Who has not
heard of William Shakespeare. Everyone at school has read his plays as part of their
school curriculum. He was pure literary genius. He was able to use words in a
way in which showed his great talent. He even invented words some of which
include dwindle, monumental, sanctimonious, castigate and frugal. Some of phrases
used in his plays are used a lot in day to day spoken English and many people don’t
even know about it. Some of which include A wild goose chase (Romeo and Juliet),
The be-all and the end-all (Macbeth), All that glisters is not gold (The
Merchant of Venice), In my heart of hearts (Hamlet), It’s Greek to me (Julius
Caesar) and A heart of gold (Henry V).
I have always liked William Shakespeare plays
and some his quotes. Here’s a list of the top 10 William Shakespeare quotes
about life and love.
1. All the
world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They have their
exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts. (As You
Like It, Act II, Scene VII)
2. Love will
not be spurred to what it loathes (The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act 5, Scene 2)
3. My bounty
is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more
I have, for both are infinite. (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 2)
4. To be, or
not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the
slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of
troubles, and by opposing end them. To die: to sleep. (Hamlet, Act III, Scene I)
6. Men at
some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our
stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings. (Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II)
7. Be not
afraid of greatness: twas well writ. Some are born great, some achieve
greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. (Twelfth Night: Act II,
scene 4)
8. Love
looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted
blind. (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 1, scene 1)
9. My bounty
is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I
have, for both are infinite. (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 2).
10. The web
of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together. All's Well That Ends
Well. (Act 4, Scene 3)
What do you
think of these quotes from William Shakespeare? Did you like then? Do you have
a favourite then feel free to post in the comments below?
I want to talk about an Indian term called
Antarvasna. The world Antarvasna relates to the inner desires and feelings
related to sex and sexuality. India is the country that has given birth to the 11th
century Kamasutra, the book of sexuality or sexology. However there has been no
mention of anatomy and physiology of different parts of reproductive organs
specially the female parts in any of these literary works. However texts of the
medieval period do mention the various female parts and the function of these
organs in the enjoyment of sex (Rao 2004). Some of the functions, role has been
mentioned in the Bhavaprakasa of ayurveda and Paururavamanasijasutra parts of
the Kamasutra. The text proves that Indians actually knew about these areas of
female anatomy and sexuality since the text has been shown to be from the third
century A.D. Other Indian texts of sexuality include; Jayamangala, Ratirahasya,
Smaradipika and Anangaranga.
The famous book of Kamasutra was introduced
to teach the readers about the science of sexuality. It was supposed to induce
antarvasna, the inner (antar) desires/sexuality (vasna). The word Vasna in
Hindi/Sanskrit denotes inner desire for sex while antar is the inner feelings.
The Kamasutra is an India book of desires. Hence the Kamasutra is all about
inducing antarvasna, the inner (antar) desires to engage in sex (vasna).
The Kamasutra (Kamasutra, comprising of the
word Kama, "the desire" and Sutra, "the aphorism" or
literally "the aphorisms of desire" is an Indian writing between the
fourth century and seventh century, attributed to Vatsyayana.
The Kamasutra is a standard treatment of
the Hinduism. It has been translated for the first time in English in 1876 by
Richard Francis Burton. But the book did not become legal in the United Kingdom
in 1963.
The central theme of the Kamasutra
The Kamasutra provides information on
privacy in ancient India. It evokes successively "the three goals of
life", "the advice of common sense", "the behavior of the
city", "the choice of a wife", "the duties and privileges
of the wife ", " the courtesans and methods occult " in addition
to all practices more directly related to sexuality. Like all pieces of the
India ancient structure can also be read as an allegory of the union (yoga) to
the Divine.
Often richly illustrated with miniatures,
he provides seduction advice for a harmonious life in the couple, including
through various intimate positions (although 64 positions have been the
popularity of the work they do, however, that a chapter of book itself) to the
origin to the Indian aristocracy.
The Kamasutra is not only devoted to
intimacy, also a lifestyle that a person had grown to know. It covers for
example the use of music, food, perfumes etc. In addition, the book also gives
advice to women and couples and indicates that men were not held in the sexual
relationship only, but should also control the kisses, caresses, bites and
scratches. It describes a number of positions, but also the behavior to be
performed by the partners in place to let their imagination.
