Latest news with #Prayag
Business Standard
16 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Prayag India Adds Colour to Kitchens and Bathrooms with New CP Faucets
VMPL New Delhi [India], July 30: PRAYAG INDIA, a leading manufacturer of premium bath and kitchen fittings and plumbing solutions, announces the launch of its latest innovation--the CP Faucet Colour Range. This new collection brings a refreshing twist to traditional chrome-plated designs, offering customers an elegant spectrum of colour options that are as functional as they are visually striking. With an increasing demand for personalised and design-forward spaces, Prayag's CP Faucet Colour Range has been thoughtfully curated to meet the evolving tastes of homeowners, architects, and interior designers. Available in a selection of sophisticated finishes--including classic chrome, matte black, and brushed tones--the range is designed to complement a wide variety of interior themes, from minimalistic to bold and contemporary. These faucets not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of bathrooms and kitchens but also maintain the high standards of quality and durability that Prayag is known for. Crafted using state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, the faucets are engineered for long-lasting performance. The advanced colour coatings are resistant to corrosion and wear, ensuring that the finish retains its brilliance over time. The design philosophy behind this new launch emphasises both beauty and practicality, with every product tested to meet rigorous quality benchmarks. With over four decades of experience, Prayag India continues to shape the future of Indian bath and kitchen solutions through innovation, quality craftsmanship, and sustainable practices. The launch of the CP Faucet Colour Range is another step in this journey, reaffirming the brand's commitment to creating products that are both contemporary in style and uncompromising in performance. The complete CP Faucet Colour Range is now available across Prayag's retail network and can also be explored online at About PRAYAG INDIA: Prayag India, established in 1986 under the visionary leadership of Late Shri V.K. Aggarwal, has evolved into a leading manufacturer of sanitaryware and plumbing solutions in India. Headquartered in New Delhi, the company operates two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, each spanning 12,000 square meters. These facilities are equipped with advanced machinery, including core shooter machines, IMR casting furnaces, multi-head machining centers, injection moulding machines, and an in-house chrome plating plant, ensuring the production of high-quality products that meet international standards. Prayag's dedication to excellence is further demonstrated by its adherence to ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 E certifications, reflecting its commitment to quality management and environmental responsibility.
NDTV
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NDTV
'That's Why Pradhan Ji lost': Panchayat's Phulera Village In Muddy Mess, Video Goes Viral
The Mahodiya village, situated in the Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh, where the popular web series Panchayat was filmed, is in the news yet again. A video showing the dilapidated state of the village, filled with mud after heavy rain, has gone viral on social media, with fans questioning the government why proper amenities have not been provided. The area in front of the Panchayat Office, as depicted in the show, can be seen riddled with mud and water, while the road has only a narrow passage left for commuters to walk. "This is the condition of Madhya Pradesh's most famous village, which became nationally popular because of Panchayat, now imagine the condition of an average village in MP," wrote the user on X (formerly Twitter). This is the condition of Madhya Pradesh's most famous village, which became nationally popular because of Panchayat, now imagine the condition of an average village in MP #YeThikKarkeDikhao — Prayag (@theprayagtiwari) July 7, 2025 'That's why Pradhan ji...' As the post went viral, a section of social media users questioned the authorities for not taking care of the village and its surroundings, while others had a humorous take on the situation. "Such things often make me sad and question authorities that despite so many schemes and policies, our rural villages are so underdeveloped," said one user while another added: "Honestly, the panchayat team should have used a part of their profits to at least give this village the basic requirements. It's coz of this village, that they were able to make the series." A third joked: "That's why Pradhan ji lost in this season." A fourth said: "Looks like any typical Indian village, nothing alarming here it is just muddy after the rains." That's why Pradhan ji lost in this season. — Dhananjay Singh (@Dhanji010) July 7, 2025 In the web series, Mahodiya was depicted as the fictional village of Phulera, located in Uttar Pradesh. Ever since the latest edition of the series aired, fans have been visiting the real village and sharing photos and videos of the popular areas of the village.
