Entries Tagged 'Mauritius' ↓

Seven pyramids have been identified on the African island of Mauritius. Remarkably, in construction, they are identical to the ones found on the island of Tenerife, an island on the opposite side of the continent. It underlines the likelihood that one civilisation sailed to various islands off the coast of Africa and constructed these structures.

I have known and seen these pyramids for years. I discounted them for a very orderly way of stacking the field stones to make space for planting sugar cane. We have now a story which enriches our Mauritian culture and gives some jazz to our tourist guides to embellish their presentation.

How far is the story true and historically verified? Does it matter?

Thanks to my school pal Paul now based in Canada who is a true Mauritian at heart who informed me of the story.

You are invited to read the Antoine Gigal ‘s account.

Antoine Gigal is a French writer and researcher, and the Egyptian correspondent for the French ‘L’Egypte’ magazine.
Gigal’s early years were spent in Africa and South America, where her father worked as journalist and diplomat. This has taken her all over the world exploring diverse cultures and civilizations. She studied at Sorbonne Paris III University and the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO), where she graduated in Chinese and Japanese languages and civilizations.

This morning I had for breakfast, thin slices of specially cured ham for the Dordogne region on my toast. I was wonder for my taste buds specially the fat part of the ham which is the main carrier of the flavour. I would sense the explosion of the flavour of the acorns that fed the pig wondering in the wild of the Dordogne fields under the walnut forests. Magnificently cured for some 6 months or wrapped over in a layer of lard and flour to keep the red dark flesh moist and juicy with the right tint of salt.

My first encounter with ‘Jambon cru’ was way back in 1968, when I was visiting Reunion Island in the days of Air India life. As the representative of Air India, I was required to entertain my customers. At the then famous gastronomic restaurant of Hotel Le Labourdonnais in St Denis de la Reunion, on the advice of the chef who was himself from the Basque country, I was initiated to the taste of Bayonne Ham.

Never before had I ever tasted raw cured Ham. In my younger days, ‘jambon bouilli’ was a feast which was reserved for the festive season. My Mum would prepare her version of ham from air cooled salted dried leg of pork imported from Australia. After soaking the ham in water for a couple of days, the leg on the bone was boiled for hours with a concoction of herbs, namely citronella, dark beer. Thereafter the ham was oven baked. The whole ham was studded with clover seeds before being served. The taste of home prepared ham has nothing akin to the ham we get from the supermarket today.

Later I learned to taste Prosciutto di Parma with a slice of melon during my trips to Italy. More recently the pata negra of spain provided me another source of pleasure. Last but not least have you ever tried a shark fin’s meal cooked in Hunan’s ham?

I am invited to  a HR seminar on next Friday  3rd April at the Hilton hotel. Some 150 professionals will flock to discuss the challenges of HR in Mauritius for the coming years with the background of greater mobility of the work force and the economic and financial adjustments of the world. I am told that the liberations would be pod casted live.

Perhaps  one of the main theme in HR could be the hiring of people. Matching people to jobs which have been clearly defined.

Stephen Covey had much to say with his laws of hiring in my work active days.  The fundamentals  are still valid,one needs to adjust and supplement  Stephen Covey’s ideas  with today’s reality. I am a great believer of  “you are allowed to copy me provided you improve on me” as we shall not start reinvent the wheel all over again.

10 Laws of Hiring

How do you break those bad hiring habits? Here are my 10 laws of hiring.

1. First, realize that hiring is more important than training. Most executives hire on the basis of urgent need. Because they desire most earnestly to fill the position or solve a pressing problem, they believe most easily that virtually anybody will do. They read resumes and interview candidates with eyes and ears of hope, but hope, writes John Updike, “reads a word where in fact only a scribble exists.” They don’t explore in depth the complete track record of that person. They don’t find out the pattern of that person’s motivations. And when they don’t pay the price in the hiring process, they pay ten times the price later with the problems that come down the road. They may then try to train, mentor, coach, and counsel people in an attempt to compensate for bad hiring decisions.