Besides the treatise of Vatsyayana there
are other similar works on the same subject are India. These include;
1. The Ratirahasya, or secrets of love.
2. The Panchasakya, or the five arrows.
3. The Smara Pradipa, or the light of love.
4. The Ratimanjari, or the garland of love.
5. The Rasmanjari, or the sprout of love.
6. The Anunga Runga, or the stage of love;
also called Kamaledhiplava, or a boat in the ocean of love.
Rao BR. 2004. Influence of Tantra on
ayurveda and Kamasutra. Bull Indian Inst Hist Med Hyderabad. 34(1):41-9.
Are you travelling to India with your kids? If yes then why not give them something to read about India before you go? This way they will get to know India better! Even better give them something to listen. My book “All about India: Introduction to India for Kids” is now available in audio format on Amazon, Audible and iTunes. The book has been narrated by theatre artist Linda Roper. I am sure they will love the soft British accent.
This book is similar to my other book “India For Kids” and covers everything that a child or any traveller to India would want to know about India. This version is however is slightly more detailed and children of advanced reading age will find it particularly useful.
Introduction to India – A brief introduction to the book and India.
Capital of India – Detailed information about the capital of India.
People of India – This chapter covers what the people of India is about.
Ancient history of India – Introduction to the history of India.
Modern history of India – Introduction to current and modern India.
Culture of India – Introduction to the culture of India.
Religions of India – This chapter talks about Hinduism other religions of India.
Languages of India – India has lots of languages and this chapter looks at what they are.
Geography of India – Many don’t know where India is so this chapter looks at the geography of India.
India’s neighbour – The chapter looks at India’s various neighbours.
Festivals of India – India is known as the land of festivals. This chapter looks at the popular festivals of India.
Overview of Indian food – India is known for its food. This chapter looks the types of Indian food.
What do Indians eat? – The chapter talks about the types of food eaten by Indian people.
Bollywood, the Indian film industry – India makes a lot movies and this chapter talks about India’s film industry.
Basic Hindi – This chapter has some basic Hindi for children and adults to practice.
Quiz questions on India – Some questions based on this book. See how many children can remember.
The book has lots of beautiful pictures and is a visual feast on India and its culture and food and everything else about India. Anyone of reading age and beyond will find it useful. The audio format of this book would be useful to those who find it easier to listen. Click on the link below to find out more.
Maithili is one of the
3 accents of Bihar; Maithili, Magahi, and Bhojpuri of the Bihari linguistic
processess. Approximately addressing, we might allege that Maithili is best
spoken northernmost of Bihar and eastward of the river Gandak. Whilst around
the east - it has covered near the Ganges River and is uttered in regions of
southern Bihar. Magahi also absorbs South Bihar, east of the River Son, and the
northerly of the two tablelands of Chota Nagpur. Bhojpuri absorbs the southerly
tableland of Chota Nagpur and the the country north and south of the Ganges
River as far west as, say, Benares. Maithili is also spoken by the Madhesis of
Nepal. Maithili and Magahi are a good deal more intimately affiliated to each
other than either is to Bhojpuri. So, the Maithili could nearly be addressed as
an isolated linguistic communication. The model anatomy of the nomenclature is
that languages spoken in the Madhubani section of the Darbhanga territorial
dominion, and in the adjacent part of the district of Bhagalpur. Maithili is
verbalized in its most avid pureness by the Brahmanas of the north of the
Darbhanga and Bhagalpur districts, and by those of western Purnea.
Maithili Language
Maithili is unmatched
of the 3 accents of Bihar; Maithili, Magahi, and Bhojpuri of the Bihari
linguistic processess. Approximately addressing, we might allege that Maithili
is best spoken northernmost of Bihar and eastward of the river Gandak. Whilst
around the east - it has covered near the GangesRiver and is uttered in regions
of southern Bihar. Magahi also absorbs South Bihar, east of the River Son, and
the northerly of the two tablelands of Chota Nagpur. Bhojpuri absorbs the
southerly tableland of Chota Nagpur and the the country north and south of the
GangesRiver as far west as, say, Benares. Maithili is also spoken by the
Madhesis of Nepal.
