Indian couple in UK is the world’s oldest partners-Prana Kishore

Indian couple in UK is the world’s oldest partners

PTI | Nov 25, 2014, 09.10 PM IST

 

The couple who tied the knot almost 89 years ago on December 11, 1925 after meeting in India as teenagers celebrated their birthdays on Sunday.

LONDON: An Indian couple, both over 100 years old and said to be the world’s oldest partners, has celebrated their joint birthdays this week in the UK. 

The couple who tied the knot almost 89 years ago on December 11, 1925 after meeting in India as teenagers celebrated their birthdays on Sunday, the Metro newspapaer reported on Tuesday. 

They married the same year Margaret Thatcher was born and Stanley Baldwin was British prime minister, the report said.

Karam Chand reached 109 on the same day his wife turned 102. They marked the occasion with four generations of their family at their home in Bradford. 

Karam, a retired mill worker, smokes one cigarette a day before his evening meal and drinks a tot of whisky or brandy three or four times a week.

 

Shri Mahatma Gandhi Letter to Bajaj Family-Prana Kishore

Shri Mahatma Gandhi Letter to Bajaj Family

Gandhiji/Gitaji wrote on a post-card, to a Bajaj family young boy of ten, who later became CEO of Bajaj Motors of today:

1. Speak little, listen to all, but

2. Do only what is pure/righteous, as per Gitaji

3. Keep diary/account of every minute and perform what comes up at      that moment without postponing or dragging.

4. Live like a poor and never be proud of your wealth.

5. Keep account od every penny spent. 

6. Abhyas (6:35) of Gitaji must be done with full concentration.

7. In the same manner, physical exercise is a must.

8. Eat sparingly and be vegetarian ( 6:16-7; 17:14-6; 17: 7-10).

9. Write in your daily diary all you did that day.

10. Instead of the sharpness of intellect, the strength of the purity of  the heart is much more valuable, so develop that.. In order to develop that it is necessary to do Abhyas of Gitaji, Tulsidaji, Miraji, is essential.

11. Read Bhajanavali as a daily need like food.

12. Pray everyday with your mind and heart in what you pronounce in  your prayer.

 

Note:

All this he wrote in Gujarati on a post card, 3″x5″ as economical as he was in every thing in his life.

This is also a message for all of us.

How To Pray at Thirumanancheri Temple- Prana Arasu

Thirumanancheri Temple- Prana Arasu

 

Thirumanancheri’ (Thiru Manam Cheri) is a village located near Cauvery River in Nagapattinam district as per HolyIndia.Org/Temple/Thirumanancheri. The village name comes from the god Shiva. Thirumanam mean marriage; cheri denotes a village or hamlet. Shiva married Parvathi at this place so the village is called marriage (Thirumanancheri).

Sri Kalyanasundareswarar swamy Temple

Thirumanancheri is one among the popular temples of Lord Shiva, which resides in Nagai District, Mayiladuthurai Taluk, Near Kuttalam. The Nearest Railway station is Kuttalam. It is very near to Kumbakonam and Mayiladuthurai. Nearest Railway Junction is Mayiladuthurai.

As per the legend. This famous temple helps to overcome the obstacles of Marriage . So many people are visiting to the temple and benefited. In the Temple, there is a special pooja for the person who seek for a nice partner. After the Marriage the Couple have to visit the temple to return or dispose the Prasatham in the Temple pond.

