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SourceTHANJAVUR, INDIA, December 10, 2004: More than 100 musical instruments of the stringed, wind and percussion varieties have been mentioned in the Thevaram, Divya Prabandham, Tiruppugazh, Karaikkal Ammaiyar’s verses, the Kanda Puranam and other Tamil works. They are discussed in the recently released book, Alaya Vazhipattil Isaikkaruvikal by Raama Kausalya available from Minambikai Padippakam, Jatavallabhar Illam, 6/78, Tillaisthanam, Thanjavur-613203. Rs.…

SourceMIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT, January 2, 2005: The souls of those lost in last week’s tsunami still wander, they said, hungry and thirsty, between this world and the next. And so, on Saturday, the men and women of the Sri Satyanarayana Temple bent to their task: to nourish those souls and help them find their way. They began by building a fire.…

SourceCUDDALORE, TAMIL NADU, January 2, 2004: As a shining example of communal harmony, a mosque in Cuddalore district has given shelter to hundreds of Hindus and Christians affected by the killer tsunami tragedy that struck last week. The Muslims have been providing round the clock relief in terms of food, clothing and shelter to all the affected women and children…

SourceMADURAI, INDIA, January 1, 2004: There was a marked silence last night in the Temple city. The fun and pomp typical of the dawn of New Year was conspicuously missing at almost all places in the city. The unusual characteristic of welcoming 2005 this way spoke in silence about the impact of tsunami among the Maduraiites living far away from…

SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, January 2, 2004: The final act in the Kanchi seer case is all set to be played. The police after managing to round up all the main accused in the case are said to have reached the stage of filing the chargesheet. According to highly-placed sources, a 400-page chargesheet is almost ready with final touches being given in…

SourceGALLE, SRI LANKA, January 1, 2004: This short item was included in a longer report (“source”) filed from Sri Lanka: “In southern India, a 100-year old Hindu temple in Kerala state vanished into the sea and a temple in another part of the state collapsed, killing dozens of devotees who had come to perform prayers.”

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, January 1, 2005: Nearly all residents of an orphanage supported by Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, home of Hinduism Today and HPI in Hawaii, miraculously survived the December 26 Tsunami. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of the monastery, had deep ties with Sri Lanka. He was initiated there in 1949 and established a temple and an ashram in the north,…

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…