मेरी हिंदी की पढ़ाई - My study of hindi - Il mio studio della hindi

आज मैं अपनी हिंदी की पढ़ाई के बारे में बताना चहती हूँ |

जब मैं एक हाई स्कूल की छात्रा थी, तब भारतीय संकृति में रूचि लेने लगी |
फिर भारत के बारे में खबरों की खोज करने लगी और पहली बार हिंदी भाषा का पता चला |
तो विश्वविद्ध्यालय में हिंदी पढ़ने का फैसला किया क्योंकि मेरे मन में जिज्ञासा पैदा हुई थी |
मैने इस भाषा के स्वर और वर्णमाला दोनों ही बहुत पसंद किये थे |
शुरुआत में, शब्दों का उच्चारण ठीक करना और देवनागरी सीखना सबसे कठिन बात थी |
इसके आलावा, एक बातचित या एक पाठ समझने के लिए मुझे बहुत-से नए शब्द सिखने पड़ते थे |
धीरे धीरे मेरी समझ में बेहतरी हुई हैं, खासकर जब से बॉलीवुड की फिल्मों देखने लगी हूँ |
मेरी भारत में यात्रा के बाद, मुझे मालूम हुआ कि बात ठीक कह पाने के लिए अभ्यास करने की ज़रूरत है |
हालाँकि मैं काफी पढ़ रही हूँ, फिर भी इतनी गलतियाँ कर रही हूँ, जिन से मुझे लज्जा आती है !

मैं ध्यान से पढ़ती रहूँगी, इसलिए कि हर बेहतरी मुझे संतोष का अनुभव कराती है |

My India trip photos - Khajuraho

After staying at Orchha, we went on a day-trip to Khajuraho to see the famous hindu temples of the city, UNESCO Heritages Site. The temples of Khajuraho were erected in a period which spanned from 900 to 1150, the golden age of Chandela dynasty, one of the late Rajput dynasties to resist to the muslim invasions of the time. The complex is divided into three groups of temples, the most famous of which is the western group, comprehending the astonishing shaiva (=hindu tradition regarding lord Shiva) temples of Kandariya Mahadeva and Lakshmana.
This amazing complex is know in the west only for its erotic sculptures, whose meaning has been abuntantly discussed in the academic field, but surely misunderstood by the general audience and by the tourists, who tend to see these sculptures with oddity and maybe maliciousness, as the erotic poses are carved outside temples, which, by contrast (for the dichotomy sacred/secular), are supposed to be sacred. This demonstrate the misconception of ancient hinduism - surely less sexophobic than Christianity (no offence, is a fact!) - and the lack of information about the importance of tantrism in the religious understanding and conception of the time. But this is a very complex subject, so I will fly over it...
Anyway, apart from erotic statues (which by the way are not present throughout the complex), there are scultures of everyday life's scenes, nymphs - known as apsaras -  and animals, as well as several gorgeous statues of hindu deities, like Ganesh, Lakshmi, Shiva and Vishnu. To clarify one of the western misunderstanding about the sculptures, it has to be pointed out very clearly that not only in the erotic scenes only the common men and women - not the deites! - are involved, but also that the mundane and the divine iconographies are well-distincted, as all the mundane scenes are depicted only on the outward parts of every temple, whereas the divine scuptures are carved in the internal ones.
Besides the temples, the city of Khajuraho itself is a pleasant place to relax and enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings and the lovely and friendly people (aside from the harassing touts!).
We also dined at a alleged italian restaurant - damned food homesickness! - , in which we deceived ourselves on the possibility of eating any actual italian food!

...Hope you enjoy the pictures...

My India trip photos - Agra

On Valentine's day, we went on a day-trip from Delhi to Agra, to visit the Taj Mahal complex. 

What can I say to comment one of the most famous monuments not only of India, but of the entire world?! 

The day we went to the Taj was not by chance, but we chose to go on Valentine's day to celebrate love, the reason why Moghul emperor Shah Jahan had the Taj built in 1632, in honour of his belowed wife, Mumtaz Mahal (whose name in persian means "the pearl of the palace"), who had died giving birth to his fourteenth son. 

The Taj is one of the masterpieces of all humanity, spectacularly erected in white marble and carved with precious details of gems and flower decorations. On the portal of the main entrance, made of red sandstone, there are magnificent inscriptions from the Quran. The complex is surrounded by astonishing Moghul gardens, with fountains and canals, that symbolize islamic paradise and a great exhibition of flora, today recreated following Moghul history of gardening. 

Other gorgeous buldings of the complex are a mosque, today still in function (that's why the Taj complex is closed to the public on Fridays) on the west side of the Taj and, simmetrically on the east side of the mausoleum, the Jawab (=answer), a palace with similar structure of that of the mosque but with no clear function, maybe only that of architectonycal symmetry. 

It's difficult to convey the emotions and the feelings of beeing in front of such a masterpiece of art, so let me conclude with Nobel price Rabindranth Tagore's words about Taj Mahal: 

 "You know Shah Jahan, life and youth, wealth and glory, they all drift away in the current of time. You strove therefore, to perpetuate only the sorrow of your heart? Let the splendor of diamond, pearl and ruby vanish? Only let this one teardrop, this Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time, forever and ever."

My India trip photos - Delhi

These are the photos of the first city we've visited in my last trip to India, Delhi. 

We stayed at "Smyle Inn" hostel in Paharganj, the famous backpacker area. Paharganj is for sure a place not suitable for everyone, because is such a crazy neighbourhood, full of people, bazars and unfortunately very noisy and dirty! Anyway, I can recommend staying at Smyle Inn because it's an oasys in the chaos of Paharganj area. 

Since it was our first stop-over in India, we've needed time to familiarize with the astonishing and shocking environment that India is. So, we've visited only the main monuments of Delhi, like the Jama Masjid, the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk bazar in Old Delhi and then Connaught Place and the India Gate. 

We've spent the rest of our time in the city wandering and roaming in the chaotic main bazar of Paharganj, looking for the best bargaining of clothes and souvenirs and tasting indian delicacies and the all-present masala chay, indian spiced tea. 

The craziest thing in the city was moving around with auto-rickshaw, the only mode of transport that can go easily in the absurd and illogical traffic of Delhi streets! We also bought our first indian suits, shalwar kameez for me and kurta pajama for my boyfriend, trying to mix with indian customs and lifestyle. 

Delhi is one of the biggest metropolis in India, a shocking but fulfilling welcoming to India, only if one is able to adapt to it...

My India trip photos - Orchha

This is for sure the best part of our trip in India... Orchha is a nice village in northern Madhya Pradesh, near to Jhansi, where it's possible to enjoy a close and deep contact with nature and real rural indian life. We chose to stay at "Friends of Orchha", an ONG which focuses on establishing a cultural link between western tourists and local indian families, getting the two in contact by living together and sharing food and experiences. I will highly recommend this kind of accomodation, to get off the tourist track and instead try how to live like common indian villagers. 

At Orchha, we have visited the main historycal and architectural beauties of this little jewel along the Betwa river, including Jahangir Mahal, Raj Mahal and the astonishing temples of Chaturbuj, Ram Raja and Lakshminarayan Mandir, my favourite one, with gorgeous paintings depicting stories from the Mahabharata. 

We wished our time there would never have passed...