2. Pay the price to know each other well. Let them know you and the mission of your organization, so they have to make a decision before you ever hire them. Take the time, even if it takes a few weeks, to go in depth with the person. Let them know you and your vision and mission. They need to feel in harmony long before they make the decision. Also, you need to know them, particularly in the gap areas of their lives—those things they don’t write in their resumes. Pay the price to get to know these people. Don’t be in a rush.

3. Start with the person’s early life, and ask him or her, “What is it that you did very well that you loved doing?” You might ask, “What did you really enjoy doing when you were in grade school?” “What did you do well?” “What made you feel good about yourself?” “What did you really love about your childhood?” “Tell me a little about the paper route you loved.” When he or she talks about the paper route, you may discover this person is very proactive and took much initiative. Ask, “How did you collect the money you received?” “Did your parents drive you around?” “Did you get yourself up early in the morning?” “What did you do well that you loved doing, starting from your early years?” Then ask about high school and college, and you will see what the pattern of their life has been.

4. Study the life pattern, and you will begin to discover their deepest motivations. You may find, for example, that the pattern is one of independence, not one of interdependence. That teaches you a lot. It may be a pattern of self-glorification rather than contribution, or the opposite. When you see eyes light up, you begin to realize this is what excites this person. When you ask him or her about high school, college, graduate school and first jobs, you begin to see patterns that persist over time. Now, people can break those habit patterns if they are sufficiently self-aware, have strong desire, exercise their talents, set themselves on a new path, and surround themselves with a strong social support group. Still, it’s not easy.

5. Determine if the person’s habit patterns, motivations, values, and lifestyle fit well with the culture of your organization. Generally, I find that those motivational patterns persist in the future. You can tell if people are independent or interdependent, selfish or service oriented. You can begin to see the totality of their lives. You can then better determine if they will fit well with the culture of your organization.

6. Allow team leaders to hire and fire. To take the time to hire right in every position at every level would be difficult, if not impossible, unless you allow team leaders to hire their own people. The personnel department or human resource department shouldn’t do any hiring. They should do the announcing, screening and processing. The people who should be hiring are the team leaders. Candidates should come before the teams, present themselves, and get to know each team member. When people approach me for a job, I tell them, “I don’t do the hiring. You’ve got to sell yourself to these people, and they are going to get to know you.” Even when my personal friends approach me, I say: “You have to go through the process.” Most of them are not hired. It’s also the team that does the firing. If some people aren’t pulling their oar, it’s the team that throws them overboard, not the helmsman.

7. Seek to build a complementary team in an interdependent culture. If you are trying to develop an interdependent culture, you don’t want to hire independent-minded people because the fit isn’t there. You have to decide, “What do I need and who do I want on my team?” The natural tendency is to clone yourself rather than to set up a complementary team where one person’s strengths compensate for your deficiencies. Since likeness attracts, you clone yourself, and your strength becomes your weakness, rather than saying, “Where am I strong, and what are my deficiencies? I’ve got to hire for strength in my areas of weakness. That means I need to hire people who are different from me. That means they are going to do things differently. Am I emotionally prepared to go in that direction?” Most entrepreneurs are not. But entrepreneurs and corporate managers alike must learn: don’t clone, complement. That takes a lot of emotional strength, and a lot of self-awareness.

8. If you must choose one among many good candidates, invite those who aren’t hired to keep trying. If all six hiring choices are good, you say to the other five, “Keep us in mind. Keep at it. Now is not the right time, but come back in six months.” When people make a second, third, fourth, or even fifth attempt to get in, they usually do. That’s a measure of the power of their motivation. People who are highly motivated usually get the job they want. They begin to adapt themselves; they learn the culture; and they learn how to make an effective presentation.

9. Avoid being shocked and surprised at entry or exit by having clear criteria. Train the people who do the hiring to use the same criteria you were hired under. Set guidelines and criteria for team leaders to work with when they are hiring their own people. The criteria should come from your mission statement. If the culture buys into that mission statement, then the criteria is written in people’s minds and hearts. Our own Client Services Group is a good illustration of this. They have inside themselves these criteria for hiring.

