SourceKATHMANDU, NEPAL, December 16, 2004: A unique wedding procession of thousands of devotees all the way from India converged today in Nepal to mark the marriage anniversary of Lord Rama and Sita attended by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. Nepal’s King Gayendra joined devotees from Ayodhya, Ahemdabad and Bihar at Janakarpurdham to mark the auspicious day, organized by Nepal Tourism…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, December 15, 2004: The Union Cabinet today cleared a legislative proposal to introduce equality between men and women in their rights over joint family property. Amending the Hindu Succession Act 1956, the proposed Bill gives the daughter entry for the first time into the “coparcenary” of her family–which means she will be counted among those members who…
HPIKAUAI, HAWAII, December 16, 2004: The Hindu publication group announced the opening of their website, here. They have a collection of photos of India available for sale. A large photo site by Dinodia Picture Agency devoted to India is here out of Mumbai.
SourceWASHINGTON, D.C., December 16, 2004: A study by the Harvard Medical School on Indian ayurvedic medicines sold in the US says some have been found to contain dangerous levels of lead, mercury and arsenic. Fourteen of 70 different ayurvedic medicines bought from South Asian grocery stores in the Boston area had “potentially harmful levels of lead, mercury and/or arsenic,” says…
SourceNEW YORK, NEW YORK, December 15 2004: A British philosophy professor who has been a leading champion of atheism for more than a half-century has changed his mind. He now believes in God – more or less – based on scientific evidence, and he says so on a video released Thursday. At age 81, after decades of insisting that belief…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, December 14, 2004: A vina artist in the United States calls up Chennai on Vijayadasami Day. She wants to listen to the voice of her guru on the auspicious day and learns a complete song over an international telephone call. Anusha of New Jersey came to Chennai during her holidays two months ago and began to learn Carnatic…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, December 14, 2004: In its campaign for better understanding and cooperation with various ethnic minority communities Scotland Yard hosted a reception for Britain’s Hindu community members on Monday evening. The designate Commissioner of Police Sir Ian Blair, addressing the members at the New Scotland Yard office in Broadway, said, “I want to clear that there is no hierarchy…
SourceKUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, December 14, 2004: The Malaysia Hindu Sangam issued the following announcement today: At a special emergency meeting of Hindu Organization leaders on the above subject held on December 11, 2004, at Malaysian Hindu Sangam Headquarters, it was decided that a special meeting be held to formulate a strategic plan to reduce or stop the rate of conversions…
SourceKAILASH, TIBET, December 14, 2004: (HPI note: We have no independent confirmation of this unusual report from the New Jersey based India Daily.) People in deep Himalayas in Chinese territory have recently reported strange microwave and radio signals. The signals are most prominent around a region called Kailash regarded by Hindus for thousands of years as the home of God…
SourceSINGAPORE, December 15, 2004: (HPI note: This report appeared in the International Herald Tribune.) She was known as the “nightingale of India,” but that scarcely captured what Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi – who died on Saturday at the age of 88 – was all about. Known widely as just “M.S.,” she was the greatest singer of Carnatic music, the South Indian…