Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Some gems about Kashmir.

 1. Origin of the word "Kashmir".

     The word Kashmir was derived from the ancient Sanskrit language and was referred to as
     Kasmira. The Nilamata Purana describes the valley's origin from the waters - a lake called Sati-
     saras. A popular, but uncertain, local etymology of Kashmira is that it is land desiccated from
     water.

2. Origin of the word "Pampore".

    According to historical evidence, the ancient name of Pampore was 'Padampur' which means
    Lotus City in Sanskrit.

3. Origin of the word "Anantnag".

    The name Anantnag is originated from the Sanskrit term 'ananta', meaning 'infinite' and Kashmiri
    word, 'naga', meaning 'water spring'. Anantnag would thus mean Numerous Springs, as there are
    indeed many springs in the town.

4. Origin of the word "Budgam".

    Budgam is an admixture of two Sanskrit words, 'Bud'(Meaning 'big') and 'Gam'(Meaning 'village')
    and the legend goes that once upon a time Budgam was a very prosperous and densely populated
    township and hence, the name.

5. Origin of the word "Kulgam".

    Kulgam is known for a religious saint (Syed Simnan Sahib), who gave it the name 'Kulgam'. 'Kul'
    means clan and 'gram' means village - both being Sanskrit words.

6. Origin of the word "Awantipora".

    Named after King Avanti Varman who had built a number of ancient Hindu temples, including
    the Avantiswami Temple.

7. Origin of the word "Sonamarg".

    The name derives from two Sanskrit words - 'sona' meaning gold and 'marg' meaning meadow. So
    the name could be translated as the golden meadow or meadow of gold. The beautiful yellow
    flowers which bloom in the spring and wraps the valley floor gave the place its name.

8. Origin of the word "Baramulla".

    The name is derived from the Sanskrit 'Varahamul', a combination of 'varaha'(Boar) and 'mul'(root
    or deep) meaning 'boar's molar'. The modern Baramulla was called Varahamulaksetra or Varaha-
    ksetra in the past. Originally, it was a suburb of Huviskapura(Modern Ushkur).

9. Origin of the word "Pulwama".

    It's often called the 'Anand of Kashmir', meaning the delight of Kashmir in Sanskrit but also the
    'Dudha-Kul of Kashmir'(Milk).

10.Origin of the word "Shopian".

     Derived its name from a distortion of the word 'shah-payan' meaning 'royal stay'. However, the
     local etymology states Shopian was earlier named as "Shin-Van", 'shin' means snow in Kashmiri
     and 'van' means forest in Sanskrit.

11. Origin of the word "Gulmarg".

      Its ancient name was 'Gauri Marg' meaning the path of Devi Gauri, another name Lord Shiva's
      wife. Yousaf Shah Chak, who was responsible for forcefully converting many Kashmiri Pandits
      to Islam, changed its name to Gulmarg.

12. Origin of the word "Pahalgam".

      Pahalgam gets its name from the ancient history of Bronze Age Civilisation. Pahalgam is made
      up of two Sanskrit words, 'Pahal' means first and 'Gam' means village or locality.

13. Origin of the word "Sopore".

      Founded by Utpala engineer and irrigation minister Suyya during the reign of King
      Avantivarman in 880 AD. As such the name of the city is "Suyya-pur", which has been
      shortened to Sopore.

14. Origin of the word "Kishtwar".

      Existence of the city goes back to the Mahabharatha time when it was called "Lohit Mandal"
      meaning the land of Saffron. According to historians, it was previously called "Kashyapwas"
      meaning the place of Kashyap Rishi.

15. Origin of the word "Banihal".

      Means 'blizzard' in Kashmiri language. Another view regarding the origin of the name is that
      'Banihal' is derived from two Kashmiri words, 'bah' meaning twelve and 'nallhe' meaning a
      rivulet. In some ancient texts it has been referred to as 'Devgol', meaning the abode of mystical
      giants.

16. Origin of the word "Kokernag".

      The word is a combination of two Sanskrit words, 'koker' means fowl and 'nag' means serpent.

*                       *                        *

How long does it take to decompose?

     * Paper towel             2-4 weeks.
     * Banana peel            3-4 weeks.
     * Paper bag                1 month.
     * Newspaper              1.5 months.
     * Apple core              2 months.
     * Cardboard               2 months.
     * Cotton glove           3 months.
     * Orange peels           6 months.
     * Plywood                  1-3 years.
     * Wool sock               1-5 years.
     * Milk cartons            5 years.
     * Cigarette butts         10-12 years.
     * Leather shoes          25-40 years.
     * Tinned Steel cans    50 years.
     * Foam plastic cups    50 years.
     * Rubber.Boot sole     50-80 years.
     * Plastic containers     50-80 years.
     * Aluminium cans       200-500 years.
     * Plastic bottles           450 years.
     * Disposable diapers   550 years.
     * Monafilament
        fishing line               600 years.
     * Plastic bags              200-1,000 years.

Please support a green environment!   


Tailpiece.         

The day had its fair share of rain. Pushpaakaran had come to do the spring cleaning of 'The Quarterdeck', which he began at 9 AM and finished by 4 PM. Consequently, I'd to postpone the collection of our Chevy to tomorrow!

   

  

    

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