MALAYSIA, September 15, 2004: Datuk A. Vaithilingam, President of the Malaysia Hindu Sangam, spoke at a recent press conference to give more information on the Hindu Dharmic Son/Hindu Dharmic Daughter Award to be held on January 16, 2005. “This award, is in our opinion, a very timely one, and we hope that this will go further in encouraging our youths to see that they care for their beloved aged parents. Of late, there is a trend of many youths after marriage of moving apart and away from their parents, sometimes even to the extent of sending their parents to homes for aged people,” said Vaithilingam. “The Malaysia Hindu Sangam hopes that the Hindu Dharmic Award will highlight the fact that there are still many youths who have gone out of the way to look after their parents who had brought them up to a good life in this world through lots of sacrifices,” he added. The closing date for applications is November 15, 2004. “Although we have the intention of awarding one Hindu Dharmic Son and one Hindu Dharmic Daughter Award, we wish to assure that there is a possibility to make more awards if it is proven that there are other equally able applicants,” added Vaithilingam. The website for the awards, “source” is not yet finished.

KOLKATA, INDIA, September 23, 2004: Mauritius has scrapped the visa system for Indian tourists from next month to give a fillip to tourism. “We have taken this very important decision to abolish the visa system for all bona fide Indian nationals willing to visit Mauritius, and this law will be effective from October,” Mauritius Tourism and Leisure Minister Anil K. Gayan told reporters here on Wednesday. Gayan, who was here to inaugurate the Mauritian Food Festival, said his country held India “in high esteem.” “Abolishing visas for Indian tourists, will go a long way not only in further promoting tourism but also strengthening bilateral ties with New Delhi,” the Minister said, adding that tourism fetches most revenue for the island country.



Acknowledging Indian assistance to Mauritius in its development process, Gayan said: “We are grateful to India for what it has done to us.” The Minister said the Mauritius Government was keen to further promote relations with India, adding “our cordial ties with New Delhi will remain unchanged even with the change of government.” Meanwhile, Gayan met West Bengal Tourism Minister Dinesh Dakua in Writers’ Buildings on Thursday and informed him that his government wanted a direct flight from Kolkata as Bengal and Mauritius had historical links.

HOUSTON, TEXAS, September 20, 2004: To propagate Samskrit, Samskrita Bharati recently organized Mandakini, a Samskritam Sambhasan Shibharam, residential samskritam conversation camps in Boston, San Jose and Houston. There were various sessions with emphasis on spoken Samskritam. Through activities such as conversation, singing, enacting small skits, chanting and writing, the camp provides opportunities to connect to the roots of all Indian languages, says this press release. Professor Krishna Shastry, founder-Organizing Secretary of Samskrita Bharati in India, has been working for the last 23 years for the propagation of Samskrit language, particularly in the field Samskrit education, teachers training and teaching/learning material.



Jayakumar Srinivasan, organizer of the Houston camp said, “Participants saw that Samskritam is not just a language for communicating, but a revolutionary system that encompassed Vedic culture, a rich philosophy, and a world-view that enables all human beings to culturally and spiritually enrich their lives and reach their full potential.” The camp participants included people from several states. Some were practicing physicians; others were scientists and engineers. Many of them were computer professionals. They ranged in age from elementary school children to the mid-70’s. Most of them were new to Samskrit conversation. Samskrita Bharati has taught 4 million people to speak elementary Samskritam and has trained 40,000 teachers, says this release.