About Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan (the bond of protection in Hindi) is a Hindu festival, which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. It is celebrated on the full moon of the month of Shraavana.

The festival is marked by the tying of a rakhi, or holy thread by the sister on the wrist of her brother. The elder brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her same while an elder sister returns offers to her younger brother. The brother and sister traditionally feed each other sweets. It is not necessary that the rakhi can be given only to a brother by birth; any male can be "adopted" as a brother by tying a rakhi on the person, that is "blood brothers and sisters", whether they are cousins or a good friend. Indian history is replete with women asking for protection, through rakhi, from men who were neither their brothers, nor Hindus themselves. Rani Karnavati of Chittor sent a rakhi to the Mughal Emperor Humayun when she was threatened by Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. Humayun abandoned an ongoing military campaign to ride to her rescue.
The rakhi may also be tied on other special occasions to show solidarity and kinship (not necessarily only among brothers and sisters), as was done during the Indian independence movement.

Perhaps the single most important way of celebrating Raksha Bandhan is by tying the rakhi. A sister ties a rakhi to the wrist of her brother. The tying of a rakhi signifies her asking of her brother for his protection and love for the sister. The brother in turn, accepts the rakhi, confirms his love and affection for his sister and shows this with gifts and money. It is a family event where all members of family, dressed in finery, gather and celebrate. The tying of rakhi is followed by a family feast.

On this day the sisters also tie a 'loomba' to the bangle of their brother's wife. A loomba is a loop of string with a charm or some other item attached to the loop of string. This charm or item then dangles from the bangle. The sisters then receive money from their sister's in law.

The origin of the festival is mostly attributed to one of the following mythological incidents:

1. Indra's fight with Vritra - Indra, the king of devtas (gods), had lost his kingdom to the asura (demon) Vritra. At the behest of his Guru Brihaspati, Indra's wife Shachi tied a thread around her husband's wrist to ensure his victory in the upcoming duel.

2. Draupadi and Krishna during the Rajsuya yagya - After Shishupal's death, Krishna was left with a bleeding finger. Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, had torn a strip of silk off her sari and tied it around Krishna's wrist to stop the flow of blood. Touched by her concern, Krishna had declared himself bound to her by her love. He further promised to repay the debt many fold. Many years later when Draupudi was about to be shamed by being disrobed in front of the whole court by her evil brother-in-law Duryodhana, she called on Krishna to help her, and he did by divinely elongating her sari so it could not be removed.

Other significant myth's, revolving this sacred festivial, have been passed down for generations in families across India.

Guys!!! Beware of things like this too!!!!

Drinking Wine Adds 5 Years to Your Life, Beer 2.5 Years

Half a glass of wine a day may add five years to your life, a new study suggests. Drink beer, and you’ll live only 2 1/2 years longer.
Dutch researchers followed 1,373 men for more than four decades, noting their eating and drinking habits. Men who had about 20 grams of alcohol daily — equivalent to a half a glass of wine — had 2 1/2 years added to their life expectancy at age 50, compared with men who didn’t drink at all, according to the research published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Men who consumed only wine had twice as much added longevity.

Celebrities Who Have Own Private Islands
Owning an island is the ultimate status symbol; apart from that, these private island kingdoms also afford privacy, peace and tranquility to celebrities who are always in the public eye.
Sir Richard Branson
He is undoubtly the "King of the Islands". He owns Necker and Moskito Islands, Caribbean Sea; Makepeace Island, Noosa River; Island of England, Dubai. Talking of private islands, there is no doubt that Richard Branson is the king. Necker and Moskito in the Caribbean Sea belong to Virgin Atlantic owner Richard Branson, the most flamboyant business mogul in Britain. Both have been transformed into resorts of luxury and indulgence. Necker Island is a 74-acre private paradise nestling in its incredible turquoise waters, with coral reefs and pristine white beaches. The island is often rented out whole by the privileged few. The 120-acre Caribbean island, Moskito is a more recent purchase and is just a mile and a half away from Necker, and cost $10 million. He also bought Makepeace Island for the staff of Virgin which lies off Australian Queensland coast and the Island of England located in Dubai's man-made world map.

Johnny Depp's Little Halls Pond Cay, Bahamas
This Pirate of the Caribbean fell in love with the Bahamas during the filming of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and went ahead and bought his own real-life Caribbean paradise getaway for his family in the Bahamas "Little Hall" Pond Cay. This 45-acre, one mile long isle is a private island and is part of the Exuma archipelago to the south of Bahamas. It costed him $3.6 million and boasts of the world"s most beautiful reefs, a private harbor, a palm-fringed lagoon and six pristine white sand beaches and is accessible only by a boat, helicopter or seaplane. Recent news that made headlines was that his island will be run on eco-friendly solar power.

Mel Gibson's Mago Island, Fiji
Australian natives find the tropical islands of Fiji a perfect vacation spot. Mel Gibson, himself an Australian, has joined the list of Fijian island owners with the purchase of Mago Island in 2005 for about $15 million. The island is 5,400 acres and is one of the largest private owned islands in the South Pacific. This island is almost completely secluded and uninhabited and the actor left it in its pristine state, except for building a modest residence for his personal use.

