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SABARIMALA, INDIA, May 14, 2012 (The Hindu): The Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala opened on Monday afternoon for the five-day monthly rituals in the Malayalam month of Edavom that begins on Tuesday. The head priest, N.Balamurali, opened the sanctum sanctorum amidst loud chants by the scores of Ayyappa devotees who were camping at the holy hillock, awaiting the opening of the shrine.

The temple rituals will begin with the Ashtadravya Ganapati homom on Tuesday, the first day in the Malayalam month of Edavom. The temple chief priest (Tantri), Kandararu Maheswararu, performed the Sahasrakalasapuja at the Namaskara-mandapam of the Ayyappa Temple on Monday afternoon.

Sabarimala Devaswom Executive Officer, M.Sathishkumar, told Hindu that the Sahasrakalasabhishekom and Kalabhabhishekom would be performed at the Ayyappa shrine prior to the Utchapuja on all the days. An auspicious Laksharchana will also be performed at the Sannidhanam on May 16 and 19. Padipuja, Laksharchana, and Udayasthamanapuja will be held at the Ayyappa shrine on all the five days.

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INDIA, May 15, 2012 (The Hindu): A statue was installed in honor of Chitra Tirunal, in Chennai, for enabling temple access to all Hindus. Chitra Tirunal Bala Rama Varma was the last ruler of Travancore. He became ruler at the age of 12, his aunt Setu Lakshmi Bayi serving as the regent. In 1930, he became 'maharajah' in his own right and ruled till 1947.

A saintly man, whose devotion to the deity of Ananthapadmanabhaswami was legendary, his reign was marked by several enlightened acts.

One of the most acclaimed steps taken by the maharajah was the Temple Entry Proclamation of 1936, which opened temples in Travancore to all Hindus, irrespective of caste. In its time it was a path-breaking measure and praised by many, including Mahatma Gandhi. In a way, it marked the culmination of the Vaikkom Satyagraha launched with similar aims in the 1920s by Periyar E.V. Ramaswami Naicker. Chitra Tirunal was feted and honored, and in Madras, public appreciation manifested into a statue.

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INDIA, May 8, 2012: The Minister for Culture and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja has said that only the post independence records of permanent nature recently received from various Ministries/Departments etc. need immediate attention for their preservation. National Archives of India (NAI) has employed 45 preservation professionals for preservation of such records.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today she said, approximately 1.5 million pages of documents/manuscripts have been digitized.

She said, NAI has modernized its conservation research laboratory with the latest equipments for carrying out the preventive and curative conservations of records. Training in the fields of conservation of archival heritage for both professional and sub-professional level are conducted by School of Archival Studies and staff of NAI are also deputed to national and international organizations to update their knowledge under various exchange programs and agreements.

Religion News Service

UNITED STATES, May, 2012 (RNS): President Obama's recent endorsement of same-sex marriage opened a torrent of speculation on what his newly enunciated position will mean politically, but the latest polls indicate the public largely backs his views and that his stance may not hurt him at the ballot box.

A Gallup poll in early May showed that by a 54-42 percent margin, American adults consider gay and lesbian relations "morally acceptable." The level of approval has grown steadily since 2002, when it stood at 38 percent, so much so that Gallup considers the current situation "the new normal" in U.S. public opinion.

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The greatest explorer on this Earth never takes voyages as long as those of the man who descends to the depth of his heart.
-- Julien Green, (1900-1998), French-American writer