Also, departure should not surprise or shock an organization, yet it often does because managers fail to practice preventative hiring, nor do they anticipate turnover and attrition. So, they allow a key position to go vacant for six months. The more all members of the culture have the criteria of the mission statement inside them, the less shocked they are with hiring and firing decisions. The less members of the culture have those criteria, the more shocked and dismayed they are when someone departs. They wonder “What is happening around here?” Then they wait for the next shoe to drop. “When is it going to happen to me?” They feel guilty or depressed about the person being laid off—and that usually robs them of their highest level of motivation and contribution.

The more all team members share the criteria of world-class performance against world-class standards, the fewer people are shocked when someone leaves the organization. The more the criteria is based on performance rather than the politics, on principles rather than the principals, the more congruent your hiring and firing is with the concept of principle-centered leadership.

10. Create a covenant, not just a contract, and have a few ceremonies. Remember: when hiring, you’re creating an economic marriage, hopefully one based on covenant, not contract. In a covenant relationship, both parties give 100 percent instead of 50-50. In a covenant relationship, there are really two decisions: the decision of one party to hire, and the decision of the other party to be hired. That produces a powerful covenant.

In a typical employment contract, only one party (the person who is doing the hiring) is making a decision and commitment; and so both parties feel that the relationship could end at any time. The relationship is transactional, not transforming.

Also, when entering into a covenant relationship, you expect to pass through some sort of ceremony, symbolism, initiation, or rite of passage. Consider: what ceremony would best symbolize the “covenant” that comes with joining this organization? For example, many churches baptize their new members; many clubs have an initiation ceremony; many schools have an orientation; many families have a celebration with the birth of a child. In some way the new person gets inaugurated into the society.

Being Hired Right

The proactive person is smart about being hired right. To be hired right means knowing full well what you are coming into, having common expectations, and hammering out clear performance and compensation criteria. Ambiguous expectations lead to disappointment, because people act in good faith in the beginning, but as events transpire, and expectations are violated, they get into an accusatory spirit, defensiveness, and adversarialism. Then they look for evidence to support their claims, and, of course, they find the evidence. It’s just a self-fulfilling prophecy.

To clarify the expectations up front, create a win-win performance agreement, a mutual understanding and commitment regarding expectations in five areas. First, identify specific desired results in terms of quantity and quality, targets and timelines, allowing people to select the best methods and means. Second, set guidelines in terms of principles—go light on policies and procedures to allow for individual initiative and judgment. Third, identify available resources, including yourself, to assist people in meeting goals. Fourth, define accountability—performance standards along with evaluation criteria (usually a combination of measurement, 360-degree feedback, and discernment). Fifth, agree on consequences: rewards, compensations, and possible punishments.

Take the time and make the effort to hammer out those guidelines and the criteria for assessment. Before you make the decision to be hired, get to know the organization—its leaders and its vision, mission, and values—and know how you will be evaluated. Then think about it; talk it over with your spouse, mentor, or advisor. Ask yourself, “Am I really prepared to give myself to this?” If the answer is yes, you come onboard well prepared to succeed.

The hiring process should be one of the best proofs of the win-win spirit of your organization.

Mi chinois, métis, que je suis, ou banana que d’autres prétendent que je suis, j’ai le désire profond de sonder l’âme chinoise. Dans ce brouhaha des écrits des textes fondateurs de la chine depuis de millénaires, peut on en tirer une philosophie chinoise qui pourrait élucider ses agissements type chinois comme nous decryptons par exemples,des façons de faire des européens du basin méditerranéen.

La chine vaste et multi ethnique me semble avoir une culture culture  et  unefaçon de penser car la magnitutude du territoire et peuplades font la difference.

Hakka que je suis, forgé par ma tradition familiale, j’agis bien souvent dans mon inconscient dans un registre qui est ancré en moi par mon héritage culturel vécu. Mon souhait c’est bien là de déceler et si possible de comprendre les codes, concepts, logiques qui fait mon univers mentale.

