Striking a pose during Mohini Attam, a classical dance of Kerala

Namasté. We, at the Indian International Chamber of Commerce & Culture would like to welcome you to our organization. Our aim is to be of service to you.

Namasté is derived from the Sanskrit words namas meaning to bow, and te meaning “to you.” In common usage it may simply mean “I bow (in reverence) to you.”

When spoken to another person, it is commonly accompanied by a slight bow made with hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointed upwards, in front of the chest. This gesture, called Añjali Mudrā, can also be performed wordlessly and carries the same meaning.

In recent times, and more globally, the term “namaste” has come to be especially associated with yoga and spiritual meditation all over the world. In this context, it has been viewed in terms of a multitude of very complicated and poetic meanings which tie in with the spiritual origins of the word. Some examples:

• “I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me.” — attributed to author Kabir Chopra
• “I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells, I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Integrity, of Wisdom and of Peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One.”
• “I salute the God within you.”
• “Your spirit and my spirit are ONE.” — attributed to Lilias Folan’s shared teachings from her journeys to India.
• “That which is of God in me greets that which is of God in you.”
• “The Divinity within me perceives and adores the Divinity within you.”
• “All that is best and highest in me greets/salutes all that is best and highest in you.”
• “I greet the God within.”

Namaste, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Namaste&oldid=326851290 (last visited Dec. 20, 2009).

The Stunningly Beautiful Taj Mahal

The Nobel Prize winning Indian novelist and poet, Rabindranath Tagore described the Taj Mahal as “one tear-drop…upon the cheek of time.” This gorgeous mausoleum and its surrounding buildings were commissioned by Emperor Shah Jahan as a monument of his love for his third wife Mumtaz Mahal who died during the birth of their fourteenth child. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632, one year after her death.

The Taj Mahal is considered to be the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.”

Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words:
Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator’s glory.

To reduce the damage wrought by pollution, no smog producing factories or vehicles are permitted anywhere near the vicinity of the Taj Mahal. One has to get to the Taj by cycle rickshaw. The perfectly manicured lawns surrounding the structures are maintained by a bullock-drawn “lawn mower.”

Agra still boasts artisans who claim descendancy from the original workers at the Taj who create beautiful marble inlaid table tops and other painstakingly handcrafted items both in the Mughal style and the Florentine style.

There is much to see in India but if you plan to visit this country of many wonders try to make room in your itinerary to see the Taj Mahal and the nearby Agra Fort where Shah Jahan’s son Aurangzeb placed his father under arrest. Upon his death, Shah Jahan was buried alongside Mumtaz Mahal in a lower chamber of the Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Taj_Mahal&oldid=332121040 (last visited Dec. 21, 2009).

A view of part of the intricately ornate outer wall of the main temple at Halebidu

The ancient temples of India often made of soap stone or sandstone are a marvel of engineering and aesthetics. Hundreds of skilled sculptors and artisans under the patronage of the ruling dynasties worked over several decades and sometimes centuries to erect these monuments to the Gods. Often these temples were constructed in groups (For instance there were 80 temples at Khajuraho of which only 25 survive today) and featured hundreds and thousands of intricate carvings that depict tales from the puranas and from day to day life.

Almost every Hindu God has his Goddess or consort (Krisha and Radha, Shiva and Parvati, et al) and they are almost always depicted together. Many temples feature erotic sculpure (Khajuraho, also sometimes referred to as the Kamasutra temple being most famous for this) but these representations are always on the exterior walls of the temples never inside. One interpretation for this is that lust and eroticism is a part of life but when you enter the sanctity of a temple, you leave these thoughts behind you and concentrate on what is divine. The other is that the Gods and Goddesses themselves have ascended beyond such earthly bonds.

The bold, beautiful colors of Holi

Holi marks the beginning of Spring. It is also a celebration of the triumph of good over evil. People chase each other and playfully splash colorful paint, powder and water on each other, even complete strangers. If you are visiting India during this time be prepared to loosen up and enjoy yourself. And also make sure you are dressed appropriately in clothes that you won’t mind getting ruined.

This ancient festival also has religious significance. People attend bonfires to commemorate the story of Prahlada, a devout follower of Lord Vishnu who prevailed over his father and the demoness Holika with the power of his devotion.

The immense growth in the outsourcing market has transformed India into a global powerhouse in the field of technology. This more recent transformation can be traced to a discovery made by engineers at Tata Consultancy Services who in 1995 discovered that a software tool that they had “developed to convert code for IBM, could be used to change the date field in other programs.” This discovery, of course, attracted interest from around the globe in the pre-Y2K world.

The preeminent Information Technology companies within India today include Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, and Infosys. Indian sales in the arena of high technology are expected to more than double in the next few years.

With a population of over a billion people and an exploding middle class, India is a also a vast consumer of technology. Cellphone usage is expected to skyrocket (Monthly service costs between $4 and $7) in this highly competitive market. The demand for inexpensive computers and internet devices will also continue to grow exponentially within the Indian marketplace.

It is important to note that the history of technology in India dates back to prehistoric times (9,000 BCE). Both ancient and modern India has contributed much to the advancement of science, the different schools of mathematics, medicine, architecture, industrialization, et al.

http://news.cnet.com/Indias-renaissance-Move-over,-China/2009-1041_3-5751994.html

History of Indian science and technology, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Indian_science_and_technology&oldid=330902254 (last visited Dec. 21, 2009).