura, Bangladesh and the diaspora from this region, and also in Nepal where it is called Dashain. The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of  Ashvin , typically September or October of the Gregorian calendar, and is a multi-day festival that features elaborate temple and stage decorations ( pandals ), scripture recitation, performance arts, revelry, and processions.  It is a major festival in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism across India and Shakta Hindu diaspora. Durga Puja festival marks the battle of goddess Durga with the shape-shifting, deceptive and powerful buffalo demon Mahishasura, and her emerging victorious. Thus, the festival epitomizes the victory of good over evil, but it also is in part a harvest festival that marks