Comme je n’ai comme langues que le français et l’anglais, le Kreole,et ma la langue maternelle Hakka, je suis conscient que mes acquisitions de connaissances et mes réflexions sont voiles par les filtres des langues utilisés et m’exclut des nuances qui ne sont exprimées ou implicitees dans les textes originaux. Cela me fait penser souvent a ODED EL DAD, illustre professeur qui en français nous traduit la version hébraïque du récit de Caen et Abel , donnant ainsi des valeurs tout autre que la lecture du texte en français.

Existe-t-il une philosophie chinoise ? Qu’entendons nous par philosophie à la mode, gréco-occidental, ou la pensée à la chinoise ?

Je me régale en lisant un texte qui met en exergue les idées exprimes dans les écrits des nombreux auteurs autour de la pensée chinoise. Anne Cheng, dans La pensée en chine; Francois Julien, dans Chemin faisant, connaitre la chine, relancer la philosophie ; Jean Luc Domenach dans le retour ambigu de la chine en Asie ;Joel Thoraval, sinologue connu dans de la philosophie en chine a la chine dans la philosophie ; Mou Zongsan, dans neo-confucianisme ;et tous une pléiade de penseurs chinois contemporains tel Liu Xiaofeng, Gan Yang, Liang Shuming et autres.

En résume je retiens  une citation:

Pour reprendre l’expression du sociologue et politologue Gil Delannoi  « toutes les lunettes méritent d’être essayés, lunettes de la ressemblance, les lunettes da la différence ». En d autres termes, certaines approches se révèlent communes aux chinois et aux européens, d’autres sont différentes. Des idées comme celles de sagesse, de liberté intérieure, d’autonomie morale ou bien public se trouvent dans la pensée chinoise comme dans celle de l’Europe ancienne.

Certaines oppositions originelles paraissent cependant absolues. En occident, par exemple, les sociétés dérivent plutôt d’un modèle pastoral dont elles ont hérité l’impératif du commandement, du volontarisme. La société chinoise, au contraire, procède d’un modèle agricole, végétal, fondé sur la patience, et la maturation. Dans le premier modèle, la parole et la voix sont décisives, tandis que, que dans le second, « l’écrit est antérieur à l’oral et possède, dans la composition combinatoire de signes eux-mêmes (la composition graphique des caractères) sa base normative ». Pour la philosophie grecque, l’opposition entre la contemplation et l’action est clairement affirmée, tandis qu’en Chine prévaut l’idée de processus continu, de fluidité, de mutation infinie. Il est vain de tirer une plante en espérant la faire pousser plus vite, dit un adage chinois.

Eh bien je suis ravi, cela m’a donne l’image d’un Hakka écologique, vegetal, vivant dans un univers qui mute en processus continue, très plastique capable de se transformer s perpétuité au guise de son environnement. Est-ce là le modèle de Kreole Morisien que nous cherchons ?

This festival celebrated  today by the telegus in Mauritius and elsewhere. These festivities give us Mauritians the opportunity of widening our knowledge on the communities living in our culturally rich countries.

Is it a wonderful chance to know more about telegus? Their cultural and linguistic differences?

Ougadi or the New Year is celebrated in the month of March. The birthday of Ganesha, the God of wisdom and remover of all obstacles is celebrated as Ganesh Chaturthi.

Unlike many religious celebrations, Ougadi is not celebrated on the streets. The Telugu New Year remains very traditional with people having lunch or dinner with their relatives and cultural shows organised. Prayers and cakes distributed to relatives, friends and neighbours are also part of the festival celebrated last Saturday.

The day starts with a purifying wash – the mangala snaanam – before the sun on Saturday morning. Then, after putting on chandrika oil and massaging themselves with a paste made with cereals, the Telugus are ready to start the celebration of the creation of the Universe by the God Brahmâ.

The patchadi – a mixture of green mangoes, tamarind, lilac flowers, chilli and salt – is prepared and offered to God in a special prayer to ask for his protection. They then go to the temple where they are read the panchagam (Telegu almanac). This special day is also a time for decorative activities like the mugga, which are beautiful and colourful designs made with different seeds and spices.

I am more interested to learn about the culinary differences of the telegu.

