News in Shorts

Posted 15 Mar 2024

5 min read

PARUVETA UTSAVAM

Efforts are being made to get UNESCO to declare the ongoing annual ‘Paruveta utsavam’ (mock hunting festival), as an ‘intangible cultural heritage’.
Festival starts annually on Makarasankranthi at Sri Narasimha Swamy temple, Ahobilam in Andhra Pradesh and lasts for about 40 to 45 days.
Ahobilam is situated amidst Nallamala Forest in Eastern Ghats, and is the centre of worship of Narasimha, the lion-headed avatar of Lord Vishnu.
It is one of 108 Divya Desams (Temples of Shri Vishnu).

Casualties reported during Hori Habba raise concerns about animal and human safety.
Hori Habba also known as Hatti Habba, is a bull-taming rural sport held in Karnataka.

Other Animal Sports in India
- Jallikattu: Bull-taming sport held during Pongal in Tamilnadu.
- Kambala: A traditional buffalo race from coastal Karnataka.
- Rooster fight (Cockfight): It is associated with gambling in many states including Andhra Pradesh.
- Bulbul fights: Held in Assam during Magh Bihu.
- Bullock Cart Race: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu etc.

Two persons from Kutia Kondh Tribe attended Republic Day parade in New Delhi as special guests.

About Kutia Kondh (Kutia Kandha)
- They are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) from Odisha.
  - Currently, 75 tribes are given status of PVTGs in India, of which Odisha houses the most number of them (13).
- Society and culture:
  - Families are mostly nuclear and patriarchal in character.
  - Kondhs worship nature.
  - Known for their buffalo sacrifice ritual, called "Kedu" to worship their “Earth Goddess".
- Agriculture:
  - Shifting cultivation, or slash-and-burn agriculture.
  - Kondhs call it dongar chaas or podu chaas.

Stones bearing 11^th century Grantham inscriptions and 16^th century Tamil inscriptions were discovered near Kangayam in Tamil Nadu.
- Grantha is the script used in Tamil Nadu for writing the Prakrit and Sanskrit language.
Grantha script traces its roots to Pallava period with Mahendravarman’s Tiruchirappalli rock cut cave and other cave temple inscriptions.
Other Grantha inscriptions include Narsimhan’s Mamallapuram, Kanchi Kailasnatha temple inscriptions, Pandyan Nedunjadaiyan's Anaimalai inscription and inscriptions of Cholas of Thanjavur.

The 58th Jnanpith Award for the year 2023 has been awarded to Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya ji for Sanskrit and Shri Gulzar for Urdu.

Jnanpith Award
- Instituted in 1961, the Award has been given by Bharatiya Jnanpith annually since 1965 for outstanding contributions to Indian literature.
  - Bharatiya Jnanpith, formally established in 1944, is one of the premier literary organizations and publication houses in India.
- Recognized as the highest literary award.
- Conferred for literature in Indian languages and English.
- Presented by Presidents, Prime Ministers and international celebrities.