Life of Butterfly

The life of a butterfly starts when male and female adult butterflies meet and mate while flying around each other in a meadow for a short span of time. The male adult butterfly then flies away from the female butterfly and the female butterfly finds place to lay her eggs. The female butterfly curves her long body in the direction of a leaf and lays her very tiny eggs on the surface of the leaf during the time of monsoon.
The eggs are made of sticky substance so that they wont fall from the leaf. The young stage known as larva is then developed inside the egg and one caterpillar will hatch out from one egg. The caterpillar grow very quickly, the more it eats the bigger it become in size. Eventually the caterpillar will shed from its first skin and grow a bigger skin. There is no time for caterpillar to sleep because it has to store as much energy as needed to change into butterfly. It is now time for the caterpillar to make chrysalis for butterfly and cocoon for moths. The caterpillar mus find a hard sturdy branch where it can spin silk threads around the branches. It will shed its skin for the last time and a shell will form underneath. This shell will hardens into a protective cover which is called Chrysalis.
The caterpillar turns into a soft,squidy jelly like blob. The caterpillar then change into a beautiful butterfly after few weeks. When the chrysalis turns clear it is the appropriate time for butterfly to take its first flight. Once the butterfly breaks out its wings are wet and crumpled. The butterfly then pumps blood into its wings which will help to dry out and to expand.
This stage doesnot take long time.Once its wings are dry the butterfly is ready to fly away for the search of flowers. Not all butterflies hatch out of thier chrysalis, some spend winter month inside and hatch out in spring time. Most of the butteflies have short span of life about a month so it must find a mate quickly to start new life cycle all over again.
There are several butteflies that have longer lives (upto nine months). For these butterflies, when winter arrives, they will hibernate by findings a safe shelter. Butteflies use the sun to elevate their body temperature.

Yab-Yum

Yab-yum (Tibetan meaning "father-mother") is a common symbol in the Buddhist art of India, Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet representing the male deity in sexual union with his female consort. Often the male deity is sitting in lotus position while his consort is sitting in his lap.

The symbolism is associated with Anuttarayoga tantra and, while there are various interpretations of the symbolism in the twilight language, the male figure is usually linked to compassion (karuṇā) and skillful means (upāya-kauśalya), while the female partner to 'insight' (prajñā).

The symbolism of union and sexual polarity is a central teaching Tantric Buddhism, especially in Tibet. The union is realised by the practitioner as a mystical experience within one's own body.

Yab-yum is generally understood to represent the primordial (or mystical) union of wisdom and compassion. In Buddhism the masculine form is active, representing the compassion and skillful means (upaya) that have to be developed in order to reach enlightenment. The feminine form is passive and represents wisdom (prajna), which is also necessary to enlightenment. United, the figures symbolize the union necessary to overcome the veils of Maya, the false duality of object and subject.

Yab-yum may also be represented through the aniconic signification of yantra and mandala. In Tibetan Buddhism, the same ideas are to be found concerning the bell and the dorje, which, like the yab-yum, symbolize the dualism that must be exceeded. The sacred Tantric practice leads to rapid development of mind by using the experience of bliss, non-duality, andecstasy while in communion with one's consort.

In Hinduism the yab-yum has a slightly different meaning. There, the embraced posture represents the divine strength of creation. The Hindu concept is the one of a passive masculine deity embracing his spouse called shakti, which represents his activity or power. These figures are frequently worked in the shape of statues or reliefs, or are painted on thangkas.

Photographs by Sreerup Chakroborty

Reference: Samir Pathak and Sharmishtha Pathak

Chittaranjan Park fish market

Chittaranjan Park is a neighbourhood in South New Delhi, set up in the late 1960s to house Bengali migrants from what was then East Pakistan and soon after became Bangladesh. The evening time is best to take a "walk" through the market.

It comes alive with Bengalis eating their fill of the Calcutta style street food of mutton, fish chops, kathi rolls, and Calcutta Chinese street food. Yum! It's also the best place to go a hunting for freshwater fish, an integral part of Bengali cuisine.

If you can stomach the stink of fresh and dried seafood and fresh water fish this place is unbelievable.It is popularly known that wherever there are fishes there are bengalis. Chittaranjan Park is the main place to buy fishes from rohu to hilsa.