SourceEDISON, NEW JERSEY, October 8, 2004: A Hindu festival that has drawn tens of thousands of Indian-Americans to Edison annually for the last 15 years has been canceled by its organizers who said yesterday they don’t have enough money to cover the cost. Held in a massive tent in a parking lot at Raritan Center, the nine-night event had become…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 7, 2004: A Muslim shrine, a Hindu temple and an ancient palace are being decked with millions of flowers as a special three-day festival of Hindu-Muslim unity begins in the Indian capital Thursday. Phool Walon Ki Sair (meaning “walk of the florists” in Hindi) is a festival that has continued from the time of India’s medieval…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 10, 2004: Indian-style English will soon become the most commonly spoken form of the language globally, a leading British language expert has predicted. “Already, a third of Indians are speaking the language, a percentage expected to rise in coming years. With the Internet spreading English like no other tool ever, and Indians at the forefront of…
SourceKASHMIR, INDIA, October 8, 2004: After forcing out minorities from the Valley of Kashmir, the fundamentalists have changed the names of many places including those of the towns, villages and even of the roads.These towns also include Anantnag which has been renamed as Islamabad; in Baramulla, the Ranghat Mohalla has been given the name of Sayeed Karim Sahib; while Post…
SourceCRAWLEY, UNITED KINGDOM, September 6, 2004: This August, the Hindu community in Crawley celebrated Shila Nyas (foundation stone laying ceremony) at the recently purchased 2.9 acre site at Appletree Farm in Ifield, Crawley. The site will accommodate the first Sanatan Mandir and Community Centre (SMCC) in the South East of England. Over 500 people including local dignitaries and members of…
SourceLEICESTER, ENGLAND, October 11, 2004: There are no temples or funeral pyres on its banks, but the River Soar in Leicestershire has been approved as an alternative holy site to India’s Ganges for Hindu funerals. After requests from the Asian community of 250,000, the Environment Agency has approved ceremonies in which the ashes of dead Hindus and Sikhs are scattered…
SourceRICHMOND, VIRGINIA, October 7, 2004: The Festival of India has moved from John B. Cary Elementary School to the Arthur Ashe Center to the old Richmond Centre to the Richmond Coliseum and now to the Greater Richmond Convention Center. That’s the difference between attracting about 1,500 people throughout a weekend as the festival did in its early years, starting in…
SourceJAFFNA, SRI LANKA, October 10, 2004: First day of the Tamil Literary Festival-2004 organized by the Cultural section of the Northeast Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs started at 8.30am at the Jaffna Hindu Ladies College Hall, Saturday, civil sources in Jaffna said. Provincial Director Mr. R. Visakalingam presided. Students of Jaffna Hindu Ladies College sang a welcome…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 8, 2004: A study by the Centre for Social Research (CSR) — “Indian Marriages: Economic Independence and Changing Power Relations” — has tracked the changes in matrimonial advertisements over the past 50 years. It shows how much the profiles of the Indian bride and bridegroom have changed from the 1950s onwards: Earlier, barbers, dhobis (washermen) and…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, October 8, 2004: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to withdraw the decision of the previous NDA government to take over the ancient hill shrine of Lord Arunachaleswarar at Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, according to MDMK Deputy General Secretary and MP Gingee N Ramachandran. In a statement, he said Union Culture Minister Jaipal Reddy had yesterday conveyed to…