The cuisine of Andhra Pradesh is reputedly the spiciest and the most delicious of all There are many variations to the Andhra cuisine depending on caste, geographical regions, traditions etc. are particularly popular in Andhra Pradesh and many varieties of pickles and chutneys are unique to the State. Chutneys are made from practically every vegetable including (eggplant), and (The mango pickle is probably the best known of the Andhra pickles.

Rice is the staple food and is used in a wide variety of ways. Typically, rice is either boiled and eaten with curry, or made into a batter for use in a crepe -like dish called attu – made of a mixture of this batter and mung beans) or Dosa .

Hyderabad, the capital city of the state of Andra Pradesh, I was told by a very good friend whose father was the editor of an English newspaper during the pre-partition and post-partition years in Hyderabad, is the limit city where the Moguls were stopped in their invasion.

Do you know the word Hindutva? The voice of Hindu is better known in Mauritius. It may be worth while reading the view from a Hindutva perspective.

As we live in one of the countries which are inhabited by a majority of Hindus outside India, we Mauritians should be aware of the terms and more importantly keep an eye to what is happening in India. Thinkers and brains triggering the consciences of Hindus inside India or elsewhere as well as Muslims in the world should be read to understand where they are coming from ; how they feel and what they intend to do. On both sides of the fence there are radicals, violent fundamentalists and peace seeking moderates.

I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity as a non Hindu to have been exposed to much Indian culture and to have traveled often to the home origin country of the majority Hindu community. I understand some basics fundamentals of the Muslims religion for having worked very closely with a number of Muslim organisations during the time when I was involved with the organization of the Haj and Umra pilgrimages. I had made a couple of trips to Saudi, namely to Jeddah, Ryiad and Daharan.

The tension that exists in the  sub continent with in India itself with a large population of Muslims in the midst of a majority of Hindus is often echoed in our country. Whilst India has its own issues to deal with its bulging Muslims populations, particularly in some of its states where the proportion of Muslims to Hindus do not reflect the national average, let not the animosities  spilled over to us.

I only wish that in our nation country is able to sort our own issues without being influenced by imported events. Needless to mention the events of Mumbai and the recent unrest in Pakistan have negative effects on the peaceful cohabitations of the two communities. I believe that there have been some confusion in Phoenix recently on the celebration of Yaum un Nabi.

May the moderates on both sides bring a peaceful settlement to keep the belligerent moods of the radicals at bay? Let religions not divide us or break the harmony of our peaceful living.

Fresh from the press of T Printers, managed by my old pal Charles, I receive my copy of ‘Putting People First’ second book authored by the Mauritian born Canadian Kin Tue-Fee.

I went through the book the last day and found it to be an easy to read compendium of elements that any manager and any entrepreneur  should have. As far as I am concerned the content is not new, but the book is handy and worthwhile buying as it provides the owner the possibility of having at hand in the same document the essentials of managerial and leadership knowledge to perform in a work environment. I understand the book may serve as a memo of Kin Tue-Fee’s lectures and courses.

I had the privilege of meeting Kin on several occasions on his visits to the island. I recall vividly his address to the Rotary Club and his gift presentation to the Toastmasters club of Port Louis. Kin is a seasoned speaker and conducts seminars across the world.

Kin Tue-Fee was born in the beautiful tropical island of Mauritius. He now lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife and three children.

Kin’s interest in the field of personal and professional management and development goes back about thirty years. In the pursuit of his self-enhancement, he has attended numerous conferences, seminars and workshops on management and leadership topics. In 1997, he published his first book: Become your best – Principles of personal management and development.

As an executive in the public service of Canada, he has acquired a wealth of experience and knowledge that he wants to share with supervisors, managers and leaders who are ready and willing to put people first and make the most of their employees’ potential. He spent the last ten years researching, studying, experimenting to prepare and write his first book.  His second book, just published, is entitled “Putting People First.”

As a coach and an educator, he intends to introduce this fascinating concept of putting people first to as many supervisors, managers and leaders as possible with respect, empathy and love.

I congratulate Kin for the work he has to put in for the production of the book bearing in mind that he is himself the Publisher, thus taking the challenge and burden of ensuring the success of the sales and marketing of the book. It is with great pride that I am introducing this publication to you my blog readers and recommend you to buy this Canadian product printed in Mauritius.

