SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, December 31, 2004: As the first chilling images of the death and devastation caused by the tsunami flashed on Indian television Sunday, Tara Kaushal, 21, a freelance writer and accessories designer, started receiving text messages from friends on her cell phone. She in turn messaged others about the disaster, expressing a need “to get together and do something.”…
HPICALGARY, CANADA, December 23, 2004: Sankar Iyer, Overseas Editor for Science India, is currently looking for scholarly written, unpublished articles on the following subjects: 1. The Hindu worship of the elephant God Ganesa; 2. Elephant and religions (Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and tribal); 3. Ganesa temples around the globe; 3. Elephant festivals in India and in other countries; 4.…
HPIKAUAI, HAWAII, December 30, 2004: HPI received a report from S. V. Chandraamogan of Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu stating that the Rameshwaram temple and the Tiruchendur Lord Murugan temple were both undamaged in the tsunami, being in the shadow of Sri Lanka from the waves. In both areas, he said, the sea water drew back a kilometer from the shoreline, but…
Press ReleaseNEASDEN, ENGLAND, December 30, 2004: Following the tragic events of December 26, 2004, special prayers have been arranged at Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden for 5.30 pm. The High Commissioner for Bangladesh, The High Commissioner for India, the Charge d’Affaires of Indonesia, The High Commissioner for Sri Lanka and the First Minister from The Royal Thai Embassy will be attending…
Religion News ServiceLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, December 28, 2004: The online market for Hindu religious services is coming of age, with a plethora of Web sites now catering to the needs of the pious, offering them remote access to temples that have special significance on the Indian religious map. The Web sites offer devotees the chance to have a priest perform…
Source KANCHEEPURAM, INDIA, December 30, 2004: The special investigation team probing the Sankararaman murder case today arrested Raghu, brother of the Junior Acharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Sri Vijayendra Saraswati, on conspiracy charges. The Superintendent of Police, Kancheepuram, K. Premkumar, confirmed the arrest. Mr. Raghu, who was asked to appear before the team this evening, was later told by…
SourceKAUAI, HAWAII, December 30, 2004: We are looking for someone skilled in typing Sanskrit on a Macintosh platform who could help us with projects from time to time. They would need to use our Devanagari font. Projects tend to be relatively short. If you are interested, please contact “source.”
SourceWASHINGTON, D.C., December 25, 2004: (HPI note: This article appeared in the Washington Post. ) The humble handshake — cornerstone of civilized behavior, ancient gesture of greeting among friends and strangers alike — is in trouble. Politicians are avoiding it. Church officials are worrying about it. Business people are wary of it. Shaking hands is slowly being transformed from a…
HPIKAUAI, HAWAII, December 29, 2004: With the help of input from HPI readers, we’ve assembled the following list of organizations in several countries who are involved in the tsunami relief efforts. They include both organizations collecting money for the relief effort and those actually on the ground in India and Sri Lanka doing the work. This is not a complete…
SourceAMRITAPURI, KERALA, INDIA, December 26, 2004: This summary report was issued by the ashram of Mataji Amritananda, “Amma.” There is much more information at their website, “source.” Due to the earthquake in Jakartha, Indonesia tremours occurred in many places in India, and a tsunami was sent towards the Indian coast. Amritapuri has been affected, but no one there was hurt.…