The Hindu
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Shankar Mahadevan Academy turns 15
At a press meet at the South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies Centre (SAIACS) in Bengaluru, the air buzzed with more than just media chatter. It carried echoes of swaras, stories, and something deeply personal. 'We never knew this day would come so fast,' said Shankar Mahadevan, eyes crinkling with joy, reflecting on the 15-year journey of the Shankar Mahadevan Academy (SMA) — a dream that started with 15 students, most of them his nieces and nephews, and is today a global musical movement spanning 94 countries. 'It felt like a reunion of purpose,' said the Palakkad-based singer and composer. The Shankar Mahadevan Academy, founded in 2011 by Shankar and technology entrepreneur Sridhar Ranganathan, was a pioneer of sorts, attempting to do something unique at the time: offering online music education. 'People laughed. Music? Online? Will it even work?' Shankar recalled. It did not just work, it soared. Today, over 50,000 students have learned through the academy's unique digital platform, with more than half a million live classes taught. Numbers tell only part of the story. To celebrate its 15th year, the academy is launching courses that go far beyond traditional syllabi, including Garbh Sangeet, a course for expecting mothers that uses classical ragas to create emotional and spiritual connections before birth. 'Inside the academy, we call it 'minus one to infinity, '' smiled Ranganathan. The poetic phrase captures a powerful belief — that music is not just for learning or performing, but for living, healing, and bonding. Another offering, the Playback Singing Series, is equally ambitious — a rigorous, multi-year training program that fuses classical fundamentals with film music, preparing aspirants for the nuanced world of playback singing. Over the years, SMA has expanded into other avenues, including Sangam, a student-teacher music festival, and Prayag, an elite stage for dedicated learners. 'These are not just students. They are sadhakas,' said Shankar. 'This is not just education — it's an emotional legacy.' From children barely old enough to walk, to 70-year-olds who have never sung before, SMA has bridged generations. 'When I see a grandfather in Toronto learning alongside his granddaughter in Bengaluru… It's magical,' Mahadevan shared. The academy has also given back, launching initiatives including SMA Nirvana — live musical performances streamed to patients in hospitals and hospices, SMA Muskara, a pension program for aged or injured musicians, and Joyful Choir, an inclusive initiative for children on the autism spectrum. Their nonprofit wing has helped bring music education to children in Dharavi, Goa, and now, through their newest initiative — Reach Out India — to students in remote villages via internet-powered classrooms. 'One teacher in Ahmedabad is teaching kids in Kumbakonam — and they all performed for me,' said Shankar , admitting that the journey has given him a deeper sense of fulfilment. 'I've always known music entertains. But through this academy, I learnt that music can transform.'
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Yahoo
Reverence for the sacred waters of the Ganga and belief in its power to wash away sins bring millions to India's Maha Kumbh festival
Millions of people have been visiting Prayagraj, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, to take part in the Maha Kumbh festival – a six-week-long event that began on Jan. 13, 2025. Called the world's largest religious gathering, the event has already drawn 148 million people. Attendance is expected to exceed 400 million by the time it ends on Feb. 26, and surging crowds have already claimed dozens of lives at the sacred site. Attendees range from Indian business tycoons and members of parliament to social media personages, film stars and celebrities, including the philanthropist billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, who is a member of an ashram in Prayagraj. As a historian of the Ganga and its ecology, I am captivated by the enduring power of unwavering devotion that continues to drive pilgrims to this sacred site, despite the dangers posed by surging crowds and the spread of contagion. At least 30 people have been trampled to death and 60 have been injured in the stampede that followed this year. Ritual bathing at the confluence of large rivers has always had a special significance in Hindu rituals. Of such places, the Sangam, or confluence, at the city of Prayagraj is the most revered because this is where the rivers Ganga and Yamuna meet with the fabled Saraswati, also known as the goddess of learning and the arts – the unseen, mythical river that flows underneath. Hindus believe that bathing at the pilgrimage of Prayag has the power to wash away every sin known to humankind. The Kumbh festival is named after the celestial