Me voici assis à mon bureau regardant à travers de mon balcon en ce jour de fête nationale, ce 12 mars 2009. Il y a quelques instants de cela, j’avais écrit sur Face Book le temps maussade qu’il faisait tout à l’image de la conjoncture économique du moment, qu’il fallait ne pas se laisser envahi par l’environnent, maussade, mais fort et être maitre de mon climat intérieur.

En lisant ce matin le journal, je note que Nazim Esoof titre : En cette période où on célèbre la Fête nationale, une conscience de races ombre les perspectives d’avenir. C’est lorsque le peuple est dans la confusion que les forces obscurantistes sortent de la clandestinité pour agir à la surface. C’est lorsqu’une société est présentée comme laïque mais qu’elle est cagote dans les faits que l’individu dérive de sa citoyenneté vers sa «valeur» ethnique.

En ce temps de célébrations, les revendications ethniques, latentes et explicites, disent un malaise profond de la société mauricienne. La bipolarisation politique, avec d’un côté Ramgoolam et de l’autre Bérenger, scinde le pays en deux camps. L’un accuse l’autre de racisme. L’un et l’autre se défendent de l’être. Ils jouent plutôt la partition de la légitimité identitaire et politique de leur positionnement.

Encore un message d’ombre qui m’envahit. Et pourtant, ma lecture et mon écoute de la retraite dans la ville en ce temps de carême me livre :

Si tu as perdu la lumière

« Une nuée qui les couvrit de son ombre ». Dieu apparaîtrait-il dans les ténèbres, dans l’ombre après avoir montré tant de lumière ? Y aurait-il une lumière ténébreuse de Dieu ? Un psaume dit : « Dieu a pour manteau la lumière » (Psaume 103) et un mystique allemand, Angelus Silesius (1624-1677), commente superbement : « La lumière est le vêtement de Dieu. Si tu la perds, sache que tu n’as pas encore perdu Dieu même. » (L’errant chérubinique, II, 5). Moi aussi, j’ai peut-être perdu le « vêtement de Dieu », c’est-à-dire toute perception lumineuse de son être. Mais ai-je perdu Dieu même ? Que me dis-tu, toi, le fond de mon cœur ? Qu’entends-tu en toi ?

Ne fuyons pas les ténèbres, elles ont peut-être à nous dire Dieu. Les apôtres sont effrayés, ne savent quoi dire, et ils entendent Dieu leur parler, les tourner vers le Fils bien-aimé. Entrons dans la nuée ténébreuse où nous perdons tout repère, toute lumière créée, pour entendre Dieu.

Exercice de ce jour : lire et relire ce verset, peut-être même l’apprendre par cœur, et entendre sa signification pour moi. Y a-t-il une nuée, un nuage, une ombre, des ténèbres qui, un jour m’a permis d’entendre Dieu ? Ai-je connu, paradoxalement, des « nuits de lumière » ?

« Survint une nuée qui les couvrit de son ombre, et de la nuée une voix se fit entendre : “Celui-ci est mon Fils bien-aimé. Écoutez -le.” »
Évangile selon saint Marc, chapitre 9, verset 7.

J’entrevois dans cette méditation du frère dominicain Xavier du couvent de Lille qui chaque jour m’accompagne ma marche dans ce carême 2009, une lumière qui éclaire mes moments de désarroi.

Devant l’ombre de la conjoncture économique, de la poussée des dissensions du peuple de la nation par les revendications ethniques, et plus présent la morosité du temps, sa pluie et l’orage qui retentit, une voie se fit entendre. Le bien aimé est là. Ecoutez-le. Je reste maitre de ma volonté et je choisi d’Ecouter le primordial. En ce jour de la fête de notre pays, que je reste dans l’espérance de la béatitude promise de mon Seigneur qui surviendra dans une nuée qui couvrira son ombre. God Bless Mauritius comme pour parodier OBAMA.

