Buddhist site discovered on hilltop in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh

Archaeologists in Andhra Pradesh have discovered an ancient Buddhist site that dates back to 1st century AD.

The site was discovered atop a hill in Guntur district, in Putlagudem village of Achampet mandal.

A team headed by senior archaeologist and CEO of Culture Centre of Vijayawada and Amaravati (CCVA), Dr E Sivanagi Reddy found the site. 

“We found the Buddhist site atop a hill, locally called Bhairava Gutta. The area was dotted with broken pillars of Silamandapa in front of the dilapidated Venkateswara temple.The structures date back to the Satavahana rule," Reddy told TOI.

The Deccan Chronicle reported that the site had six limestone pillars with half lotus medallions and depicted animals and patterns.

Andhra Pradesh is home to several Buddhist sites, that date back to several centuries ago.

Just last week, one of the prime Buddhist tourist spots in the state in Ghantasala village in Krishna district, was all set to receive a boost, with a Rs 1,500 crore project.

“The new facility will be themed on the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha. A two-storied structure in Buddhist architecture resembling a pedestal with a 100-ft wide and 70-ft high Buddha in the Mahaparinirvana posture will be a major highlight,” Executive Director of the AP Tourism Development Corporation Mallikarjuna Rao told The Hindu.

There are also plans for a 'Buddhist circuit' being drafted by the AP Tourism and Culture department.

“Under Swadesh Darshan scheme, the state government will develop five places including Amaravati, where the government will construct tourism amenities centre, parking slots, Dhyana Buddha vanam (meditation halls) and more. The tourism department is taking utmost care on the new constructions and we are ensuring that these constructions should replicate the original Buddhist structures," secretary for tourism and culture Mukesh Kumar Meena told media persons. 

Buddhist site discovered on hilltop in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh

An ancient Himalayan village known for India’s best hash is now off limits for tourists

A deity has just put an end to visitors thronging one of the world’s top stoner destinations.

An isolated village nestled in the Himalayas, Malana is popular for Malana Cream, a strain of cannabis with a high oil content and intense aroma. Over the decades, this village of over 4,700 residents had emerged as a much sought-after destination among tourists thanks to its premium quality hashish.

Malana Cream is among the most expensive hashish on the famed cannabis menus of Amsterdam. A tola, or 11.66 grams, sells for over $250 there and over Rs4,000 ($60) in India.

Now, however, an oracle chosen by the villagers to communicate with their god, Jamlu, has asked them to close down all guest houses and restaurants to protect local culture and traditions, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported on July 11. According to their beliefs, locals stay away from eating, staying, or marrying outside the community.

“The deity did not want any of the villagers to rent out their property for running guest houses and restaurants…those violating his orders will have to bear the brunt of his curse,” Malana panchayat head Bhagi Ram told the Hindustan Times newspaper.

The village parliament had earlier mulled over the threat to Malana’s culture, especially from the tourists. A few months ago, the village banned photography, believing that the pictures taken by the tourists were instrumental in portraying the village as a narco-tourism hub.

Located in the Parvati Valley, a favourite locality among young Israelis, nearly 240 hectares (593 acres) in Malana are under cannabis cultivation, producing over 12,000kg of hashish in 2016. Malana villagers consider themselves descendants of the soldiers of the Macedonian conqueror Alexander. They once specialised in baskets, ropes, and slippers made from hemp, and had turned to hashish after foreign tourists taught the villagers how to extract the resin from cannabis.

Cannabis is illegal in India, but it also dominates India’s illicit drug trade; no other narcotic comes close. Last year, the country seized over 182,622kg of ganja and 2,489kg of hashish.

Source

https://qz.com

An ancient Himalayan village known for India’s best hash is now off limits for tourists

The Palkhi Festival of India

The Palkhi Festival of India dates back 1,000 years. Religious devotees in Maharashtra, the state that is home to Mumbai, make a pilgrimage over 23 days. Your Shot photographer Mahesh Lonkar saw the festivities one night. "I saw beautiful yellow light from my balcony," he remembers. "Devotees [were] performing collective singing, chanting, [and] shopping around the temple with enthusiasm for their creator."

Palki festival showcases the distinctive feature of the Maharashtrian culture. This is a 1000-year-old tradition, which has been following by the warkaris (people who follow the wari, a fundamental ritual).

People perform collective singing, dancing, chanting (Dnyanba-Tukaram in what are called as Dindis or organised group of warkaris) to the holy town of Pandharpur in Hindu months of Ashadh (June-July) and Karthik (November-December).

Palkhi Festival, which lasts for 22 days, starts in the month of Jyeshth (June). Every year on the eleventh day of the first half of the month of Ashadh, the Palkhi reaches Pandharpur. Every saint, right from Sant Jyaneshwar to Sant Tukaram was following the wari tradition.

It was in the year 1685 that Tukaram's youngest son, Narayan Baba wished to bring some change in the dindi-wari tradition by introducing the Palkhi, which is a sign of social respect.

In coarse of time, this tradition is becoming popular day by day. Nearly 1.5 lakh devotees proceed along with the Sant Tukaram Palkhi from Dehu village, while a total of 2.25 lakh devotees march along with the Sant Jnyaneshwar Palkhi.

Source/Photography/Bibliography

http://www.maharashtratourism.net

Photograph By Mahesh Lonkar, National Geographic

The Palkhi Festival of India