Why Narendra Modi decided to contest from Varanasi???

What would be the benefit from this move? Despite being on the anvil for several months, these two questions hit everyone in the face the moment the Bharatiya Janata Party made the announcement late Saturday night. Answers to these questions are actually in two realms: immediate electoral calculations and the much bigger political and cultural context.

For Modi to secure a mandate that reduces his dependence on other parties to form a government, it is essential for BJP to do spectacularly well in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Anything less than 50% of the 120 seats for the party from here is likely to become an impediment.

Geographically, Varanasi is close to the midway point of the land tract comprising the two states. Eastern UP and the Poorvanchal region of the state jointly account for almost half the seats in UP.

Modi's presence in Varanasi will have significant traction-effect in Bihar and other parts of UP. But, this analysis of number-crunching is superficial and fails to go beyond the predictable realm. Modi visited Varanasi for the first time after being anointed BJP's prime ministerial candidate in December 2013. He did not go directly to the rally venue.

Instead, he visited the Kashi Vishwanath and Sankatmochan Temples prior to this. Both are iconic temples and the former has been one of the three shrines over which the Sangh Parivar waged the agitation in the mid-1980s that is singularly responsible for BJP's rise.

The agitation for the removal of the Gyanvapi Mosque has not been waged after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. But with Modi's candidature from the city, the issue is likely to be become a talking point in the course of the campaign and its immediate aftermath.

Modi has not overtly played the C-card so far like he did in 2002 (refugee camps being babyproducing factories) and has opted to speak in similes (you need chest size 55 inches to convert UP into a Gujarat). But his move to contest from the preeminent Holy city of Hindus that is also mired in historical conflict may introduce a strong undercurrent of polarisation.

In December 2013, in his speech, Modi said he came from the "land of Somnath to take the blessings of Baba Vishwanath". The lines between religion, politics and culture were also not delineated by Modi when he affirmed that cleaning the Ganga River and running the programme efficiently was as much a political commitment as a religious duty.

The river is after all, not just a carrier of flowing water but a cultural stream and an embodiment of the Mother figure for the majority. In the heydays of the Ayodhya agitation, party elders of Modi argued that it was not just for the construction of a temple but for the assertion of cultural nationalism.

Varanasi is culturally referred as Kashi, the place to attain Moksha or liberation. In mythology this liberation is from the cycle of life but in Modi's campaign, emancipation is necessary from a government till recently routinely called Delhi Sultanate with a Shahzade waiting in the wings.

Varanasi is associated more closely with Lord Shiva in comparison to other Gods of the Hindu pantheon, most importantly the other two in the Triumvirate, Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma.

With Modi from Varanasi, Rajnath Singh from Lucknow and Arun Jaitley from Amritsar — choices soaked in political, cultural and religious symbolism — the BJP underscored the rise of the new Triumvirate or Trimurti. The common religious chant of the city and Lord Shiva is Har Har Mahadev.

The slogan being used for some time to drum up support for Modi has a striking similarity: Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi. This is clever use of symbols, language, culture and religiosity interwoven into one. Allahabad was Nehru's political home. It is the city of the Sangam, symbolic of India's spiritual pluralism.

Modi's residence will lie on the banks of a singular stream of India's spiritual heritage. There must, after all, be a raison d'etre for choosing this seat from the 80 available in Uttar Pradesh!

(The writer is the biographer of Narendra Modi)

Via: http://m.economictimes.com/PDAET/articleshow/32165892.cms

American Lady to Rural Indian Housewife

From cocktail parties to cow-pat cakes: The Californian party girl, 41, who became a traditional Indian housewife after meeting farmer husband, 25, on Facebook

• Adriana Peral, 41, met Mukesh Kumar, 25, online in February last year
• She travelled to Haryana, India, in August and wed within months
• The Californian now lives in a remote farm house 30 minutes drive town
• She has no inside toilet, a bucket for a shower shared with cows
• Mother-of-one said leaving her daughter, 25, in the U.S. was traumatic
• Mr and Mrs Kumar now plan to have children of their own

An American woman has ditched her comfortable, fun-loving Californian lifestyle to become a traditional housewife in rural India.

