SourcePHUKET, THAILAND, January 24, 2005: Lek looks nervously at the Patong sea shore as he describes the passengers who climbed into his tuk tuk minivan late at night on January 6. “Go to Kata Beach,” the seven foreign tourists told him, after agreeing on a 200 baht fee. He drove a while, but then felt numb all over his body.…
SourceUSA, January 24, 2005: Thousands of donors have placed their faith in India Development & Relief Fund (IDRF) again as their “Charity of Choice,” according to this IDRF press release from their website, “source.” With their overwhelming support, IDRF’s donation receipts for tsunami relief and rehabilitation have exceeded $600,000. While the tide of direct giving by individual donors has receded,…
SourceCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, January 22, 2005: Many men of the Sikh faith wear a small sword under their clothing. Orthodox Jews often refuse to move illegally parked cars on Saturdays. Outsiders may photograph statues in Buddhist temples, but not in Hindu ones. These are some of the insights in a series of videos the Chicago Police Department uses to train its…
SourceTAMIL NADU, INDIA, January 2, 2005: Imagine belonging to a tradition that can trace its ancestry back 600 years. Mr. Mohanraj Stapathi, chief architect of the renowned Thanjavur Big Temple, can do just that. Mr. Mohanraj and his two sons, Karunanidhi and Kuberan, run a sculpting idol workshop in Swamimalai, Tamil Nadu, where they employ 20 men and 2 women…
SourceBANGALORE, INDIA, January 24, 2005: A three-day faith show by American evangelist Benny Hinn has left behind a trail of controversies. With the Karnataka government providing the logistics support for the Festival of Blessings that concluded here Sunday night, the high-tech show attracted nearly a million people from all over India and abroad. Though massive protests, a 12-hour shutdown and…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, January 28, 2005: Rock star Sting has declared himself something of a Hindu and an addict of India, in an e-mail interview, ahead of two concerts. Gordon Sumner, aka “Sting,” who performs for tsunami relief on February 4 at Bangalore and February 6 in New Delhi, said that he loves the country. “In a sense I am…
SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, January 25, 2005: Over 300 people have been killed in a stampede near Satara in Maharashtra. The stampede took place in the town of Wai during a religious procession. More than 500,000 pilgrims had begun a march up to the Mandhara Devi temple in the hills near the town of Wai in Satara district. The narrow entrance of…
SourcePUNE, INDIA, January 26, 2005: Volunteers and police today continued to search for bodies at Mandhradevi Hills in Maharashtra, where about 300 people were killed in a stampede yesterday. A highly placed police source in Satara told The Hindu over telephone that the total number of policemen on duty to manage more than 500,000 devotees was just over 200. The…
SourceGUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA, January 27, 2005: Swamini Mayatitananda Saraswati, or Mother Maya, formerly Maya Tiwari, calls for help for victims of extraordinary flooding in her home country of Guyana, which is 35% Hindu. Click “source” above to see how you can help. According to a press report, “The U.S. government is rushing relief supplies to Guyana, the U.S. ambassador said…
SourceNEWTOWN, FIJI, January 27, 2005: A Hindu temple located at Salato Circle in Newtown, Nasinu, was broken into for the fifth time in as many years early Thursday morning. The trustee of Shree Ram Krishna Mandir, Ramen Singh, said the break-in occurred at around midnight with thieves getting away with $2000 worth of musical instruments and other valuable items. He…