Hinduism

I'm hindhu because my parents and my grandparents are, because my name means two hindhu gods " Shiva" and "Shakti", because I believe in hindhuism. This religion is one of the oldest and one of the biggest religion in the world. I often go to temples. I wear Kumkumum (red colour powder) and Viboudi (white colour powder). In hinduisme there are many believes, there are many festivals which are very interesting and colourful. Each festival has a story behind it. Sweets are major food in festivals. Pongal and Diwali are two big important festivals in hinduisme. Ramayana and Mahabharatham are two important epics which are showing hindhuism, but I don't know both epics! We have (hindus) normaly many rules and many sacred days (the day of amavasai, powrnami, kirtikai, pradosham, etc.) but the main sacred day is Friday. In hinduism marriage is different from the other two main religions (muslim and chritianisme), in this religion marriage is usually an arranged marriage by parents and other important people but sometimes it coud be a love mariage which is usually not accepted by parents but sometimes it is accepted. Todays new generations don't follow this religion because it has many rules, but there are also people who are following it. I think that it is an important and interesting religion and my parents are hindu so I'm following it.

Thank you! See you soon!

வணக்கம்!!!!!

Hinduism

I am a hindu because I have to go to the temple and put the "viboudi-kungumam" on my forehead, my marriage will be celebrated in the hindu tradition and I will have the "tali" and rings in foot finger "meti" which is a symbol of marriage. For me, Friday is a sacred day. Sometimes we have to fast in the name of some god, and it could be for many days. Persons who are very religious can even be vegeterian every day. In some periods there could be people who go to religious places, like a pilgrimage and they do donation for god or to build temples. Mostly in hindu religion marriages are arranged by parents and elder persons but nowadays mentalities of adolescents are changing and they prefer love mariage.

Happy holiday!

Lycée français de Pondichéry is getting ready to welcome students from Hong-Kong in January. In the meantime, HK should have a look at their friends' posts to learn more about Pondy. I have rearranged all the chapters for a better understanding of what we did. All comments are welcome.
Pondy students are supposed to post their final articles (with a photo) during the break.
To all of you, I wish you a happy holiday!

The Sanskrit word "Sakthi"briefly means "sacred force", "power". Sakthi is the goddess of divine feminine creative power, sometimes referred to as 'The Great Divine Mother' in Hinduism.

In Shaktism, Shakti is worshiped as the Supreme Being. However, in other Hindu traditions ofShaivism and Vaishnavism, Shakti embodies the active feminine energy Prakriti of Purusha, who is Vishnu in Vaishnavism or Shiva in Shaivism. Vishnu's female counterpart is called Lakshmi, with Parvati being the female half of Shiva.

Parvati

Parvati is a Hindu goddess. She is considered as the Divine Mother. Parvati is the second wife of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. When Parvati appears with Shiva, she has two arms, but when she is alone, she is shown having four arms, mounted on a tiger or a lion. Parvati’s animal vehicle or parvana, is usually considered to be a lion nowadays, but was probably originally one of the mountain lions from the Himalayas. Parvati is the mother of Ganesha and Skanda. Parvati being born the daughter of Himavan, lord of the mountains and the personification of the Himalayas. Other names which associate her with mountains are Shailaja (it means Daughter of the mountains), Girirajaputri (it means Daughter of king of the mountains).She is also known by 108 names like Shakti.
Shakti Peethas, Chottanikkara Temple( Cochin, Kerala), Attukal Temple(Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala), Meenakshi temple(Madurai Tamil Nadu) are some of most famous temples where Parvati is venerated.