David Copperfield's Musha Cay, Bahamas
Magician David Copperfield owns four islands in southern Bahamas, for $50 million. While the 150-acre Musha Cay is where he has his most private resort, the three other islands are used as buffers to ensure maximum privacy. He rents out this island for $325,000 per week and celebrities such as John Travolta and Oprah Winfrey have stayed there. He calls the waters of his island the "fountain of youth", where he says he has discovered that dead leaves or insects near death come alive. In spite of these claims being met with disbelief, the island is said to be out of this earth with breathtaking beauty.

Two Year Old Snake Charmer From India

Amazing Indian Tribe

While other two-year-olds are just learning to walk and talk, the children of the nomad Vadi Tribe are introduced to the centuries-old art of snake charming. All the children of the Vadi Tribe come face to face with a poisonous cobra at age two, and go through a ten-year ritual, in which they learn all the secrets of snake charming. Both boys and girls must learn to handle snakes. While men must be able to manipulate cobras by playing the flute, the women must know how to take care of the reptiles when their husbands or brothers are away.

The Vadi treat snakes like their own children, never keeping them away from their natural habitat for more than seven months. Any longer than that would be disrespectful to the snakes, according to Babanath Mithunath Madari, the 60-year-old Vadi chief-charmer. In fact, the only time a snake actually bit his charmer, was when he kept it for more than seven months. Vadi snake-charmers don not cut the fangs of their snakes, instead they feed them an herbal mixture which, they say, makes their deadly poison harmless.

Unfortunately, in 1991, the thousand-year- old tradition of snake-charming was banned in India, and the Vadi tribe are stripped of their snakes whenever they are confronted by the police. They never spend more than six months in the same place.

Smoker's New Choice - Electric Cigarette

The electric cigarette, also know as an electronic cigarette, e-cigarette, or e-cig is basically a device that mimics the actions of a real cigarette.
There are four main components:
1). an indicator light
2). a battery
3). an atomizer
4). a cartridge

The indicator light is found at the end of the battery. Made to resemble a flame, it glows as the consumer takes a puff, flashes when the smoker inhales too many times in a short period, and flashes to indicate when the battery is charging.

The indicator light is found at the end of the battery. Made to resemble a flame, it glows as the consumer takes a puff, flashes when the smoker inhales too many times in a short period, and flashes to indicate when the battery is charging.The battery itself powers the e-cigarette, looks or blends in as part of the smoking device, and is rechargeable.An atomizer screws into the battery and is the "engine" behind the machine. The atomizer is responsible for creating a vapor that looks like smoke, and creates the delivery of sensations that smokers recieve from traditional cigarettes.Finally, the cartridge. The cartridge is a simple mouthpiece which contains the elements which convince the smoker they are smoking. In reality, there is no smoke.







The cartridge contains either 3 or 4 elements.
1). water
2). flavor
3). propylene glycol
4). nicotine
The flavor contained in the cartridge simulates that of tobacco, but there is no tobacco. With the growing popularity of the e-cigarette, more flavors are becoming available to satisfy consumer demand. Pipe and cigar smokers may soon find their favorite brand available as a smokeless sensation. Banana, apple, cherry, and strawberry are just to name a few. I think water is easy to discern, but most people may not be familiar with propylene glycol. PG (propylene glycol) is the real magic ingredient in the mix. It is the element responsible for the smoke that appears. This smoke is actually just part of the vapor created with the water - and is the same smoke you see in smoke machines at your discotheque. . It is not really smoke, as there is no fire.
A Better Cigarette?
Here is the really remarkable thing about the electronic cigarette. Because there is no actual tobacco, smoke, or fire, this in reality is not considered smoking. It is more along the lines of a nicotine replacement system which allows the smoker to mimic all the actions of smoking - except actually lighting up. The smoke emitted is actually a vapor which immediately disappears. Because there is no smoke, there is no second hand smoke. This makes this unit safe around others to use. The active ingredient nicotine believe it while addictive - has not been found by itself as a cancer causing agent.

Environment and the E-cig
Traditional smokers leave behind a carbon footprint which is greatly reduced when switching to the electronic cigarette. A rechargeable battery is used (hence electric) and a cartridge is the equivalent of 1-2 packs of cigarettes depending on the brand. Refills are available online and can be purchased in bulk. The weight and size of the cartridges when compared to the weight and size of cartons of cigarettes being shipped to your local store is one factor. The fuel saved in the transport of these products could really add up. While a pack of cigarettes leaves behind an ashtray full of butts, the electronic cigarette leaves behind just a small cartridge in comparison.These could be possibly recycled in the future. The reusable electric cigarette travels light, and does not need a lighter to ignight. The savings of a smoker from buying lighters or lighter fluid alone will add up to hundreds of dollars. No deadly smoke or pollutants are left behind by the e-cig. Clothes do not smell after use, and there is no ashtray clean up.

Useful Technology
While the electric cigarette is not an official smoking cessation device, many people have successfully given up the traditional cigarette with suprising ease. For those who know a smoker this is something you should bring to their attention. It is used by many smokers as a way to smoke where you aren't normally allowed to without offending anyone. It presents nicotine replacement and the enjoyment of the flavor of tobacco in a way that smokers are familiar with.