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RANA Rajasthan Association of North America Put together some great program this year. Here is the first part of the Year 2009 glimpses. MIBA was the highlight for putting together this.

RANA Rajasthan Association of North America Put together some great program this year. Here is the first part of the Year 2009 glimpses. MIBA was the highlight for putting together this.

RANA 2009 most of Videos

RANA 2009 \"A Year of Celebrations\"

Rhythm of Rajasthan at Smith Center, Ohlone College, Fremont, CA organized by RANA

The Langa /Manganiar Show at Stanford

Watch the RANA Kids Race .

Raj Sa\'s magical SAFA moments

The Langa /Manganiar Show at Stanford

Festival La Alegría del Barrio

Raj Sa\'s magical SAFA moments

Robot show by Award winning BITS Pilani team

2nd prize winning float at the India Parade in Fremont. The float illustrated the Ishar Gangore festival celebrated with great pomp throughout Rajasthan. Against a backdrop of the famous Hawa Mahal, the float was the brain child of Shri Raj Nathawat.

SPECTACULAR FOLK MUSIC ENSEMBLE FROM RAJASTHAN The Thar Desert region of Rajasthan has nurtured one of the most vibrant and evocative music cultures of the world. \"Rupayan,\" on tour with eight performers from the Langa and Manganiar communities of hereditary professional musicians, were initially organized by the late ethnomusicologist and folklorist Komal Kothari of Jodhpur. They have performed in more than 200 venues in thirty countries. The Langas and Manganiars are Muslim musicians who have traditionally performed for both Hindu and Muslim patrons. Many of their songs are in praise of Hindu deities and celebrate Hindu festivals such as Diwali and Holi. They also sing the the poetry of South Asia\'s great Sufi poets. At one time, the Managaniars were musicians of the Rajput courts. The Langas (literally \'song givers\') are poets, singers, and instrumentalists from the Barmer district of Rajasthan who seem to have converted from Hinduism to Islam in the seventeenth century. They are versatile players of the Sindhi Sarangi and the Algoza (double flute), which accompany and echo their formidable voices. The Sindhi Sarangi is made up of four main wires, with more than twenty vibrating sympathetic strings which help to create its distinctive haunting tones. Another remarkable bowed instrument is the kamayacha of the Manganiars with its big, circular resonator, giving out a deep, booming sound. The music of Rajasthan is driven by pulsating rhythms created by an array of percussion instruments, the most popular being the dholak, a double headed barrel drum, whose repertoire has influenced other Indian drums including the tabla. Other instruments include the double flute, satara, and the hypnotic Jew\'s harp or morchang. Featuring Gazi Khan Manganiar, Khete Khan, Habib Khan Langa, Bundu Khan Langa, Kachra Khan, Chanan Khan, Manjoor Khan, Umer Farukh [More] [Less]

Dil Mastana el 21/7/07 22:50 al Festival Croma de Gavà. Grup de gitanos Lhanga, amb ballarina espanyola!, del R?jasth?n. Música tradicional. Casta de músics sufís. També bhakti. Recordo l\'emoció sentida cada vegada que veig el vídeo. Tinc moltes ganes de tornar-los a veure i escoltar. Bachu Khan (veu, kartals) Edu Khan (veu, kartals) Sikander Khan (sindi sarangi, satara, morchan) Sameer Maal (dholak, tabla) Laura (Chanda), ballarina http://www.myspace.com/dilmastana [More] [Less]

Rajasthan, India http://www.flyingmonk.com/rajasthan.html Come with us and visit, the villages of Shekhawati, with the impressive havelis built by merchants in the last century, the Bikaner Fort, one of the most beautiful Fort in Rajasthan, the mysterious Jaisalmer Fort taken as if from the Sheherezada story, the eagles nest of the Jodhpur Fort, the capital of the rajput principality of Marwar, the Land of Death, the exquisite marble Jain temple of Ranakpur. If you enjoyed these you may continue your visit to the remarkable white city of Udaipur, a city placed on lakes nicknamed the Venice of India, the holy city and lake from Pushkar, abounding with holy men hosting, also, the largest camel fair in India, the renowned pink city of Jaipur, where the astronomical observatory stands proof of the scientific heritage this place has, and passing through Fatehpur Sikri, the deserted city, finish the tour outside of Rajasthan in the Muslim Agra, the jewel of the Mughal Empire, in front of the magnificent Taj Mahal. [More] [Less]