Maithili and Magahi
are a good deal more intimately affiliated to each other than either is to
Bhojpuri. So, the Maithili could nearly be addressed as an isolated linguistic
communication. The model anatomy of the nomenclature is that languages spoken
in the Madhubani section of the Darbhanga territorial dominion, and in the
adjacent part of the district of Bhagalpur. Maithili is verbalized in its most
avid pureness by the Brahmanas of the north of the Darbhanga and Bhagalpur
districts, and by those of western Purnea.
History of Maithili
During the British
rule it is customary among western linguists to refer to Maithili as 'Bihari',
a few words on this term are in order. The earliest usage of the term 'Bihari
(literally, the language of Bihar) is found in some British referrals wherein
the explanation offered the following reasons for adopting this name to
designate three dialects - Bhojpuri, Maithili and Magadhi [Magahi]:
1. It is a local name,
like the names of other languages as Bengali and Punjabi.
2. The extension of
the name to cover all the dialects of Eastern Hindustan has a parallel in the
case of Marâthï, which has been extended to cover the Dakhani dialect of Berär,
while it means literally only the dialect of the Maräthä country.
3. There is a
historical propriety in the name, as the work Bihar is derived form the
Buddhist Viharas or monasteries once so thickly spread over that region; and.
Bihari in its most ancient form was the language of the early Jains and
Buddhists.
4. Bihari has a
prescriptive right to the dignity of assuming a general character, for the only
one of all the dialects of Eastern Hindustan which possesses any literature is
Maithili, a dialect of north Bihar.
That the choice was
unfortunate has been felt ever since. Most modern writers on Maithili have resented
it and have so indicated.
What is most
interesting is that several linguists grouped Maithili and Bhojpuri together as
dialects of a common Bihari while even thought they were two cultural and
linguistic as well as literary traditions, and even said that Bhojpuri
"belongs rather to the united Provinces than to Bihar, and all its
associations and traditions point to the west and not to the east.
There never was in the
past nor exists today a language called Bihari. There is no mention of it in
any literature, any document or any record. There is not a single individual
who speaks or writes in the Bihari language. It has no script, no literature, no
actual existence. It is surely a creation of some strange mind and lives in
philological works of scholars who thoughtlessly decided to copy the
classification still existing today.
The Maithili language
is spoken in the state of Bihar and neighbouring country of Nepal. It is not
considered as a separate language from Hindi however those who speak the
language would prefer to be called a separate language from Hindi.
Maithili language is
one of the former languages of India. It has the dialect of Hindi and hence
many consider that it has been derived from the Hindi language. It belongs to
the Indo-Aryan group just like all other Indian languages. It is spoken primarily
in the state of Bihar and in the Nepal Terai region. It took a long time for
this language to attain the official status in Indian languages list. This was
because people did not consider it significantly different from that of Hindi.
There were a lot of petitions to give an official status to help education and
literature work in this language. Finally the petitions were all paid due
respect and the language attained its official status in the year 2003.
The name for this
language was derived from the origin of this language. This language originated
in the state of Mithila, which had a great history in the literature, and epics
of India. Mithila was one of the ancient continents in the world and this
clearly shows how ancient the language Maithili is. The entire Mithila used the
language Maithili in both written and oral form. Works rich in the languages
were released and attained global familiarity. Despite the large group of
speaking population, the language did not dominate North India equal to that of
the Hindi language.
The most famous poet
of our nation Vidyapati wrote his literature works in Maithili language. His
poems and thoughts added beauty to this language and raised its power over more
than what it originated to be. While oral communication was easier and poets
used tunes to enhance the sweet nature of the language, written communication
was in Maithili script. This is most similar to the Bengali script. Since all
of the state were grouped as one in the ancient India, it is common for them to
have followed the same writing script.
Maithili is often
mixed with Bhojpuri and Maithili songs are made which is very popular amongst
the people of Bihar. Today Maithili song concerts draw large crowds.
At present, Maithili
speaking population could be sparsely found in the state of Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Orissa. Since Maithili belonged to most of
eastern India, it flourished better. If it had been a central Indian language
then it would have been long dominated by the fast sweep of the Hindi language.
Though we have not yet excavated the real branches of Maithili, many literature
proofs show that Maithili had Hindi in its branches. This means that the origin
of Hindi was Maithili language. Census reports show that around 22 million people
speak Maithili languages in India and around 25 million people in the world.
