Uitenhage, South Africa, Gets First Temple

Sunday TimesUITENHAGE, SOUTH AFRICA, March 28, 2004: The president of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha, Ashwin Trikamjee, will officially open the first Hindu temple in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape next month. The Uitenhage Hindu Mandal, built at a cost of US$235,000, will be opened on April 11. A trustee of the temple, Chottu Karsan, said the building took…

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VIP’s Asked Not to Visit Kumbh Mela on Main Bathing Days

Press ReportNEW DELHI, INDIA, April 31, 2004: VIP’s have been asked not to come for a holy dip at the Kumbh Mela on the main bathing dates of April 5, April 22 and May 4, 2004. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Sadhvi Uma Bharati said this is because “requisite arrangements for their security cannot be made. The police and para military…

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Countdown Begins For Kumbh Mela In Ujjain

SourceUJJAIN, INDIA, March 28, 2004: The countdown for the Hindu festival of Kumbh Mela, has begun in the holy city of Ujjain. The festival will be held from April 5 till May 5. It is estimated that about 30 million people will attend the event. The mela is held every 12 years, in Ujjain, Allahabad, Hardwar and Nasik in rotation.

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Mumbai Hotel Decorated in Celebration to Lord Siva

SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, MARCH 27, 2004: A number of artists and scientists have helped to design the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai, India, as a celebration to Lord Siva. The hotel interior showcases over 100 commissioned artworks of various artists. The hotel’s lobbies, gardens and restaurants are around themes like the Sadashiva icon, deconstructed and seen as fragments of a puzzle…

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Buddhist Monks Win a Grammy

SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, March 29, 2004: It’s still a mystery how a CD of sacred Tibetan hymns, not widely circulated, muscled its way onto the Grammy jury panel. But creativity is known to break barriers. Monks of the Sherab Ling monastery, some 60 km from Dharamsala, achieved a first, winning the Grammy for the best traditional world music album. This…

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Sri Ganapati Sachchidanada Swami Visits Trinidad

SourceTRINIDAD, March 31, 2004: Thousands are expected to attend a three-day Ramayan Yagna this weekend at which renowned swami, Parama Puja Sri Sri Ganapati Sachchidanda Swamiji, will deliver discourses on the first 100 stanzas of Sage Valmiki’s Ramayan. The event and is being hosted by quarry magnate Sieunarine Persad Coosal, at his Acono Road, St Joseph, residence. The Swami, who…

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Shri Shivarudra Balayogi Maharaj Going on Tour

SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, March 28, 2004: Charlie and Carol Hopkins write, “As devotees around the world remember and honor the Divine Guru, Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj, on the tenth anniversary of His Mahasamadhi, it is our joy to announce the first visit to North America of Swamiji’s spiritual son, Shri Shivarudra Balayogi. Baba will be coming to the US as part…

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The Quirky Karma Army

SourceUNITED KINGDOM, March 26, 2004: There are no dues or initiation rituals. Your age, citizenship, political affiliation, gender, religion (or lack of it) don’t matter. The invitation comes from Danny Wallace of London. He is the director of a new comedy development for the BBC, and has written a book about how two words, ingenuity, a sense of humor and…

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Wall Street Journal Upbeat on India

SourceNEW YORK, NEW YORK, June 9, 2003: This article appeared in the Wall Street Journal last year, but was only brought to HPI’s attention recently. It is by Bruce Gilley and called “Asia’s Quiet Miracle. It is given here in its entirety. As it nears the end of its fifth year in office as the head of a coalition government,…

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