Pushkar (Rajasthan) Pushkar is a town in the state of Rajasthan in India. It is situated 14 Km from Ajmer and is one of the five sacred dhams, pilgrimage sites for devout Hindus; it is often called "Tirth Raj" (the king of pilgrimage sites). In recent years it has become a popular destination for foreign tourists. Pushkar lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. It has five principle temples, many smaller temples and 52 ghats where pilgrims decend to the lake to bathe in the sacred waters. One of the primary temples is the 14th century temple dedicated to Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. Very few temples to Lord Brahma exist anywhere in the world[1], so Lord Brahma's temple in Pushkar is quite rare. Pushkar is also famous for its annual Pushkar Camel Fair. The natural environment of Pushkar and the sacred lake has become increasingly degraded in the last few decades. The problems stem mainly from overdevelopment of tourist facilities and the deforestation of the surrounding area [2] Please note that Pushkar, the pilgrim centre, should not be confused with Budha Pushkar (Old Pushkar), a town nearby. Budha Pushkar is famous for it's rose farming. Pushkar is one of the oldest places of India. The date of its actual founding is not known, but legend associates Lord Brahma with its creation. Ramayan mentions Pushkara and says that Vishvamitra performed tapa here. It further says that Apsara Menaka came to Pushkara to bathe in its sacred waters. Mahabharata, while laying down a programme for Maharaja Yudhishthara's travel, says "Maharaja after entering the Jungles of Sind and crossing the small rivers on the way should bathe in Pushkara". And, per Vaman Purana, Prahlada on his pilgrimage to holy places visited Pushkarayana. A Pratihara ruler of Mandore, Nahadarava, restored this tirtha in the seventh century. He got the place cleared and the lake restored by making an embankment on the side of the river Luni. He rebuilt old palaces and got built twelve dhrnashalas (resting places) and ghatas on three sides of the lake. The sage Parasara is said to have been born here. His descendants, called Parasara Brahamanas, are found in Pushkar and the surrounding area. The famous temple of Jeenmata has been taken care by Parasara Brahmans for the last 1000 years. Pushkarana Brahamanas may also have originated here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pushkar VALPARD FILMS http://valpardfilms.free.fr [More] [Less]