Shiva

Hi everyone,

Nice meeting you again. I think you all know that the major religion of India is "Hinduism", but I'm almost sure that you don't know much about HINDUISM. Hinduism is the unification of ancient two religion: "Shaivism" and "Vaishnavism". In Shaivism, the Chief God is ; and in Vaishnavism, the Chief God is Vishnu( in the left). I am going to talk about Shiva, don't think that I hate Vishnu but I belong to "Shaivism". Shiva means "auspicious one", as per the Vedas (sacred books), Shiva is eternal, he has no birth, no death. He is the one of the Trimurti(three chief gods), the God of Destroyer; and the other two are Brahma, the god ofCreation and Vishnu, the god of protection. Most of the time, Shiva is worshiped in the form of Linga(in the right). He has three eyes differenced from other Gods, one in the forehead to burn his enemies. Shiva has a wife named Shakthi who is the sister of Vishnu, and three children who are Ganesh, Karthikeya and Ayyapa. Ganesha and Karthikeya were born to Shiva and Shakti and Ayyapa was born to Shiva and Moguini, the female incarnation of Vishnu. His weapon is Trishula, trident; his "vahanah", vehicle, is a bull which is called "Nandhi". He has five heads which name: "Isana","Tathpurusha",Agora","Vamadeva","Satyojada". He has a crescent moon and the river Ganges on his head; a snake on his neck, his cloth is tiger's skin and he smears his body with ashes. And he has a blue neck, because he drunk poison to save the world. You may think that he is a dirty fellow, but his each action describes a philosophy. As the myths say he lives in the Mountain Kailasha, a part of Himalaya. He has many forms like "Nataraja", "Kalabairava", "Dakshinamurthy","Kalasamhara","Ardhanarishwara","Tripurantaka","Virabadhra","Rudra",...
"Maha Shivrathri" is a festival celebrated to him every year. If I continue to tell you about him, I'm sure that it will take many pages, so I stop right here. Please visit the temples of Shiva and Vishnou which are in Pondicherry when you come here!
Note: Please excuse me, if I did any grammatical or spelling mistakes!

Ganesha

In Hindu religion, God Ganesh also named "Vinayaka", is the son of Shiva and Parvati. As you can see in the photo he has the figure of an elephant and the body of a human being.

He is the lord of success and destroyer of evils, obstacles, vanity, selfishness and pride. He is also known as the God of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth.

In fact Vinayaka is one of the five prime hindu deities. The devotees of lord Ganesh are called "Ganapatyas" and the festival to celebrate Him is "Vinayaka Chaturthi".

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the Supreme God. Shiva is usually worshipped in the abstract form of Shiva linga. In images he is generally represented as immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Apasmara Purusha. The demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja who is the lord of the dance. He is also the father of Ganesha, Murugan, and Ayyappa (other indian gods).
Shiva wears a deer in the left upper hand. He has a Trident in the right lower arm. with a crescent moon on his head.

(there are other things about him but I can't tell them here, if you're interested ask me when you come visit us).

Lakshmi the Goddess

Lakshmi is a Hindu Godess. She is the Goddess of wealth, fortune, generosity, prosperity.
Lakshmi is otherwise known as Mahalakshmi was incarnated thrice as Radha, Sita, Rukmini. In her incarnation as Sita she married Rama and she was the consort of Vishnu. In her incarnation as Radha she married Krishna.
Lakshmi is said to bring good luck and it is also said that she protects all her devotees from all kind of misery and money problems.
Lakshmi is also called Bhargavi because she was born to the great Sage Bhrigu.

Ganesha, a famous Indian lord

HI FRIENDS,

I'm going to talk about lord Ganesha who is a well known and adorable Indian and Hindu god in the world, and when you speak in India about a lord who has an elephant head, everybody knows that you are talking about Ganesha. In fact I am a Hindu and I will tell you all I know about Ganesha who is my favourite Indian lord too. Ganesha was also called as Ganapati, Vinayaka, Pillaiyaar and Vigneshshvara which is my name too but written in French (Vicnéche). Ganesha is the god of success and courage and he gives you the power to study well. Vinayaka's parents are Shiva and Parvati who are also famous gods. Ganesha has got the elephant head because of his father who cut his original head while he was angry with him but then he decided to find another head for Ganesha to console his wife who was very upset because she liked a lot her son who was made by sand by Parvati herself. So Shiva went to the jungle and there he found an elephant head and he fixed it to Ganesha. That is how Vinayaka has got the elephant head. There are lots of interesting stories of lord Ganesha but I won't tell you because they are too long. I hope that you liked this article, and see you in another one.

