Diwali days!

festivals come and go:)-
Those are the days when we dream the sunlight paints us gold!
Magic of these intoxicating rituals,getting imbibed and soaked:)-
Prayers as deep as breath for the gratitude of being life itself!Our lives comes from our rituals (Esther hicks)

Images conceived and photographed :Lakshmi Arvind.

Please ask permission for use.

Prayer Boats for Deepavali !

Celebrate Diwali in Thailand Style!
 Make Krathongs or lotus shaped ecofriendly boats made of banana leaves:)-

‘Krathongs’, are small lotus-shaped boats made of banana leaves and banana tree, or environmentally insensitive Styrofoam. These these rafts are entrusted with candles, incense, flowers, and coins before they are floated down rivers, into lakes, or simply atop a still backyard pond.Bread raft was introduced to protect the environment because of the fact that having numerous rafts can lead to a huge water pollution problem. As a result, the bread raft was ingeniously created not only for the user, but eventually, the raft will become food for the fishes and other animals living in the river. 

All forms of rafts are decorated with uniquely folded banana leaves, candles, flowers and incense sticks, among others.The krathong are both signs of respect to the goddess of the water, and apologies to the River Goddess for polluting her waters during the year .Loy Krathong is celebrated during the full moon of the 12th month in the Thai lunar calendar and usually falls in November in western Gregorian calendar.
I remember the similarity these boats have to the flower boats we float in Rishikesh and Haridwar! 
Its beautiful to think about the similarity in  thoughts and the rituals:)- all over the world..

All images courtesy:Pinterest and here

Gods and Goddess ..Diwali The Indian Way!

Make space for gratitude and inspiration with a beautiful home Altar that celebrates the love of your life and the qualities you want to embrace in yourself ! (om)

 "Beloved goddess, how I desire to follow in your wise footsteps. Guide me as I walk my own sacred path. Teach me the hidden wisdom of your mind."(quotes)

Light the Diyas of happiness and prosperity

Images:Sources  from here

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Aakash Kandeel for Diwali !

Lets get into the..

Festive mood of Diwali 2015 !

The diwali festivities started yesterday with the making of an Aakash Kandili at home:)-

Watch out for a series of small Diwali inspirations:) ,Diwali stories and videos!

A kandeel is a lantern with a wooden framework and covered in coloured matte or glossy papers. These lanterns are generally hung in front of homes during the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali.^] Kandeel in Sanskrit is known asakasha deepa (lantern of the sky) and in Kannada, Goodu Deepa (nested light), or Nakshatra Gudu (star-like nest). Hindus in earlier days set kandeels afloat high, a gesture to invite the spirits of their ancestors moving around to come back home and be with them during the festival time; hence the name akasha deepa (lantern of the sky) or AkashaKandil.

In Kerala, we call it as akasha vilakku.  During the Hindu lunar month of 'Kartika', the people use to put akasha deepam, in place on roof tops of the houses and light them in the evening until dawn breaks in and up to the Karthika Paurnami (full moon) day or Dev Dewali day. Earlier oil lamps were used, which are fixed in the panjire (cage models), now colourful electrical lights are used instead. By lighting the panjiras it is believed that during Kartika those who had died used to visit their houses and wish their relatives wellbeing, or if the lights were not lit in front of the house, the curses them to live them in darkness in life.

Kandeels are hung for around a month from the first day of Diwali. Kandeels are traditionally built in a crystal shape with tails at the bottom; shapes include stars, globes and airplanes. Opaque papers cut into a complex design give more beauty to a Kandeel by blocking some of the light behind it.

Aakash Kandili

Skylanterns,Aakash Deepam

Paper lanterns

Images courtesy from here and here and article information courtesy..Wikipedia

if any problem in using these images,let me know and we will get them removed.