People
Isaac Luria's cosmogony theory
- Isaac Luria (1534-1572) was a renowned Kabbalist whose OT/Zohar-based theories were "literally validated" by the Big Bang theory four centuries later.
Mrs. (Indira) Gandhi was the third Prime Minister of India, serving several terms between 1966-1984!
maharaja: Sanskrit for "great king"
muezzin: A man who calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret of a mosque
Places
Tamil Nadu: southernmost state in India
Kerala: A state on the southwestern coast of India; capital, Trivandrum
Tata tea factory: Tata group has been around since 1868 and ventured into the tea world in 1962
Religious (and Philosophic) ideas
mori painting
- A genre of artwork created to remind people of their mortality
samskara: A purificatory ceremony or rite marking a major event in one's life (examples below)
- Garbhadhana: before conception
- Pumsavana: in third (or so) month of pregnancy
- Simanatonnayana: in fourth or fifth month of a woman's first pregnancy
- Jatakarman: shortly after birth
- Namakarana: naming ceremony performed the 12th day after birth
- Nishkramana: baby's first outing from the house (usually fourth month or later)
- Annaprashan: baby's first solid food (six months old)
- Chudakarana: baby's first haircut
- Karnavedha: ear-piercing cermony
- Vidyarambha: commencement of studies (three or five years old)
- Upanayana: attainment of sacred thread (eight years old)
- Praisharth: learning of Vedas and Upanishads
- Keshanta: first shave (16)
- Ritusuddhi: first menstruation
- Samavartana: graduation
- Vivaha: marriage
- Antyeshti: last rites
prasad: food offered to a deity in both Hinduism and Sikhism which is consumed by worshippers
Aarti: "a Hindu religious ritual of worship, a part of puja, in which light from wicks soaked in ghee (purified butter) or camphor is offered to one or more deities. Aartis also refer to the songs sung in praise of the deity, when lamps are being offered"
cassock: full-length garment of a single color worn by certain Christian clergy, members of church choirs, and acolytes
Diwali: A Hindu festival of lights, held in the period October to November.
The Imitation of Christ: Christian devotional text. "The approach taken in the Imitation is characterized by its emphasis on the interior life and withdrawal from the world, as opposed to an active imitation of Christ by other friars. The book places a high level of emphasis on the devotion to the Eucharist as key element of spiritual life."
Flora and Fauna
sambar : A dark brown woodland deer with branched antlers (Cervus unicolor)
: a South Indian or Sri Lankan Tamil dish made of pigeon peas
Nilgiri tahr: an ungulate endemic to southern India; state animal of Tamil Nadu
mynah: Asian and Australasian starling with dark plumage, gregarious behavior, and a loud call
Moluccan cockatoo: a bird endemic to south Moluccas in eastern Indonesia
one-wattled cassowary: a large, stocky flightless bird
silver diamond dove: a particular color (mutation) of a dove
Cape glossy starling: A blue bird found in several African countries
peach-faced lovebird: a social and affectionate small parrot
Nanday conures: a
orange-fronted parakeets: a
macaques: a
mangabeys: a
gibbons: a
tapirs: a
mongooses: a
mandrills: a
shoebills: a
the "lecherous expression of a camel": a
ungulates: a
peepuls: a
gulmohurs: a
flames of the forest: a
red silk cottons: a
jacarandas: a
mangoes: a
jackfruits: a
stoat: a
Miscellany
nadaswaram: "one of the most popular classical musical instruments in the Tamil Nadu and the world's loudest non-brass acoustic instrument" (listen here)
chapatti: flat pancake-like bread cooked on a griddle
bullock cart: two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen
ineluctably: Inescapably; by necessity
apoplectic: Overcome with anger; extremely indignant
raiments: clothing
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