SourcePUNE, INDIA, August 20, 2004: The Indian herpetological (the branch of zoology dealing with reptiles and amphibians) society has appealed to the public not to worship live snakes and instead use wooden or glass replicas on the occasion of Nag Panchami on Friday. The society has distributed over 300 fiberglass snake icons to Ganesh mandals in the city and has…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, August 9, 2004: An international group, led by N. Kannan of Korea Ocean Research Development Institute, is attempting to create a Web database of Tamil literary works which languish in ancient palm leafs and old books. In Chennai recently, Dr. Kannan spoke about his pet project which was conceived and implemented from his base in Boeblingen, Germany. The…
SourceUSA, August 21, 2004: HPI reader Vasudha Narayanan points out that President Bush made the same mistake of saying “Hindi” instead of “Hindu” (see HPI August 20) on the Larry King show of August 12. The show transcript (“source”) reads: Larry King: “But you don’t see this as a Christianity against the world.” President Bush: “No, of course not. I…
SourceINDIA, August 05, 2004: Railway Board Chairman R. K. Singh has instructed railway authorities to remove pictures of Gods and Goddesses from all rail stations, following Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s drive to free stations from all religious influences. This has angered railway employees, travellers and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The order may have been prompted by complaints that many…
SourceBATAKOOT, INDIA, July 25, 2004: For over 150 years, 60 Muslim families, the Maliks, have been caretakers of the Amarnath Shrine. Their ancestors discovered the shrine and the Hindu king of the time, Gulab Singh, declared that the offerings from worship be distributed equally among the Maliks, the mahant (priest), and the Hindus. This is the way things have been…
SourceNEW YORK, USA, August 10, 2004: More than 35 Hindu organizations of North America along with more than 800 Hindus joined hands to celebrate the tenth Hindu Sangathan Divas in New York on July 31, 2004, according to a report from “source.” Speeches by Hindu leaders, patriotic songs and scintillating classical dances by professional TV/radio artists were part of the…
SourcePUNE, INDIA, August 18, 2004: “Wanted — 54 priests for managing Brahmin, Jain, Gujarati, Bengali and south Indian temples in Canada. Candidates should be fluent in English, computer-literate and be able to perform all 16 sanskaras like wedding, housewarming, sacred thread ceremony and last rites…” IITians are not the only ones who are in high demand in the West. Canada…
SourceLONDON, UK, August 19, 2004: Faith is not so important for the 74 percent Britons who declare themselves as Christian, but it is a crucial part of identity for Hindus and Muslims in Britain, says a government survey. Though most white Britons call themselves Christian, they admit religion plays little part in their lives. But a strikingly different picture emerges…
SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, August 19, 2004: The Western Railways’ verdict is out — no qawwali on its local trains. Qawwalis are the typical Urdu songs of Muslims, mostly sung in chorus. Mumbai’s long-suffering rail commuter had been dreading the introduction of qawwali programs on Central, Western and Harbour line trains from August 15. The proposal had been put forward by Abdul…
SourceVRINDABAN, INDIA, August 20, 2004: Govindanand Swami of the Shri Ram Sharnam Ashram (“source” above) sends the following announcement: One of the most popular events in the holy town of Vrindavan, India — where Lord Krishna appeared 5,000 years ago — is the celebration of Jhulan Yatra, the Radha-Krishna swing festival. It begins from Aug 26, 2004, Ekadashi this year.…