Adriana Peral, 41, took a leap of faith last August when she flew to the sub continent to meet a man young enough to be her son who she had fallen in love with over Facebook.

Within months she was married to Mukesh Kumar, 25, and had assumed her new role as a doting housewife - sweeping, cooking, cleaning and mucking in on the family's farm in an impoverished rural community in Haryana, India.

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Transformation: Adriana Peral, seen at a nightclub in Merced, California, left, swapped parties for a quieter life in India after travelling to the subcontinent to marry a man she met on Facebook 

It is a far cry from sun-kissed, body-conscious California, where Mrs Kumar enjoyed clubbing with friends, hitting the gym and shopping with daughter Lucy. 

But despite the radical lifestyle change, she insists she is happier than ever.

The former receptionist at an acupuncture centre said: 'I love my life here with Mukesh - I wouldn't exchange it for anything in the world.'

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In love: Adriana Peral, 41, and her husband Mukesh Kumar, 25, met and fell in love online

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Rural: The pace of life in the remote rural village of Panipat, India, is a far cry from the modern homelife Adriana Peral, left behind in California

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Home comforts: Adriana Peral makes some tea for her husband and in-laws, left, and sweeps the courtyard , right, at her house in a village in Panipat, India, during a typical day as a housewife

Mrs Kumar - who admits she had plenty of relationships back in the U.S., but had never found true love - began talking with Mukesh, sixteen years her junior, on the social networking site in February.

Over the next few months the pair grew closer, until one evening Mukesh unexpectedly called.

She explained: 'Mukesh declared his love to me right there and then on the phone. I didn't know how to react, and at first just laughed it off.

'But after we talked some more, I realised he was serious and so I said if you win my heart, I will consider marrying you. We spoke for around three more weeks and it was during that time I decided I wanted to move to India to be with him.'

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Change of pace: Adriana Peral stands beside a cow at the front yard of her house in a village in Panipat, India, as she gets used to a rural existance

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Culture shock: Adriana Peral stands in front of house old Californian home, left, and outside the bed room of her house in a village in Panipat, India, right

Leaving behind her 25-year-old daughter Lucy Cortez was a heart-wrenching moment, with many friends and family fearing for her safety in India. 

Mrs Kumar, whose parents moved to the U.S. from Mexico, said: 'When I walked in and told everyone I had decided to leave and move to India, they were in complete shock.

'My daughter was crying, she was in floods of tears. She was worried something bad would happen to me. 

'She said India was unsafe for women. I had to turn to her and reassure her everything would be alright.

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Hard work: Adriana Peral has left the creature comforts of an electronic dishwasher behind as she does the dishes by hand at her house in a village in Panipat, India,

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Youthful: A young Adriana Peral, suns herself on a beach in Merced, California

'Some people thought Mukesh was a fake, an online scam and that he didn't really exist. I can't describe the moment I finally saw him at the arrivals gate at Indira Gandhi airport - it was a big relief to finally see him in person.'

But she admits nothing had prepared her for the culture shock she was about to experience.

Her new home was a modest farm house in Popran, a large village over 30 minutes drive from the nearest town.

Mrs Kumar found the family used cow pat cakes, made by drying out the excrement of the families herd, as fuel.

And with no inside toilet, a bucket for a shower and cows roaming around the communal area, the lack of amenities was tough to adapt to.

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Day to day: Adriana Peral gets on with the chores at home in her new front yard - a far cry from the Californian house

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Home from home: Adriana Peral, pictured with her husband Mukesh Kumar while enjoying their lunch at their house in a village in Panipat, India, says she has no regrets about leaving California

She added: 'When I first stepped off the plane it was a complete culture shock.

'It is stricter here - women have to cover up more.

