UNITED STATES, October 20, 2024 (New India Abroad, by Aprameya Rupanagunta): As fall rolls around, the myriad of Indian festivals and celebrations come closer. For most Indians who were born and brought up in India, this season has always been a part of their lives and those around them but for Indian Americans who never actually lived in India, these…
INDIA, October 21, 2024 (The Hindu): After the five-day-long monthly pujas, which drew an unprecedented influx of devotees, the portals of the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala were closed on Monday. According to estimates from the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the number of pilgrims saw a significant surge, with over 180,000. devotees visiting the hill temple from October 16 to 21.…
JAKARTA, INDONESIA, October 16, 2024 (Borneo News, Google translate from Indonesian): The Directorate General of Hindu Community Guidance at the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia presented the National Outstanding Hindu Religious Teacher Award for 2024, Tuesday night (15/10) in Bogor, West Java. This award is a form of appreciation that is intended to motivate educators in carrying…
MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES, SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 (MPR News): In May through July, at least four Hindu and Buddhist temples in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) were burglarized. Two men have been charged in connection to those burglaries and others in a sprawling case police say connects to a national ring targeting temples. Religious leaders say their communities are…
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, October 21, 2024 (serioustimes.org, by Dr. James Emery White, a Christian pastor): If you aren’t familiar with it, Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, symbolizing the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.” It is marked with home decorations, shopping, fireworks, gifts, feasting, family gatherings, and more. This year,…
TIRUMALA, INDIA, October 8, 2024 (The Hindu): The abode of Lord Venkateswara turned into a sea of humanity on the occasion of Garuda Seva on the fifth day of the annual Brahmotsavams at Tirumala temple on October 8 (Tuesday). The temple town wore a festive look with the gathering of hundreds of thousands of devotees from various parts of the…
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, October 12, 2024 (Public Radio Tulsa): As many parents know, the line between passing along cultural traditions and mortifying your children in public can be perilously thin. For one mother, that dilemma arose this year ahead of Navaratri, a Hindu festival celebrating female strength that culminates today. One of the festival’s key components is garba, an intricate folk…
DHAKA, BANGLADESH, October 14, 2024 (Religion News): Schoolteacher Supriya Sarker is glad to celebrate Bangladesh’s largest Hindu festival of Durga Puja but feels the festivities would be more jubilant without the fear and violence that overshadow this year’s event. The weeklong celebration that ends in the Muslim-majority Bangladesh on Sunday with immersions of the Hindu Goddess has strained the Hindu…
DHAKA, BANGLADESH, October 14, 2024 (The Hindu): In Muslim-majority Bangladesh, vast crowds celebrate the biggest Hindu festival of the year under tight security, after a spate of attacks against the minority following the ouster of the autocratic premier. Whirling dancers jump to ear-popping loud music for Durga Puja on Sunday, a joyful culmination of a week of prayer and party…
INDIA, October 9, 2024 (Newsweek): Indian authorities have issued a safety warning to travelers hoping to visit the highest Shiva temple in the world after monsoon season made the site unsafe. The Tungnath Temple, located in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand in North India, has been structurally damaged by extensive exposure to water, accelerated by monsoons throughout the country, according…
