NDTV.comHYDERABAD, INDIA, November 23, 2003: The Andhra Pradesh government’s ambitious new scheme will see Lord Venkateswara installed in over 7,000 new Balaji temples to be built all over the state. The idea is to bring the presiding deity of the Tirupati Tirumala temple to 7,400 locations all over the state. This religious mega project of the Chandrababu Naidu government is…
SourceCHENNAI, INDIA, November 22, 2003: A “panchaloha” (five metal) icon of Lord Nataraja, claimed to be the world’s tallest and weighing two tons, would be airlifted to Switzerland from here tomorrow. The 11-feet-tall icon was sculpted in a village in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu for the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) in Geneva. Nearly 24 sculptors in Thimmakudi village toiled…
SourceMIAMI, U.S.A, November. 22, 2003: Religion has become one of the hottest areas of study in campuses across the United States. Since the late ’90s, members of Generation Y (see next paragraph for a definition) have been taking classes to help explain the world as well as find themselves a religion, often by mixing and matching beliefs. Universities are responding…
SourceUSA, November 25, 2003: At “source” is a short cartoon intended to expose the horrors of factory farming of animals. This clever take-off on the hit film, “The Matrix,” parallels its machine-induced dream world of the enslaved humans with the “family farm” image of the meat producing industry.
SourceLONDON, UK, November 20, 2003: The two Britons who broke the icon of Lord Rama at the Ealing Road Sanatam Mandir in Wembley last month have been sentenced. The Brent Magistrate Court on November 17 sentenced Toby Champney to two months imprisonment for “racially aggravated criminal damages.” His fellow Christian preacher, Benjamin Lloyd Jones was fined US$681 for racially aggravated…
SourceMUMBAI, INDIA, November 11, 2003: When Bhagwanji Raiyani read in a newspaper that there were more than 800 illegal shrines in Mumbai he decided to do something about it. In 2002, he asked the Mumbai High Court for their demolition. One year later, the high court ordered that all illegal shrines — temples, mosques or churches — should be demolished.…
SourceKAUAI, HAWAII, November 22, 2003: HPI thanks the many readers who sent in their comments on the caste and jati system. Several mentioned, without citing references, that the system became hereditary and solidified after the Muslim invasions. There is some information on this at “source,” an article on caste. HPI is interested to know if there is evidence of the…
SourceUSA, November 22, 2003: Hindus in America are about to be faced with Thanksgiving and its traditional turkey feast. It’s not a Hindu holiday, of course, there is no obligation to celebrate and the turkeys would appreciate it if you didn’t. However, for those who by choice or social obligation find it necessary, there is a vegetarian alternative, several in…
News ReportTOKYO, JAPAN, November 21, 2003. Mention of a staged “Mahabharata” at once brings to mind Sir Peter Brook’s 10-hour version of the Hindu epic poem, which debuted at the Avignon International Drama Festival in 1985. This inspired version by Director Satoshi Miyagi staged recently in Tokyo lasts just two hours. The original “Mahabharata,” written in Sanskrit, comprises 100,000 stanzas,…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, November 19, 2003: Nisha Sharma, who hit the headlines six months ago for sending her fiance to jail for demanding dowry, has married a software engineer. The marriage was solemnized at a quiet ceremony at her residence in Noida on the outskirts of Delhi. Her husband’s name is Ashwin Sharma. Nisha became an icon for millions of…