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NDTV
11-07-2025
- General
- NDTV
Sawan 2025: 6 Traditional Recipes That Are Perfect For The Fasting Season
The month of Sawan holds great significance for Hindus. This year, Sawan begins on 11 July and continues until 9 August. It is a time dedicated to spiritual reflection and devotion to Lord Shiva. Many devotees observe a fast every Monday during this period, and this year, there are four Mondays in the month. During Sawan, devotees avoid foods like garlic, onion and meat. Instead, they follow a satvik diet that includes ingredients such as sabudana, buckwheat flour, water chestnut flour, potatoes, fruits, milk, curd and other dairy products. While it might seem like the ingredients are limited, there is no shortage of flavour. A little thought can go a long way in creating a satisfying fasting menu. Here are six traditional recipes that are perfect for the Sawan fast this year. Here Are 6 Sawan Recipes That Are Perfect For Fasting: 1. Vrat-Friendly Dahi Aloo Recipe Boiled potatoes are simmered in a thick, spicy yoghurt-based gravy. This recipe is creamy and comforting, made using buckwheat flour and seasoned with rock salt - both ideal for fasting. Click here for the recipe 2. Crispy Kuttu Puri For Fasting Kuttu puri is a favourite during the fasting season. Made with buckwheat flour, mashed boiled potatoes and light spices, these crisp puris pair beautifully with dahi wale aloo. Click here for the recipe 3. Creamy Makhana Kheer For Sawan Bhog Makhana kheer is a beloved dessert made during fasts. Roasted makhana is ground and slowly cooked with milk, sugar, cashews and cardamom powder. This light and satisfying dish can also be served as bhog. Click here for the recipe 4. Sabudana Kheer With Cardamom And Saffron A classic fasting dessert, sabudana kheer is quick to prepare and rich in texture. Tapioca pearls are cooked in milk and flavoured with saffron and cardamom for a festive touch. Click here for the recipe 5. Vrat Special Aloo Chaat For Fasting Days Potato chaat is a flavour-packed snack you can enjoy even while fasting. Simply chop boiled potatoes into pieces and fry them. Add sweet curd, green chutney and rock salt. Finish with a garnish of pomegranate seeds before serving. Click here for the recipe 6. Singhare Ka Halwa For Fasting Dessert This dessert brings warmth and comfort to the fasting table. Singhara atta (water chestnut flour) is roasted in ghee, mixed with sugar syrup, and cooked until it reaches the right texture. Top it with almond flakes and serve hot. These traditional and wholesome recipes are just right for the Sawan fasting season.
Hindustan Times
23-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Ram Mandir construction nears completion, priest hiring underway
The Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust has initiated the recruitment process to appoint new priests (archaks) to oversee daily rituals, including adornment (shringar puja) and offerings (bhog), at 14 temples within the Ram Janmabhoomi complex. During the training period, trainees will receive a monthly stipend of ₹ 2,000. (FOR REPRESENTATION) The Trust has appointed treasurer Govind Devgiri as the chairman of the religious committee constituted to oversee the selection process. Applications from interested candidates will be accepted through the Trust's website from June 26 to June 30. According to Anil Mishra, a member of the Trust, applicants must be between 20-30 years of age. He stated that Gurukul education is mandatory, and preference will be given to candidates who are residents of Ayodhya. During the training period, trainees will receive a monthly stipend of ₹ 2,000. The construction of the Ram Mandir is expected to be completed by December 2025. 'Most of the construction work will be completed by October this year and any remaining work will be completed by December,' said Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust, adding that currently, finishing work is in progress within the temple premises. Once this is completed, the machinery will be removed, and cleaning of the complex will begin, said Rai. The Trust has planned four entry gates for the temple complex—three of which are nearly complete. Construction of the fourth gate will commence after the completion of the first three. The Trust office, auditorium, and guest house are currently under construction within the temple complex and are expected to be completed by 2026. According to the Trust, Bhog prasad for Ram Lalla will be prepared in the Sita Rasoi, located in the basement of the temple complex. The Sita Rasoi will start preparing Bhog prasad from October, and a temple dedicated to Goddess Annapurna has already come up.
New Indian Express
25-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Annual pilgrimage season of Hemkund Sahib shrine begins in Uttarakhand
DEHRADUN: The sacred portals of Hemkund Sahib, a revered Sikh shrine in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, officially opened to devotees at 10 am on Sunday, marking the start of the annual pilgrimage season. Led by the 'Panj Pyaras', approximately 5,000 devotees gathered to witness the much-anticipated moment. Dedicated to Shri Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh Guru, the shrine holds profound spiritual significance for Sikhs. Preparations for the opening began on Saturday with a Shabd Kirtan and the Bhog ceremony of the Akhand Path at the Govindghat Gurudwara. Early Sunday morning, the first batch of pilgrims, led by the 'Panj Pyaras' and accompanied by a band from Punjab and the Army, commenced their journey towards Hemkund Sahib from Govindghat. Chanting "Jo Boley Sonihal, Sat Sri Akaal," groups of devotees, known as 'jathas', made their way up the arduous path before the official opening ceremony.