 

HISTORICAL / RELIGIOUS IMPORTANCE:

Mythology : Once upon a time, Parvathy wanted to marry Shiva in an earthly marriage with all religious rites on the earth;  Brahma, Vishnu and Indira came to earth as acharya in Thiruvaduthurai; while playing chokkattan (similar to Thaayam), Vishnu won and his sister Parvathy laughed aloud; Lord Shiva was angry and said “Ada pasuve!” and Parvathy was born as a cow on earth; Vishnu became her herder at Therazhundur; Barathamuni had no children and he prayed the Lord; he was given permission to remove her curse and so he converted her cow shape to a feminine figure at Thiruvavaduthurai; she grew up at Kuthalam alias Thiruthuruthi in Bharathamuni’s house;  Lord Shiva came to marry her as promised earlier and Barathamuni received him at Ethirkolpadi; Shiva performed all the marriage rites / velvi at Velvikkudi before marriage;  then he married Parvathy at Thirumanancheri. Shiva hence gets the name ‘Pasupathy’.

Steps to Pray at Thirumanencheri Temple

Every temple has a sequence in which you need to pray in that temple.We just can’t go around praying any idol we want.

Step-1: Go into the temple;  you will see Selva Ganapathy on the left; pray  him first.

Step-2: Then pray Lord Shiva (Sri Uthvaganatha Swami) and go to (Parvathi) Amman Sannithi on the right. Meenakshi Amman here appears as a 13-year old Kokilambal, head slanted to her right, with three bends (“naanikkoni’). This posture is before her marriage.

Step-3: On the left side of this huge Main mandapam is the most important Kalyana Sundareswarar Sannithi and Mandapam. Enter the mandapam and turn left; light the ghee deepams here,  right opposite to the Kalyana Sundareswarar Sannithi (but do not light Raghu dosham’s deepams here;  Mangala Raagu has a separate place for ghee dheepams); Kalyana Sundareswarar deities are in marriage kolam; Meenakshi is on his right looking at the floor in kalyana kolam; hence married girls should always stand on the right hand side of the groom during all auspicious functions; the priests perform the rituals here to remove our marriage obstacles. Details are given below. 

Step-4: As soon as you light the dheepams, wait for the next batch; only girls and boys concerned are seated inside the enclosure and those accompanying should sit around this enclosure; couples who come after marriage to complete the rituals (and the parents of boys/girls who are unable to come in person also can sit inside the enclosure; if you are parent(s) inform the priest as soon as you enter the enclosure).

The priests brief you first regarding the Do’s and Don’ts; then collect all the garlands and the archana tickets first; they keep all garlands at the feet of the god, return one garland each to the spouse to be worn; [parents must keep it in their hands]; sangalpam is done and the thattu is taken away; [parents should tell the boy/girl’s gothram/name/star and not theirs]; archana follows, coconuts are broken, thattus are returned after aarthi as usual; drop Rs.10 or Rs.20 in the plate (thattu) for the priests.

Do’s and Don’ts as informed by priests here:

Vibuthi, kumkum (plus manjal for girls) are to be used, after prayers, for one mandalam (45 days or till they last) by the boys/girls only and NOT by others in the family.

Lemon should be drunk, without adding salt or sugar, by the boys/girls only and NOT by others; the next morning after bathing the boy/girl should pray wearing this garland and then drink the lemon juice with a little water.

Then retain the garland in a cloth bag (manjal pai), not in plastic bag, till marriage is over and come again with spouse; the same garland is finally put in the temple tank here.

Coconuts can be used by the entire family for cooking.

Step-5: After these rituals at the Kalyana sundareswarar sannithi, go and pray Shiva again. Normally no separate archana is done here.

Step-6: The kalyana melam/Nadhaswaram party collects Rs.10/boyor girl while coming out of the sanctum sanctorum, though not compulsory.

Step-7: Pray Raagu. Mangala Raagu here in the north of inner praharam is special for puthira dosha nivarthi; normal ghee dheepam (5 for Rs.10) available near Raagu, should be lit only by the boy or the girl or one of the parents if the boy/girl has not come;

Prana Kishore has invited Shri Prana Arasu to contribute to the blog “One Page Hinduism” Prana Arasu is an senior corporate executive who is an expert on temples and guiding people on the right way to pray in a temples. He explains the sequence of praying making it easy to follow step by step for our benefit. We will see more contributions from him.