Monday, February 27, 2012

The Science of Love

Going a little off topic , I wanted to add a blog on one of my favorite topics , the science of love . Movies and love stories are all full of details of how when a person falls in love the whole world changnes , there are colors all around him etc etc . The nerd in me could never accept these details , they were too cliche for me. I needed a explanation for all of it , all the more when I experienced the same . That is when science came to my rescue , found this wonderful explanantion of the different stages of love as defined by science . The biological processes behind it all . It all started to make sense then, I could distance myself easily from all the head rush and think camly and at the same time enjoy the whole process at a totally different level .

Listed here are the different stages of love

Stage 1
The first stage of love is lust. Lust is driven by our sex hormones testosterone and oestrogen. These hormones are what get us 'out on the pull'

Stage 2
After lust comes attraction. This is the love-struck phase; the time when we lose our appetite, can't sleep, and can't concentrate. This is what we know as falling in love.This is all due to surging brain chemicals called monoamines. They are called dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. Norepinephrine and serotonin excite us, while dopamine makes us feel happy

Stage 3
The third stage of love is attachment - staying together. Attachment takes over from the attraction stage and is the bond which keeps couples together.Two different hormones are important during this phase of love. They are oxytocin and vasopressin.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Significane of sindoor

From our young age as Indian girls we have always been fascinated with the red sindoor on a married woman's forehead. Here are some of the reasons why the sindoor holds such an importance in our culture

Sindoor is applied for the first time to a Hindu woman during the marriage ceremony when the bridegroom himself adorns her with it. Traditional authentic Kumkum  is made by grinding the dried turmeric to a powder. A few drops of lime are then added to this yellow powder, which changes its hue to a bright red


History of Sindoor
Tradition of wearing Sindoor or vermillion is said to have traveled through more than 5,000 years of Hindu culture. Female figurines excavated at Mehrgarh, Baluchistan, show that sindoor was applied to the partition of women's hair even in early Harappan times. Besides, legends says that Radha, the consort of Lord Krishna, turned the kumkum into a flame like design on her forehead. In the famous epic Mahabharata, Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, is believed to have wiped her sindoor in disgust and despair. Use of Sindoor has also been mentioned in The Puranas, Lalitha Sahasranamam and Soundarya Lahharis.

Astrological Significance of Sindoor
According to Hindu astrology, Mesha Rashi or the House of Aries is on the forehead. The Lord of Mesha is Mars and his color is red. It is believed to be auspicious. This is why red sindoor is applied at the forehead and at the parting of the hair. Both are signs of saubhagya (good fortune). Sindoor is also considered to be the symbol of the female energy of Parvati and Sati.
Physiological Significance of Sindoor
Sindoor is applied on the spot between the brows which is considered the seat of latent wisdom and mental concentration and is very important for worship. This also indicates the point at which the (third) spiritual eye opens. All thoughts and actions are supposed to be governed by this spot.  Also , sindoor due to its intrinsic properties, mercury, besides controlling blood pressure also activates sexual drive. This also explains why Sindoor is prohibited for the widows. For best results, Sindoor should be applied right upto the pituitary gland where all our feelings are centered.


Sunday, February 12, 2012

Telugu movies to the rescue

Venky explains the meaning of marriage 


My friend Krish who is a avid telugu movie watcher provided his own twist to my blog , the meaning of marriage as explained by telugu movies . Here is the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=169KFshXF4g