Fijilive.comFIJI ISLANDS, July 14, 2003: The first fire walking by the India Sangarma Ikya Sangam devotees took place today in the Sri Raj Maha Mariamman Temple. Chief Priest Pandit Tirthadeva Peruman, who has been doing the fire-walking puja (prayer) for the past five years, officiated. Almost a thousand people attended the celebration, but only about 45-48 people participated in the…
SourceCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, July 9, 2003: About 200 Hindu and Buddhist sculptures and paintings are on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. Entitled “Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure,” the exhibits are on loan from many top-notch North American collections. The exhibition has been organized by noted art historian Pratapaditya Pal who says that his intention was to create a masterpiece show,…
SourceJAWALA HILLS, KASHMIR, July 13, 2003: After being silent for over a decade, temple bells are ringing once again in the Kashmir valley as thousands of pilgrims, including Kashmiri Pandits, are thronging the ancient temples in the state. Over 9,000 Kashmiri Pandits visited the 460-years-old wooden temple of “Kalo Mata,” popularly known as “Dolo Bhagwati,” on the Deity’s birth anniversary…
SourcePARAMARIBO, SURINAM, July 11, 2003: The oldest temple in Surinam, a Sivalay at the Gangaram Pandayweg in the Saramacca district, was re-inaugurated July 10, 2003. The temple was built roughly 112 years ago by one of the first British-Indian contract workers, Pandit Tribhunath. After forty years of neglect the temple was renovated on the initiative of the Maa Chand Foundation…
HPIBERN, SWITZERLAND, July 9, 2003: When a father tried to take his estranged wife’s partner to court for hitting and kicking his children, the case was rejected, and the court pronounced that the mother’s partner (that is, her new boyfriend) has the right to punish her children. On appeal, the initial ruling was overturned and it was deemed that “the…
SourceBRIENZ, SWITZERLAND, July 14, 2003: Swiss dairy farmer Paul Wyler is offering his cows for rent on the Internet, with all the cheese they produce going to the “owner.” “We have already had dozens of inquiries from people who want to rent one of our cows,” Wyler said. Cows cost US$276 for the summer. Wyler looks after the animals and…
SourceLONDON, ENGLAND, July 15, 2003: British Immigration and Customs officials have launched a campaign to preempt people from bringing in food and other edible items into Britain. They have said that European Union rules have become very stringent, particularly after SARS. Sources at the High Commission said that the customs at Heathrow airport, where all flights from India land, are…
Hindustan TimesNEW DELHI, INDIA, July 5, 2003: Union Minister for Science and Technology, Murli Manohar Joshi, has appealed to the populace and in particular to allopathic physicians, not to “belittle” ayurveda. Joshi says, “It is the oldest system of medicine, and I fail to understand why they call it an alternative system of medicine. Ayurveda has been practiced by our…
Jakarta PostJAKARTA, INDONESIA, July 10, 2003: Ketut Budiana, Bali’s most creative “post-traditional” artist, was guest of honor at Tokyo Station Gallery, where he held a retrospective exhibition from June 14-21, 2003. A low-profile artist, Budiana is little known in the Indonesian art world beyond a small circle of local and foreign initiates. Budiana’s works are often described as dark canvases…
SourceAMARNATH, JAMMU & KASHMIR, July 12, 2003: Amidst chants of “Har Har Mahadev” and “Jai Bholanath” the first devotees on the annual Amarnath pilgrimage paid obeisance at the holy ice Siva Lingam at the cave shrine. “For me there is no emotion parallel to the darshan of the ice Lingam, it gives a feeling of being one with God. That…