pitcher or 'kumbha' that held the much coveted 'amrita,' the nectar of immortality. In Hindu mythology, during what is known as the Age of Truth, the powerful clans of the asuras (demons) and devas (gods) fiercely battled over the source of eternal life. The cosmic ocean then was filled with milk, which they churned to draw out the nectar that would make them immortal. According to mythology, the asuras succeeded in the beginning, but their exertions disturbed Vasuki, the coiled, eternal snake at the Earth's core, releasing a deadly poison that threatened to destroy the heavens. When the turn of the devas came, nectar was finally released from the depths of the netherworld. They drank the elixir and defeated the asuras. During this epic battle, four drops of the nectar fell to the Earth in places that are held scared. Two are cities in present-day northern India, Haridwar and Prayag, and two in central India, Nashik and Ujjain – all located along meeting points of rivers. The festival of the Kumbh also marks the 12-year orbital circuit of the planet Jupiter, or Brihaspati, the harbinger of good fortune and wealth. The present gathering commemorates the Maha Kumbh, or 'Great' Kumbh, which is an exceptionally rare and auspicious event that takes place once every 144 years, following the completion of 12 regular Kumbh cycles. This sacred gathering is celebrated exclusively at Prayag. A gathering of this immense scale presents a monumental challenge for local and national authorities, testing their ability to coordinate the arrival and departure of hundreds of millions of people and housing them in thousands of tents in a city that is assembled just for the few weeks of the gathering. It serves as a showcase of the nation's organizational prowess while striving to preserve the sanctity of this ancient festival. Not only have sandbags been laid for miles along the banks where pilgrims are congregating, local authorities have deployed 2,760 CCTV cameras to keep track of the throngs, prevent stampedes and prevent families from being separated. The 2025 event has been dubbed the first digital Maha Kumbh, where police and volunteers are using artificial intelligence-based software to locate missing people and deliver emergency alerts during unexpected crowd surges. They have also installed underwater drones to monitor bathers and prevent drowning. The state government allocated US$765 million (64 billion rupees) for infrastructure and support of police, medical staff and ambulances. Despite extensive preparations, the early rush for a bathing spot in the Ganga spiraled out of control just before dawn on Jan. 26 and many people were trampled. Such tragedies are not new to the Kumbh gathering. During the 1954 Kumbh, a much more devastating stampede resulted in the deaths of nearly 800 people. A melee at the train station during the 2013 Kumbh killed 36 people. Over the centuries, countless pilgrims have bathed and prayed in the Ganga, driven by the enduring belief that its waters possess the power to cleanse the spirit and cure diseases. However, throngs of people wading into the Ganga often stoked the dread of infection and disease. In the latter half of the 19th century, during the heyday of British colonial rule, administrative officials considered mass ritual bathing at festivals such as Kumbh a great threat to public sanitation and hygiene and a potential source of cholera outbreaks. The colonial empire grew increasingly concerned after the number of pilgrims arriving in Prayag rose exponentially after the advent of the railways in the 1860s. Despite such fears, barring isolated episodes of cholera – the last one being in 1906, attributed to pilgrims drinking water from polluted pools – there has been little evidence of a major epidemic at the Kumbh in recorded history. Faith in the river's purity has also been emboldened by research on high levels of oxygenation of the river water from algae and concentrations of the bacteriophage virus in the Ganga's shallow pools, capable of eliminating harmful bacteria like E. coli. The magnificent celebration of the Kumbh and the enduring reverence for the sacred waters of the Ganga reflect a live connection to both myth and history across the great subcontinent of India. For the millions of pilgrims who bathe in the sacred waters, it is a continuation of the enduring belief in healing and spiritual redemption, both in this life and the next. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Sudipta Sen, University of California, Davis Read more: The Black librarian who rewrote the rules of power, gender and passing as white Shaligrams, the sacred fossils that have been worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists for over 2,000 years, are becoming rarer because of climate change For Native Americans, a river is more than a 'person,' it is also a sacred place Sudipta Sen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
