DHARMAMSALA, INDIA, September 15, 2004: The “chhari yatra” (holy mace) of the Manimahesh pilgrimage, popularly known as Manimahesh yatra, in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh will commence from the Yogi Charpat Nath temple in the Lakshami Narayan Temple complex in Chamba town today. The yatra will be led by the pujari of the Charpat Nath shrine and the holy dip on September 22 will mark the conclusion of the yatra. The holy Mount Kailash is located at an altitude of 18,564 feet and at its bottom lies the Manimahesh Dal Lake. (HPI note: This is not the same Mount Kailash located in Tibet, and is usually referred to as the Manimahes Kailash.) This holy place falls in the Bharmour tribal valley of Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. The yatra has already been declared a state level fair by the state government. The spot gains importance on two occasions, one on Janamasthami and the other on Radhashtami. The former is graced only by sadhus while the latter is undertaken by pilgrims of all faith.



Surprisingly, Mt. Kailash has so far remained unconquered by even ace mountaineers. However, in 1968 an Indo Japanese team of mountaineers headed by Nandhni Patel tried to scale the peak but did not succeed. It is believed that this mountain possesses divine powers and as per religious belief, will remain unscaled.



The picturesque Bharmour valley located at an altitude of 8,000 feet has further been glorified by its famous cluster of 84 temples popularly known as Chauarasi of Bharmour. These temples were built as a sequel to the visit of 84 sadhus from Kurukshetta to Bharmour where they were warmly welcomed by the then King. The sadhus were pleased with the king and blessed him with an heir. The blessings worked and the king built these temples in their honor. The shrines are dedicated to different deities. However, the Manimahesh temple is truly eye-catching. The oval-shaped Manimahesh Dal Lake is located at an altitude of 13,500 ft. It may be recalled that the image of Lord Siva established on one side of the Manimahesh Dal lake was brought by Yogi Charpat Nath from Rajasthan in the 6th century. That is the reason the pujari of the Yogi Charpat Nath temple usually leads the pilgrims marching at the start of the fortnight long yatra.



On the eve of the holy dip, the Manimahesh Chowgan seething with a large number of devotees presents a colorful spectacle. For a devout Hindu the yatra is indeed a different experience. Chamba is 120 km east of Pathankot and from Chamba pilgrims have to drive to Bharmour-Hadsar for which transport is frequent from Chamba itself. While an eleven kilometers treacherous and gruelling trek from Hadsar up to Manimahesh Dala Lake makes one realize the sanctity and religiousness of the yatra. The district administration of Chamba has made elaborate arrangements for the convenient and safe journey of the pilgrims. Medical help centers, information centers, police assistance rooms and tents by the state tourism department have been set up at various places en route to the pilgrimage center. As many as ten thousand pilgrims from various parts of the country have so far taken holy bath at the Manimahesh Dal lake ever since the start of the yatra on the occasion of Janamasthami.

CHENNAI, INDIA, September 17, 2004: The Madras High Court today ruled out a ban on Vinayaka Chaturthi processions and dismissed apprehensions of law and order problems as “doubts based on surmises.” Passing orders on a public interest litigation petition seeking to bar the manufacture of large-sized idols using plaster-of-paris coated with chemical-based paints, a Division Bench comprising Justice N. Dhinakar and Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla said, “on going through decisions taken by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, we are fully satisfied that adequate safety measures have been taken to prevent any damage to ecological systems in the State.”



Declining to give any directions to the police on the maintenance of law and order during the processions, the Bench said, “law enforcing agencies, who will accompany the processionists, will take control of the situation and enforce law and order.” The judges, taking into consideration the measures taken by the TNPCB and the police authorities, said, “we feel that there cannot be any ban on processions, and there is no ban on idols made of pure clay. There is no ban on taking processions, for which the authorities will give adequate protection to ensure that no unlawful incident happens.” They allowed immersion of icons at designated places, 500 meters from the seashore as suggested by the TNPCB. The State Government should announce the designated places well in advance for the organizers to plan their rallies better.



The Bench also recorded the submissions of the TNPCB counsel, Rita Chandrasekar, that an expert committee meeting convened by the Board had decided that icons must be made of only traditional clay and a public appeal had already been issued through the media. People have been asked to desist from using chemical-based dyes. Men and machines from the Coast Guard and the Home Guards have been asked to help immerse icons in the sea. At each designated site, a monitoring committee of volunteers from the police, non-governmental organizations and religious fora will supervise the operation.

NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 17, 2004: The Centre on Friday decided to declare Tamil a “classical language,” the first to be recognized so in the country. The Union Cabinet, which met on Friday morning, decided to create a new category of “classical languages” and put Tamil in this category. After the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister, S Jaipal Reddy, said the government would consider putting Sanskrit and other languages in this category, depending on their “heritage and legacy.” An Expert Committee of Sahitya Akademi, which had been set up to look into it, has suggested strict criteria for declaration of languages as classical languages, he said. The declaration would be made through Government notification and there was no need for any change in law, Reddy explained.

CHINO HILLS, CALIFORNIA, September 16, 2004: A Hindu sect must modify plans for a temple and community center or seek another location after the project failed to win approval from the City Council. The Chino Hills council, in a 4-1 vote, rejected a zoning change that would have allowed the sect to build a temple with five spires, one reaching up to 73 feet, for hundreds of Southern California worshippers (see website here). The council vote, following a six-hour public hearing that drew hundreds of people and ended early Wednesday, was a victory for residents who said the temple complex was too large and would generate excessive traffic. Planners said the temple was expected to attract 800 to 900 worshippers on Sundays. Officials with the sect, known as BAPS, plan to meet with city staff to discuss possible modifications to their project, said Govind Vaghashia, a spokesman for the group. Chino Hills Mayor Gary Larson, the only one on the council to support the project, blamed a not-in-my-backyard sentiment among neighbors. “I think too many emotions got involved,” he said.

OREGON, USA, Friday, September 10, 2004: Jayanthi Ramana’s operatic Indian classical ballet was highly appreciated among Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s 10-day unorthodox international performance fare, the Time-Based Art Festivals. “Gajamukha,” Raman’s ballet devoted to elephant-headed Hindu deity Lord Ganesha, steeped in antiquity and ecstatic dance form Raman presented stretch back 2,000 years, all night temple rites with movements set to lyrics culled from the ancient texts of the Upanishads. Raman is tracing an arc of that lineage by presenting three strands of the classic dance traditions of Southern India. Bharata Natyam, whose curling sculptural poses seem carved from ancient temple friezes, originally was danced by the Devadasis as a moving worship of the pantheon of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.