CHENNAI, INDIA, May 12, 2021 (Atlas Obscura): Vaidyanatha Selvanathan Sthapati, 57, says he grew up in the pattarai (workshop) of his uncle, who taught him to be curious and observant, as nature was the inspiration for art and the work their family did. Before his death in 2011, Selvanathan’s uncle, Vaidyanatha Ganapathi Sthapati, was a prominent temple architect. Today, it…
HYDERABAD, INDIA, May 28, 2021 (India Today): On May 23, Tamil Nadu’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran asked the 44,227 temples under his control to come clean on their finances. A circular was sent out mandating that audited accounts will have to be updated on the HR&CE website from this year. “Several provisions of the HR&CE…
TORONTO, CANADA, May 30, 2021 (BlogTO): Residents of the Great Toronto Area looking to scatter the funeral ashes of their loved ones will soon have a designated site to do so along a beautiful river near Toronto. More than 65 percent of Ontarians and Canadians in general are thought to opt for cremation after they shuffle off this mortal coil,…
KATHMANDU, NEPAL, March 16, 2020 (NY Times): Yoga will soon be more than an extracurricular activity in Nepal. Next month, when the new academic term begins, this small Himalayan country will become the first in the world to make it a required subject nationwide. Hundreds of thousands of elementary and junior high students will enroll in a new, weekly yoga…
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, April 2, 2021 (New India Express): While the BJP, in its election manifesto, has promised an Uttar Pradesh model law against forceful religious conversion and love jihad in Kerala to woo Hindu and Christian voters, the data sourced by TNIE from the government gazettes paint an altogether different picture. According to official figures for the year 2020, the…
ALABAMA. U.S., May 24, 2021 (NY Post): Alabama has lifted an almost 28-year ban on yoga being taught in public schools — but it’s still outlawing chanting, mantras like “Om” and the traditional greeting “Namaste.” The state banned yoga in December 1993 because lawmakers deemed it a “Hindu philosophy and method of religious training.” But Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation…
RANCHI, INDIA, May 24, 2021 (New Indian Express): In a first of its kind decision taken by any corporate house, Jamshedpur-based steel Tata Steel has rolled out a social security scheme for its employees, under which, nearest kin of an employee who dies of Covid, will get the last drawn salary till 60 years of age of the deceased along…
KAUAI, HAWAII, USA, May 23, 2021: Hindu Press International has gotten a much needed upgrade, both to its web page and its backend. We’re now running from Word Press instead of some custom made and now rather aged home-grown software. We were off line for longer than expected during this changeover, but with the Covid crisis raging in India, there…
PUDUCHERRY, INDIA, May 19, 2021 (New Indian Express): The Integrated Temple Management System (ITMS) website for 243 temples in Puducherry was launched by Lieutenant Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan at Raj Nivas on Wednesday. The ITMS of the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions & Waqf, Puducherry, carries details of 243 religious institutions including temples and mutts that come under the purview…
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, May 14, 2021 (BK Reader): New York State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar recently introduced a new bill (Bill #A7062) to establish Diwali as a school holiday. The bill comes after decades of advocating for recognition of New York’s enormous East Asian population and Diwali as an important holiday for its residents. Diwali is a Festival of Lights…