Lakshmi, a Hindu goddess

The goddess Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, beauty and prosperity and her name means Good Luck. She is also known as Devi and Shakti.
She is the wife of Lord Vishnu.
Lakshmi is always dressed in a red saree, sitting in a lotus flower. She has got 4 arms, her mount is an elephant.

In hindu houses, women put "kolams" on their street, near their house. They pretend it's to welcome Lakshmi to their house. If there is no kolam near a house, Lakshmi will not come.

She is the favourite goddess of almost all the Hindu women.

Krishna the black boy

Krishna is a Hindu god. People believe that he is an avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu. The word Krishna means in Sanskrit Black or dark-blue.
Krishna is very often described as a black or dark-blue young boy playing a flute.
There are many portraits of him: like a god-child, a prankster, or a divine hero. The principal epics that narrates his story are the Mahabharata, The Harivamsa and the Vishnu Purana. The worship of Krishna, also known as the Krishnaism, began in the Middle Ages. Hindus believe that Krishna was born the 18 or 21 th July 3228 BC. He is the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva who belonged to a royal family in Mathura. When Vasudeva feared that Devaki's brother will kill Krishna, He took him to his foster parents: Yasoda and Nanda.

Lycée Français de Pondichéry

Have a nice look at these videos!!!!

Our school

Festival

Thank you for watching it!
For more information about our school please log on to :

http://www.lfpondichery.net/

So let's see friends in 2011!!!!

Happy new year!!!!!!!
Presented by Emma, Jannhavi, Sivasankari, and Maghesh

Animals in PY

Hi friends I'm going to present you the animals in Pondicherry. In Pondicherry there is no zoo but in Chennai yes. There are lots of dogs walking on the road every day or time. In Pondicherry dogs are very famous. There are lots of types of dogs! Lovely English bulldog puppies are ready for adoptation.... But in the most houses there is dog or pets and also birds etc... In some hindu temples there is big elephant, Its a religious think to put a elephant in the entrance of the temple. Dalmatian puppies are very famous in Pondicherry in most of the houses there are dalmatians. U can see in every trees there are squirrels feeding on the trees. Around the dustbin crows, squirrels and mangy dogs live in this town .

Those dogs looking for what the streets give like crows, their skin dirty, and gnaw by diseases And i think there are domestics animals like cats. Cat also was very famous in Pondicherry.
And I hope to see u very soon !

Fouziia

Mrs. Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi is the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru. For her higher studies, she went to Oxford.In 1930 , she became a member of the pro-independence based on India league. In the same country, she met a muslim man (politician), named Feroze Khan;then adopted by Gandhi.They fallen in love and decided to get married . When Indira and Feroze returned to India for their mariage. Her father refused for a long time anf finally, in 1942 they got married.Their relationship seperates after the birth of their two son: Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi .

She was the first women P.M of India between 1966 to 1977. After she stepped foot in politics, our nation had scarce food, so green revolution came into effect. In 1977, Indira was called for an election, but unfortunately she lost because India was in instability. On October 31st 1984, Indira was killed by her own two Sikhs guards.

Animals in Pondy!!!

In Pondicherry, there are some animals like:
Dogs are famous here because we can see them in the road. they are not adopted they are free but it's difficult because they cannot eat anything that they want or they cannot live anywhere(it's sad!!). And puppies (I love them!!!). there are also many here but not adopted, some of the dog or puppies are adopted!!!
Elephants are here but they are like God because most of them are in temples, elephants are like the God Ganesh!!! it's a little strange for you but here it's true!!
The elephant bless us like the God!

