Kerala’s Onam Festival An Economic Boon

SourceKOCHI, INDIA, August 28, 2004: Kochi Markets are witnessing a boom in Kerala with Onam celebrations picking up across the state. With people on a shopping spree ahead of the harvest festival, the whole of Kerala has turned into a customer-friendly market worth US$681 million. The salaried section is richer by $454 million by way of two months’ salary, bonus,…

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His Holiness Mahamandaleshwar Paramhans Swami Maheshwaranandaji on Raksha Bandhan

International Sri Deep Madhavananda Ashram Fellowship, Vienna, AustriaAUSTRIA, August 28, 2004: His Holiness, Mahamandaleshwar Paramhas Swami Maheswarananda issued the following message on the occassion of Raksha Bandhan: Blessed Selves. On the 30th of August we are celebrating the holy festival of Raksha Bandhan, the day of brothers and sisters. On this day sisters tie sacred threads around their brothers’ wrists…

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Federal Judge Considers New York Temple Appeal

SourceNEW YORK, NEW YORK, August 27, 2004: After three years of lawsuits between two groups of Hindu devotees, a federal judge will decide whether or not the state is entitled to tell a religious organization in Queens how to organize and manage itself. The trustees of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, of Flushing, filed a lawsuit to protest…

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Ayurveda Deserves To Be Given The Status Of Mainstream Medicine

News ReportsMUMBAI, INDIA, August 24, 2004: “So far as India is concerned Ayurveda has always been the mainstream medicine. The reach of modern medicine in India even today is 30 percent. And 70 percent people are being treated through Ayurvedic medicines or household remedies. However it is unfortunate that out of the total governmental expenditure 97 percent is being spent…

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Environmentally Friendly, Leather-Less Autos Find Favor

SourceLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, August 27, 2004: Is your car vegan? Actor Michael Bell’s is. The 66-year-old Los Angeles resident doesn’t eat or wear animal products, and his hybrid car doesn’t have a stitch of leather in it. If it had, Bell said, he wouldn’t have bought the car, a 2001 Toyota Prius, despite its impeccable green credentials. In raw numbers,…

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Immigration Restrictions Push UK Toward Curry Crisis

SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, August 21, 2004: Is there a curry crisis in Britain or in Europe. If you ask the average European, he might just say — Curry Crisis? What crisis? But in Britain, something of a crisis has emerged in one of the country’s best-loved institutions – Indian restaurants. South Asian food is now Brit’s favorite cuisine, and demand for…

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Ganesha Icons To Be Smaller This Festival Season

SourceHYDERABAD, INDIA, August 24, 2004: Do not be surprised if you see smaller icons in the Ganesha mandaps this year. Icon-makers in Dhoolpet and other areas of the city are making icons that are less than 10 feet tall. The sculptors say that they are being forced to do this because of the increase in the prices of basic raw…

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Arun Gandhi Meets Arafat

SourceRAMALLAH, WEST BANK, August 26, 2004: A grandson of Mohandas Gandhi took the legendary Indian leader’s doctrine of nonviolent resistance to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Thursday, pitching the pacifist creed to Yasser Arafat in his sandbagged, bullet-scarred West Bank headquarters. Ringed by armed bodyguards, Arafat looked on in silence as Arun Gandhi talked to reporters after the…

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Amarnath Pilgrimage Begins to Conclude With Worship of Holy Mace

SourceSRINAGAR, INDIA, August 21, 2004: In the run up to the final phase of the Amarnath Yatra, the Holy Mace (Chhari Mubarak), symbol of the Lord Siva, was offered worship by Mahant Deepinder Giri at a ceremony at the Dashanmi Akhara temple here this evening on the occasion of Nag Panchmi. Head priest of the Akhara Mahant Deepinder Giri offered…

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