SourcePALANI, TAMIL NADU, May 26, 2004: The 10-day Vaikasi Visakam festival began today, with the hoisting of the holy flag at the Sri Perianayaki Amman here. Hundreds of devotees took part in the ceremony. Earlier, the priests performed a homam (fire ceremony) and deeparadhanas (offering of lights) to the main Deities and utsavamurthis (parade Deities). The icons of the Lord…
SourceREUNION, FRANCE, May 29, 2004: From last Sunday, May 23, the Association Culturelle Siva Soupramanien, chaired by Marc Cadivel, has celebrated the ten-day festival in honor of Lord Muruga. It will be completed on Vaikasi Visakam, June 2. Every afternoon since last Sunday, the numerous faithful gather at the temple at the place called “la Marine” at Saint-Benoit to pray.…
SourceDELHI, INDIA, May 26, 2004: India has offered technical assistance, materials and $5.5 million to Cambodia for the restoration of the 12th century Ta Prohm temple at the Angkor Wat site. The Archaeological Survey of India, a government agency, said Monday that it has submitted two detailed reports to Cambodia’s Apsara Authority for the restoration, expected to take 10 years.…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, May 29, 2004: India’s top woman police officer, Kiran Bedi, has been honoured with the United Nations medal for outstanding service. Bedi, was felicitated along with 22 other military and police officers serving with the world body. She has been with the world body for more than a year, overseeing the police component of the expanding peacekeeping…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, May 27, 2004: The Hindu Forum of Britain, an umbrella body of Hindu organizations from different regions and cultural backgrounds in the UK, was launched in the House of Commons on Thursday evening, with speakers describing it as a milestone event for the development of 700,000 British Hindus. Outlining the salient features of the forum, its general secretary…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, May 25, 2004: In spectacular finds, the Archaeological Survey of India, Chennai Circle, has unearthed a dozen 2,800-year-old human skeletons intact in urns at Adichanallur, 24 km from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. Three of these urns contain writing resembling the early Tamil Brahmi script. The dozen urns containing the skeletons form a part of about 100 fully intact…
SourceKATHMANDU, NEPAL, May 25, 2004: This is quite a long report, but we found the situation described to be so alarming that we are reproducing the entire report: In a bid to control education in Nepal, Maoist rebels are abducting hundreds of teachers from far-flung rural areas to indoctrinate them, causing many terrorized educationists to flee their posts. Maoists reportedly…
SourceKAUAI, HAWAII, May 28, 2004: The article, “Ten Questions People Ask About Hinduism” in the April-May-June, 2004, issue of Hinduism Today has been enthusiastically received by tens of thousands of readers. However, we’re getting back one consistent request for what is apparently also a very common question: Why does Hinduism have animal Gods? So we’re now researching the answer from…
SourceALLAHABAD, INDIA, May 25, 2004: Lashing out at his critics who accused him of saffronising India’s education system, senior BJP leader and former HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi has said he undertook revamp and modernization of education to suit national interests. “The education system had been revamped and modernized by incorporating human values, the duties of the citizens towards the…
SourceHOUSTON, TEXAS, May 24, 2004: A small study suggests yoga can help ease the sleep disruptions that often accompany cancer treatment. Researchers from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, studied 39 people who were either being treated for lymphoma or had finished their treatment in the past year. Half were assigned to take 7 weeks of Tibetan yoga classes, while…