Festival La Alegría del Barrio

Jaisalmer is located at 26.92° N 70.9° E. It has an average elevation of 229 metres and situated on the border of India and Pakistan in West Rajasthan. The majority of the inhabitants of Jaisalmer are Yadav Bhatti Rajputs, who take their name from an ancestor named Bhatti, renowned as a warrior when the tribe were located in the Punjab. Shortly after this the clan was driven southwards, and found a refuge in the Indian desert, which was henceforth its home. Deoraj, a famous prince of the Bhatti family, is esteemed the real founder of the Jaisalmer dynasty, and with him the title of rawal commenced. In 1156 Rawal Jaisal, the sixth in succession from Deoraj, founded the fort and city of Jaisalmer, and made it his capital as he moved from his former capital at Lodhruva (which is situated about 15 km to the south-east of Jaisalmer). In 1294, the Bhattis so enraged the emperor Ala-ud-din Khilji that his army captured and sacked the fort and city of Jaisalmer, so that for some time it was quite deserted. After this there is nothing to record till the time of Rawal Sahal Singh, whose reign marks an epoch in Bhatti history in that he acknowledged the supremacy of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Jaisalmer princes had now arrived at the height of their power, but from this time till the accession of Rawal Mulraj in 1762 the fortunes of the state rapidly declined, and most of its outlying provinces were lost. In 1818 Mulraj entered into political relations with the British. Maharawal Salivahan, born in 1887, succeeded to the chiefship in 1891. The Maharajas of Jaisalmer trace their lineage back to Jaitsimha, a ruler of the Bhatti Rajput clan. The major opponents of the Bhatti Rajputs were the powerful Rathor clans of Jodhpur and Bikaner. They used to fight battles for the possession of forts, waterholes or cattle. Jaisalmer was positioned strategically and was a halting point along a traditional trade route traversed by the camel caravans of Indian and Asian merchants. The route linked India to Central Asia ,Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Africa and the West. During the Islamic invasion of India, Jaisalmer escaped direct Muslim conquest due to its geographical situation in the desert region. The Rawals of Jaisalmer agreed to pay an annual tribute to the Delhi Sultans. The first siege of Jaisalmer occurred during the reign of Allaud-din Khilji. It was provoked by Bhattis' raid on a caravan filled with treasure. According to local ballads, the Bhattis defended the fort for seven years until the enemy army forced beached the ramparts. Bhattis, facing certain defeat, proclaimed the rite of johar. Later, Sultan Ferozshah also sieged Jaisalmer after the rulers of Jaisalmer raided his camp at Anasagar lake near Ajmer. The siege led to another johar. Jaitsimha's son Duda perished in the attack. Duda's descendants ruled over Jaisalmer for about two centuries. Duda's descendant Lunakarna had a fight with Humayun when the latter passed through Jaisalmer en route to Ajmer. Mughal emperor Akbar was married to one of the Jaisalmer princesses. Later, Jaisalmer was ruled by a noble called Sabala Simha, who won the patronage of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for services rendered in his Peshawar campaign. Jaisalmer was one of the last states to sign a treaty with the British. During the British Raj, Jaisalmer was the seat of a princely state of the same name, ruled by the Bhati clan of rajputs. The present descendant is Brijraj Singh. Though the city is under the governance of the Government of India, a lot of welfare work is carried out by him and his family. The Royal Family still commands a lot of respect from the people. Traditionally, the main source of income was the levies on the caravans. However, the glory of Jaisalmer faded when Bombay emerged as a port and the sea trade replaced the traditional land routes. The partition of India in 1947 lead to closing of all the trade routes on the Indo-Pak border and rendered Jaisalmer a drought-prone desert backwater on the international border. Ironically, skirmishes between India and Pakistan gave Jaisalmer a strategic importance and made it serviceable as an army supply depot. Later, the Rajasthan Canal served to revive the surrounding desert areas. Roads and railroads were then built, knitting the hitherto remote town with the rest of Rajasthan. VALPARD FILMS http://valpardfilms.free.fr [More] [Less]

Rhythm of Rajasthan at Smith Center, Ohlone College, Fremont, CA organized by RANA

Festival La Alegría del Barrio

Rajasthan, India http://www.flyingmonk.com/rajasthan.html Come with us and visit, the villages of Shekhawati, with the impressive havelis built by merchants in the last century, the Bikaner Fort, one of the most beautiful Fort in Rajasthan, the mysterious Jaisalmer Fort taken as if from the Sheherezada story, the eagles nest of the Jodhpur Fort, the capital of the rajput principality of Marwar, the Land of Death, the exquisite marble Jain temple of Ranakpur. If you enjoyed these you may continue your visit to the remarkable white city of Udaipur, a city placed on lakes nicknamed the Venice of India, the holy city and lake from Pushkar, abounding with holy men hosting, also, the largest camel fair in India, the renowned pink city of Jaipur, where the astronomical observatory stands proof of the scientific heritage this place has, and passing through Fatehpur Sikri, the deserted city, finish the tour outside of Rajasthan in the Muslim Agra, the jewel of the Mughal Empire, in front of the magnificent Taj Mahal. [More] [Less]