Indian school system and Petit Séminaire

There are two types of education in India: -State board
-Matriculation
The difference betweent them is that matriculation system is more advanced than the state board education system.
The indian education system starts from 1st standard to 12th standard.They usually have 6 exams during the year: the 1st mid term, the quaterly, the 2nd mid term, the half yearly, the 3rd mid term and the annual exam.
After their 10th standard they have to choose their way to the rest of their life. They have to choose if they want to study science or maths or accountancy. After their higher education(11th std and 12th std) they should do an under graduated course and a post graduated course.
Petit Séminaire school functions just like the indian education. They have matriculation system and they have classes upto their higher secondary. Then they should continu their educations in other colleges.
At last they are perfectly ready to work!!!!!!!!

Mrs.Gandhi

Hey friends! So now it's about Mrs.Gandhi, Do you know anything about her already ? Usually these kinds of things are boring, but this is a bit interresting, Please read it. Here is some information for you.
Mrs.Gandhi (also called Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi) was born in 1917 and died in 1984. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala. An amazing fact about her is that she was The first woman prime minister in India from 1966 to 1977. She became the president of the Indian National Congress. After India's independence, and the ascendancy of Jawaharlal Nehru, to the office of the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi managed the official residence of her father, and accompanied him on his numerous foreign trips. She was married in 1942 to Feroze Gandhi, who rose to some eminence as a parliamentarian and politician of integrity but found himself disliked by his more famous father-in-law, but Feroze died in 1960 before he could consolidate his own political forces.
An Amazing Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOAxfBi3uN0

Animals in Pondy

In Pondicherry, there is an elephant called "Lakshmi" in front Ganesh Temple. She stands outside the temple ( from the morning to the evening) . She is very sweet. She is nicely decorated. Everyday new designs are painted on her. The bells on her jewellery are made by a taylor. The brahman makes the mark on her forehead.
Also when she's around, in case they want to come out to be blessed by her, the people give her money and they are blessed by the elephant.
Lakshmi arrived in Pondicherry in 1997, she was then 6 years old ( now she's 13 years old).
She eats fruits, Pongal (4kg a day), leaves... Her favorite fruit is watermelon and banana. So if you come and see her, you will know what to bring.
She has a very heavy responsibility!
I wish you could see her...

Animals in PY

Cows are very important animals in Pondy because they are very useful like for milk , agriculture. Indians consume milk on a daily basis, and the cow as a provider of milk, is equated to one's mother . Here cows are everywhere! Because the cow is respected as a sacred animal. People use them to transport that' s why you can see them in streets. Cows are also supported by temples. The cow is still considered the highest in rural. Gandhi became a vegetarian because he felt cows were ill-treated. Such is the respect for the cow. The 15 january is the day when people decorate cows. People who have never been to India have a hard time to believe how indian cows freely roam indian streets. Hindus consider their Indian cows as holy and they are allowed in cities. So you are bound to meet one if you come to Pondy!

Mrs Gandhi

Hello it's me again. I am going to talk about history. Again? I have to admit that it is often boring but not always. So, let's talk about Mrs Gandhi. She is also know as Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi. She was born on November 19th 1917. She was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. She married Feroze Gandhi. Like her father, she undertook a political profession. She was the first woman Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977. She also had two sons: Rajiv and Sanjay Gandhi. When she came to power, India was in need a food. She began the Green Revolution, and ten years later, India was able to export rice and other grains. Even if her popularity was increasing, she was blamed by most of the Indians. In 1975, India was in a period of instability due to her tyrannical government, which led to her lose in the elections in 1977. She was still a great prime minister because she symbolised feminism and helped women to become equal to men, unfortunately, she was assassinated on October 31st 1984 by her two Sikhs guards.

Trankbar trip

In section euro 3eme we went to Trankbar with the section euro 4eme too. Trankabar is a Danish port situated in Karaikal. Inside Trankbar there are some important buildings like ¨the town gate", "dansborg and the parade ground", "the Zion church", "the New Jerusalem church" etc... And there was a beach, we enjoyed playing with the waves and water. And before that we went to school in Kraikal ( French school ). And at the end only we went to a restaurent to eat. It was very exciting to go with friends, teachers and all. And I think for me it was a first school trip which was like a family trip.