Hindustan Times
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
‘Eken Babu has given me identity as an actor': Anirban Chakrabarti
Anirban Chakrabarti is well aware of the massive love his sly and lovable detective Eken Babu has got over the years. In an exclusive interaction with Hindustan Times ahead of the release of The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika, the actor opened up about how it is always a joy to return to the character, shooting in Varanasi during the scorching Summers, and more. (Translated from Bengali) (Also read: Anirban Bhattacharya opens up on Hoichoi series Bhog: 'It was an incredible offer as an actor' | Interview) What has been the best part about playing Eken? The actor says, 'Out of all the characters I have played, Eken has become the most popular. It has become a franchise. I have played this character a total of 11 times! This is a rare occurrence for an actor. We started our journey with this character first in the web series format. Then it became popular, so we did a movie, and that became successful as well. So here we are… this entire journey has given us so much joy, and I must admit that as an actor, Eken has played a huge role in giving me an identity.' 'People have for the first time identified me for this part. It is my first major break, it has become a part of my identity as an actor… which is still continuing. People love me as Eken, which is extremely important to me,' he adds. As the title The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika suggests, this time Eken Babu and gang will be in Varanasi for all solving a mystery. When asked how it was shooting in the city, Anirban said, 'Varanasi is one of my most favourite places to visit. I have been there multiple times as well. It is such a diverse city, spiritually and culturally rich. Usually, it is during the winters when I prefer to go to Varanasi. But this time we had to shoot during the summers, which was just a lot! The entire day time we had outdoor shoots, and face the rays of the sun. Now that was painful!' He went on to say, 'Of course, when one is shooting, there are fewer chances of sightseeing, and we were there during Holi. The festival has an important part to play in our film, and this time we saw the Masan Holi, which happens three days before the main day. It is played with ashes. That aside, Varanasi is known for its ghats, the small lanes and the Ganga aroti… those are also part of the film. During the shoot, we had to do a boat ride and go to the location in a ghat with all the technicians. We had to avoid the evenings because the place would get crowded due to the aroti.' The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika also brings back director Joydeep Mukherjee to the helm. Anirban gushes about working with Joydeep and says, 'This is my 12th film with him. What happens is that when an actor and a director work together many times, the work becomes so much easier. Both of us are able to interpret the scenes in a much more flexible manner because we know each other's patterns of work. That is an interesting and helpful point, which has taken place during the shoot of this film. It really does ease out so much. The schedules are very packed, so this tuning becomes really helpful. Joydeep, as a director, is very sorted, every aspect of the shoot is so well divided that for each and every actor in the cast, it becomes really easy. The camera angles, which shot will be done on a day, everything is decided before. As an actor, it is the best ever situation.' Anirban concludes with a special message for the fans of Eken Babu. 'The people have given so much love to Eken Babu, and this film promises a bigger thrill this time. It has been shot in a bigger way, and we have tried to do our best with this film as well. There are so many new faces this time, and the combination has been wonderful for the film. I am hopeful that the audience will love Eken this time,' he says. The Eken: Benaras e Bibhishika also stars Saswata Chatterjee, Gaurav Chakrabarty, Ishaa Saha, and Biswanath Basu. The film is all set to release in theatres on May 16.
Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Bhog review: Anirban Bhattacharya shines in eerie and unsettling mythical horror
Bhog, the new Hoichoi Original directed by actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay, tripled my heart rate and left my jaw on the floor in the best possible way. Even though I am aware of the original short story by Avik Sarkar, which serves as the source for this compact 6-episode series, it left me surprised and hooked from the get-go. It starts off ominously and builds up slowly into a form of elevated mythical horror. (Also read: Anirban Bhattacharya opens up on Hoichoi series Bhog: 'It was an incredible offer as an actor' | Interview) Bhog, which translates to a form of offering in Bengali, centres around Atin (Anirban Bhattacharya), a Kolkata-based man in his 30s working in sales. The show begins with good news as he gets a much-deserved promotion. He is an orphan who is being looked after by Pushpa di (Sudipa Basu) at the house. She dutifully cooks him food and reveals how his departed mother had made her promise to take care of Atin. His uncle Bhabesh Kaku (Rajadava Dutta) looks after him quite often. Everything seems okay with Atin, who harbours a love for antique pieces. One day, when he chances upon this other-worldly deity in his friend's shop- a goddess with four hands, carrying a skull in one and another holding a stringed instrument. Its untraceability further hooks him; there's a strange sort of pull towards it that he cannot escape. He brings the deity home and begins to worship it. Soon, he has a dream-like vision at night where the deity reveals that she is hungry and wants an offering. What is this conspiracy? Atin must not ask. He must submit himself completely. And so he does, as Bhog begins to chart his gradual descent into this obsession that engulfs his body and mind. His devotion nullifies his other interests, desires, and wants to such an extent that he does not see any harm in bringing a stranger home one evening. She is Damri, played by the terrific Parno Mittra. She cooks the food, and Atin eats it- even if it makes him puke it up. Bhog plays out in the course of 6 tightly knit episodes, directed with utmost care and nuance by Parambrata Chattopadhyay. The setting is key, as Atin's sense of paranoia mixed with relief is balanced with the brilliant use of lighting and set design. Shantanu Mitra Neogi's screenplay wisely expands on the elements that the original text stepped aside, contextualizing the questions that crop up later. Nabarun Bose's chilling background score is one of the biggest highlights of the show, slowly building up towards a gradual crescendo of sorts. None of it works without the chilling central performance of Anirban Bhattacharya, who embodies Atin's mask of fear and curiosity with great depth of feeling. So much of this man is left to the physicality, the way his body slowly shrinks under the weight of this invisible burden. The actor nails that sense of loss and revelation extremely well. Special shoutout to the special appearance of Subhasish Mukherjee, who stands out in that one single scene. Bhog is not so much about myths or demons as it is about faith. Or the loss of it. Atin is influenced within this hyper-real world of mysteries and energies, and he loses a sense of control. Even as he begins to shy away, there are only a handful of people who act on this sudden change. Beneath the surface of all the terror and thrill of Bhog lies the fate of a lonely middleman existing in his own little shell. It is an inexplicable sort of belief that one can suffice by themselves, but does it really work that way? As Atin will learn by the end, the sense of an offering, if any, must arrive as an act of love. Bhog is now streaming on Hoichoi.