Holi is an ancient festival of India and was originally known as ‘Holika’. The festivals finds a detailed description in early religious works such as Jaimini’s Purvamimamsa-Sutras and Kathaka-Grhya-Sutras. Historians also believe that Holi was celebrated by all Aryans but more so in the Eastern part of India.

It is said that Holi existed several centuries before Christ. However, the meaning of the festival is believed to have changed over the years. Earlier it was a special rite performed by married women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon (Raka) was worshiped.

Living in Mauritius, understanding one of the festivals of the majority of Hindus is a must.  This year Holi is celebrated on the 11th March. I would even say, that it is more important for a non Hindu to understand the purpose behind the celebration that the Hindus themselves. The majority just lives it, it is in their psyche. This is a very special day for Bhojpuri speakers, who constitute by far the greatest part of our Indian origin population. Often we talk about the opposition between Bhojpuri speaking and the others: Tamils, telegus and marathis. This might be an explanation , as to the non proclamation of Holi as a public Holiday in Mauritius.

Holi (referred to as Phagwa in Bhojpuri), also called the Festival of Colours, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed in India, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, the UK,and Nepal. In West Bengal of India and Bangladesh, it is known as Dolyatra (Doljatra) or Boshonto Utsav (“spring festival”).

The main day, Holi, also known as Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is celebrated by people throwing coloured powder and coloured water at each other. Bonfires are lit the day before, also known as Holika Dahan (death of Holika) or Chhoti Holi (little Holi). The bonfires are lit in memory of the miraculous escape that young Prahlad had when Demoness Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu, carried him into the fire. Holika was burnt but Prahlad, a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu, escaped without any injuries due to his unshakable devotion. Holika Dahan is referred to as Kama Dahanam in Andhra Pradesh.

Holi Pooja takes place a day before the Holi Festival. This day is called as ‘Holika Dahan’. There is no special pooja performed on the Holi day. This day is only meant for celebrations and play of colors. Holika Dahan is the major ritual performed at the time of Holi which is also considered an important Holi Puja. People light bonfires on the eve of Holi festival to celebrate the victory of ‘good’ over ‘bad’ which is called Holika Dahan.

Holi Pooja Process or Holika Dahan Process
Holika Dahan preparations begin almost 40 days before the festival. People start gathering woods on the important crossroads of the city. Holi Pooja or Holika takes place on an auspicious time in the evening a day before the Holi festival. Given below are the steps and rituals for the Holi Pooja:

Holi Pooja is performed in a different manner in some communities. Marwari women offer Holi puja in the afternoon and evening i.e. before setting fire to ‘Holika’. It is called ‘Thandi Holi’. The whole puja process is considered very auspicious for the married women. It ensures well-being and healthy life of their husband.

Dans peu de temps, l’Eglise catholique recevra les reliques du Saint Suaire de Turin. Un événement significatif pour certains, mais surtout pour d’autres une preuve tangible de la venue de Jésus sur terre.

Toute histoire scientifique dernière l’authentiquassions du linceul est une épopée fort intéressante. J’ai lu avec grand plaisir sur wikipedia le sujet et je m’en réjouis.

Déjà les reliques du Saint Suaire a produit un miracle chez moi. L’arrivée imminente a provoqué en moi le désir de lire sur le sujet. La lecture m’a donné une plus grande conviction que Christ est bien venu sur terre et que Son incarnation est source du salut de l’humanité. J’ai pu imaginer  et vivre en pensee la grande douleur et la terrifiante passion que Jésus Christ a subie. N’est ce pas la, une preuve de l’amour  infini qu’il nous offre gratiutement.

J’ai vu le visage du Christ, par le négatif révéler sur son linceul. Quel bonheur ! Une foi plus grande du Christ ressuscité qui nous sauve.

Jean Paul II : « Le Saint Suaire nous présente Jésus au moment de sa plus puissance et il nous rappelle que le salut du monde entier se trouve dans l’anéantissement de cette mort. Le Saint Suaire devient ainsi une invitation à vivre toute expérience, y compris, celle de la souffrance et de la suprême impuissance, avec l’attitude de celui qui croit que l’amour miséricordieux de Dieu vainc toute pauvreté, toutes limites, toute tentation de désespoir. »