Varanasi is considered the holiest of the seven holy cities in India. It is also the oldest city which is known to be continuously inhabited anywhere in the world. Earlier known as Kashi and then Benaras or Banaras, the pilgrimage center is situated on the banks of the Ganga (Ganges) the holiest of the 7 holy rivers of Hindu religion. The city is of religious importance to Jains and Buddhists in addition to being the salvation ground of Hindus. Sarnath, the place where Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon is situated close to Varanasi. The city has seen its days of glory and also destruction at the hands of invaders. Today, it stands out in the world map as the center of Indian philosophy, spirituality, mysticism and Indian religious beliefs. Besides the temples, tourists are attracted to 84 Ghats of Varanasi where people make ablutions on the banks of the rivers.
People often travel to the city of Varanasi from all over India and the world as well since it is well connected to every place by an international airport, Railways station and national highways. It is situated at a distance of 320 km from the state capital Lucknow and 790 km from Indian Capital Delhi.
Delhi to Varanasi by Air
After the construction of Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, Varanasi has been well connected to Delhi by air with numerous flights operating between the two cities. The Airport is situated in Babatpur at a distance of 18 km from the heart of city of Varanasi. Those who expect an easy, comfortable and quick journey to Varanasi can opt for the air travel. A daily direct flight from Varanasi to Delhi is available around the year.
The domestic terminal at the Varanasi airport has incorporated all modern techniques and is well equipped with escalators and high-tech system of handling the baggage of visitors. Due to many senior citizens and people with disability visiting the pilgrimage center, the airport has wheelchairs arrangement made to meet their requirements. In an amazing gesture, the airport authorities have special assistance provided in handling of baggage for people with special needs and senior citizens absolutely free.
Varanasi: The most holiest of places for the Hindus
An international terminal connecting the airport to international destinations has been opened in 2012. The cost of air ticket is approximately 3000/-INR for a flight between Delhi and Varanasi. Once outside the airport, there are number of prepaid taxis and auto rickshaws where spot bookings can be done to get to Varanasi. There are also buses plying from the airport to different hotels and center points of Varanasi for those who do not prefer taxis or auto rickshaws. As a bonus, tourist can shop for handicrafts, ethnic jewelry and other goodies in the airport, besides eating at the fast food joints available there.
Delhi to Varanasi by Train
Traveling from Delhi to Varanasi by train is approximately a 9 hour journey, which is the reason why many prefer overnight journey. Those who do not wish to enjoy the sights along the rail route can embark on the train from Delhi in the night and wake up in the city of destination early next morning. Most of the pilgrims traveling from Delhi to Varanasi find traveling by trains to be one of easiest, cheapest and best way of transport though one has to be careful about the thefts which have been reported often. The holy city of Varanasi is a major junction of the Indian Railways, for which tickets can be booked online and through electronic reservations.
Manikarnika Burning Ghat, Varanasi India
The approximate cost of the tickets per adult from Delhi to Varanasi is
First class air conditioned coach – 2400/- INR
2 tier air conditioned coach – 1275/- INR
3 tier air conditioned coach – 825/- INR
Sleeper Class – 320/- INR
The two railway stations situated in Varanasi are the Varanasi Junction with the IRS code of BSB and Mughal Sarai Junction with IRS code MGS. Varanasi junction is located in the center of the city whereas the Mughal Sarai is at the distance of nearly 15 km from Varanasi. Many of the super fast trains traveling from Delhi to Kolkata make a stop at the Mughal Sarai railway station, which is preferred by travelers.
Delhi to Varanasi by Road
Varanasi has an excellent network of roads connecting it to different cities. It lies between the National Highway NH2 connecting Delhi to Kolkata. This is considered the convenient way to travel to Varanasi from Delhi for people preferring traveling by road which is approximately an 11 hour journey.
A number of sleeper, semi-sleeper, deluxe, AC, Volvo and non AC buses ply between the city of Varanasi and Delhi every day. The tickets can be booked online in advance through various websites. Taxi can be booked to travel between Delhi and Varanasi though it is not going to be cheap. Getting to Varanasi and back to Delhi can cost anywhere between 13,000/- INR – 18,000/- INR depending on the type of car you choose. Here’s how to book your train tickets.