Fouzia

Pondicherry's Independence

This is Dupleix's statue,
the first governor of the
French Pondicherry

Joseph François Dupleix became Pondicherry's governor on the 15 january 1742, when the city was colonized. For a few years, some European countries had captured Pondicherry. Then, when the British gained control of the whole of India in the late 1850s, they allowed the French to retain their settlements in the country. Pondicherry remained a part of French India until Pierre Mendés France, a French politician, signed a pact with the Indian government in 1954. Pondicherry wanted to become independent because in 1947, India had gained its independence.

The Botanical Garden of Pondicherry

Botanical Garden of Pondicherry was opened to public in 1826 by the French colonists. There's a mix of endangered and exotic species of plants. There are 22 acres divided by 28 plots dividing the garden and each one has a separate theme. The garden was first started on an experimental basis to analyze the crops that could be cultivated in the region, and then it was transformed into a botanical garden in 1831. The garden became the hub of horticultural development in Pondicherry after the territory got his independance.

The Botanical Garden in Pondicherry has a children's train, six fountains, a dancing fountain, a Japanese rock, and an aquarium with ornamental fish.

The Botanical Garden of Pondicherry is well known for its various tourist hotspots, which attracts tourists all the year round to this destination.

But sorry...Unfortunately...There is no zoo !!!!

Pondicherry, Botanical Garden

The botanical garden is the biggest garden in the Territory, and it was founded by the French colonists about 178 ago and here you will find each and every tree or plant labeled with scientific, common and Tamil names. this garden contains: a toy train (old), an aquarium, a Japanese rock, 6 fountains, and more...
Belt up to visit our Pondicherry!

note: There is no zoo in actual Pondicherry

Pondichery's independance in 1954

Pondichery became a French colony on the 15 january 1742. After that date followed 3 centuries of French domination. After that colonies are much solicited like in 1st or 2nd world wars. The Indian union, independent since 15 th august 1947, called for the return of French colonies. France was already embroiled in a war in Indonesia, couldn't afford of a major crisis with India. That's why the foreign affairs minister George Bidault invokes the negociation. On June 28, 1948 France agrees to return Pondichery with Indian counters by a referendum for each of them. The situation is more complicated in other trading posts because the Indian government hardered its position by requiring the pure cession of the counters. Indian nationalists freed Yanan in June, 1954 and Mahe on July 16th but Pondicherry resisted. On may 28th, 1954, Pierre Mendés France signed a pact with the Indian government and France restituted all the counters.
Today Pondichery is the capital of a fragmented territory composed by Karaikal in Tamil Nadu, Mahe on the south coast and Yanan on the north-west coast.

The Indian school system

The Indian educational system is very different from the French. In the french medium, the classes goes in descending order whereas in the english system, it's in the ascending order. It's divided into 5 levels: preprimary, primary, middle, secondary and higher levels.

In "lycée", there are tests all along the year and it all counts for passing to the next level. In the english system, they have mid term tests, then quarterly, half-yearly and final exams when the year finishes. The ranking obtained helps them to pass.

Each school has their own uniform of different colours. In general for boys it's pants and shirts but for girls it changes based on their age group. When they are young it could be a skirt, and in the next level they wear churidars (Indians usually wear churidhars or sarees) and in the final years, they usually wear "davani", which is a half saree.

For example, in Pondicherry the reputed Petit Seminaire Higher Secondary School is well-known for the discipline. This Catholic school has been opened since 1844, which is situated in Mahatma Gandhi road. Only boys can study there. The uniform is a white shirt with grey shorts or pants, grey tie, grey socks and black shoes, and everyday they must only wear this uniform. On occasions like birthdays, festivals, they are authorized to wear colour dress. This private school is very strict but the environment is very peaceful. Usually students have very good results, and in the quiz they always get the first prize.

Even if the educational systems are different, in both we have excellent students with different knowledge levels coming out every year.