'In Haryana many people live off the land, there are few basic amenities. We cook on a stove which is outside, and my living room doubles as the place where we store the cows at night.

'We sometimes use the bull and cart to ride around, and the toilet is a communal one. The shower is just a bucket in a closet sized room with a hole in the floor.

'If people back home could see where I am living they would think I am crazy.

'At first it was a real struggle, but soon you realise you don't need a fancy toilet or power shower to be happy.'

One of the biggest challenges, says Adriana, was being accepted among the largely impoverished locals.

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Then and now: Adriana Peral, pictured during her younger days in Merced, California, left, now lives in a remote rural village in India, where she has adopted the lifestyle of a traditional Indian housewife, right

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Family: Adriana Peral and her mother-in-law Bimla Devi share a moment together at the front yard of their house in a village in Panipat, India

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Home: Adriana Peral shares this home in a village in Panipat, India, with husband Mukesh Kumar

Mrs Kumar, who immediately ditched her favoured high heels and adopted sandals, saree and headdress, said: 'Foreigners are rarely seen in the villages here, and wherever I went a crowd would develop all wanting to catch a glimpse of this outsider.

'Over time I began to get used to it. It was a bit like being a celebrity, but they have accepted me as one of their own now.

'A big part of that was dressing like they do and trying to speak some Hindi. In the U.S. I loved wearing high heels and dressing up for a night out at a club with my friends, but here things are more low key.

'You can't get any of the make-up I'm used to using and women generally don't apply much of it anyway, it is an unnecessary cost.

'The locals respond when you try and fit in and live as they live.'

In November 2013 Mukesh and Adriana tied the knot in a traditional Hindu ceremony, which made headlines in India's national Hindi language media.

The event was a major occasion within the conservative community too - where women are still often expected to be doting housewives upon marriage and normally wed within their own religion and caste.

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Culture: Adriana Peral and Mukesh Kumar celebrate their wedding in Panipat, India, in traditional style

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Bull power: Adriana Peral and her husband Mukesh Kumar enjoy a buffalo cart ride through the fields near their village in rural India

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Leg power: Adriana Peral, works out in the gym in Merced, California

Mukesh, who speaks broken English, but is learning from his new wife, said: 'Adriana is a good wife. 

'She is always doing housework and if my mum is doing dishes she say, "No, I want to do - it is my job".

'I am very happy to marry with her. It is true love.'

Crucially for Mrs Kumar, her mother-in-law Bimla Devi, 70, has given the pair her blessings - and even endorsed her housewife skills.

Speaking in Hindi, Bimla said: 'I am happy my son married a foreigner. She respects me. If he had married a girl from our village, she would probably not have respected me as much as Adriana does.

'She works all the house too, I like her a lot.'

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Bedtime reading: A hindi version of The Bible is seen along with some traditional make-up items at Adriana Peral and Mukesh Kumar's bedroom

The couple now plan to have children together and build a family in India, but Adriana isn't ruling out returning to the US one day.

She said: 'I am actually planning to have children with Mukesh and my mother-in-law even wants me to have two.

'I get on really well with all the family, Mukesh's brothers and sisters, his uncles - they have all taken me to their hearts.

'If I could bring the American food and luxuries here it would be perfect. But one day we would like to return to America with our family.

'The people of India are very loving and this does feel like a second home now.'

FLORES / FLOWERS

FLORES   /   FLOWERS

Life is amazing!

Zoe, the White Zebra, has blue eyes and golden stripes.

REFLECTIONS

This is really a beautiful series, and great photos... And so true!

Photographer Tom Hussey created a series of pictures that will speak to you, no matter your age, race, beliefs or occupation. The Reflection photos illustrate just how much we change in our lives and how it seems to happen all at once, no matter how many years actually go by. These will grip your soul.

Reflection gives insight into the former lives of these senior citizens.

HOW BABIES WILL BE BORN IN FUTURE???

HOW BABIES WILL BE BORN IN FUTURE