Indian Education and Petit Seminaire

Hi everyone,
What do you know about Indian Education?
The National Council of Education Research and Training(NCERT) is the apex body for curriculum related matters for school education in India. it is managed by the Indian Government., with headquarters at New Delhi, the capital of India. It is there to advice the Central Government on scholar matters. There are many types of Educational systems in India like Central Board of Secondary Education , The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations board,...
And there are many types of Education classes in India:

• Primary Education
• Secondary Education
• Higher Education
• Under-graduated Education
• Post-graduated Education

After finishing your secondary Education, you have to choose your course(Science, Computer, Polytechnic,..) to go ahead in your studies. After completing the Higher Education, UG Education and PG Education, the students receive a degree certificate approved by the Indian Government.
This government's education minister is Kapil Sibal.
Petit Séminaire
Petit Séminaire is a very famous, well known school in Pondicherry. It dates back to January 1844 and before the Indian Independance, it was a school for priests. It's one of the best school in the surrounding areas of Pondicherry too. In that school, you can study from Ist std. to XIIth std.
And you know one more thing, Petite Séminaire school has won The Young World Quiz'10 of Pondicherry. To know more about this school, please visit the website below:
http://www.petitseminaire.org/

Meet you soon in another article !!!

Pondicherry in 1954

Till 1947, the independence of India, the country was ruled by the English.
England had to give independence to India after the Second World War because of the United Nations which encouraged decolonisation.

Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe were ruled by the French and were called "French India". After the independence of India, the French empire did not free the colonies.
After many freedom movement activities done by the "Liberation Movement" and an election held on the question of the merger Pondicherry with India, Pondicherry got its independence from France on the 1st of November 1954. French India disappeared. Pondicherry included Yanam, Mahe and Karaikal and formed the Union Territory of Pondicherry.

Today this union has the same government and governor Iqbal Singh.
If you come and see Pondicherry now, you can see many French monuments.

1954 The Independence of Pondicherry

Joseph François Dupleix was the first Governor of the French colony of Pondicherry on 15 January 1742. Pondicherry was colonised by the French for 3 centuries. India got its Independence on the 15th of August 1947. It took Pondicherry seven years to unite with the Independence of India. In 1787 and 1791, farmers of Karaikal were against the heavy land tax imposed by the French. So in 1873 an advocate, Ponnuthammbi Pillai moved the Paris court and won the case but was fined by a French magistrate in Pondicherry for walking into the the court with footwear.

Indian school system and Petit Séminare

Hi Friends!
This time I want to speak to you about "the Indian School System and specially about Petit Séminare".
Everyone knows that education is a must to human life. In India, the minister of education is "Kapil Sibal", there are many government and private schools (which are also religious), there are schools for boys or for girls, coeducational schools are also available. Each school has a logo and a uniform in which they will be printed. In some school girls have to attach their hair. People have to pay scolarship for their child in private schools but goverment schools are free!
Here students start their studies from P.K.G to 12th standard, after that each student has to choose a group. Sometimes students have to select a foreign language or country language which they will study. Each student has to pass an exam called "SSLC" in 10th and in 12th standard and +2 exams and after exam a price will be give by each state to their own schools. In this country, everyday, school starts at 9 o'clock and finishes at like 4 in the evening. For lunch students have to bring their own food whereas in goverment schools food is distribued to each students. Almost in all, computer science is available and sports is often available in schools. Out of school, students can do extra-curriclar activites sometimes. In these schools discipline is very important. Many festivals are celebrated in schools( farewell day, etc..), they have also holidays in which they travel!
Petit Séminaire
In Pondicherry, there are two Petit Séminaire schools
- Petit Séminaire higher secondary school section ( from P.K.G to 5th stardard)
- Petit Séminare higher school-Primary ( from 6th to 12th)
It is a private school for boys, built in January 1844, it's not a coeducational school, It's the best English medium school of this territory. Uniforms are white shirt and grey shorts. Students have to bring their own food and eat it at lunch break at 12. Every morning school starts at 8.30am, they are back home at 3.30pm. The school is open on Saturday from 8.30am to 12 o'clock.

http://www.petits%c3%a9minaire.org/

Thank you for watching it!!!

Friends let's talk about it freely when you come here!

Remarque: Sorry friends!! I have made two gramatical mistakes (It' a must ; Thank you for watching it).