GO TO SOURCE BELGIUM, EUROPE, September 4, 2002: A US$15.6 million Indian wedding in Belgium has hit headlines in Europe for setting a new benchmark for “opulence and innovation.” For a few days, Antwerp became a Bollywood fantasy for the double wedding of Vishal and Priya Shah, son and daughter of Vijay Shah, one of the biggest diamond dealers in…
Source: Hindustan Times MEERUT, INDIA, August 28, 2002: Gurukul Prabhat Ashram, Gram Tikri, is the surprising home of an archery academy. About 40 to 50 miles outside of New Delhi, past the city of Meerut, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, dozens of barefoot young boys clad in yellow, chatter away in Sanskrit. Some of these boys also train six…
GO TO SOURCE HYDERABAD, INDIA, September 2, 2002: National Green Corps, comprising school children, along with the Andra Pradesh Pollution Control Board have urged people to make Ganesha icons only with clay and not from other materials such as plaster of Paris. They also asked people to not to install Ganesha icons painted with colors nor to immerse the Ganesha…
GO TO SOURCE SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, September 4, 2002: A growing number of churches and other religious institutions are utilizing a two-year-old civil rights law to fight local government officials over zoning disputes. The churches claim the zoning laws are being used to violate their religious freedoms. The Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) filed an appeal last week with the U.S.…
Source: The Standard (St. Catherines) NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO, CANADA, August 23, 2002: Hindu families in Niagara Falls, approximately 200 in number, now have a place to worship each week. Three years ago the Hindu Samaj purchased the Moose Lodge and converted it into a temple. Previous to that, families had taken turns worshipping at each other’s homes since 1982. The…
GO TO SOURCE MASSACHUSETTS, USA, September 2, 2002: Two hundred participants attended the Vivekananda Family Camp in August. The camp was held in beautiful, lakeside facilities in the western Massachusetts town of Tolland. At this week-long residential camp, youth learned about and practiced Hindu values while participating in a variety of fun activities. Campers enjoyed yoga, crafts, games, classes on…
Source: New Straits Times BATU CAVES, MALAYSIA, August 26, 2002: The natural and cultural attractions of Batu Caves will be enhanced to make the place an international tourist destination, Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Datuk Paduka Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said today. With its caves, tunnels, streams and a Hindu temple which attracted millions of devotees and tourists each year,…
GO TO SOURCE CHENNAI, INDIA, Aug. 24, 2002: Concerned at the incalculable damage done to priceless and ancient sculptures and the structural stability of various temples, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department has placed a blanket ban on sandblasting, adopted to clean icons and walls. This directive is a sequel to objections raised by conservationists, historians and culture-lovers in…
Source: The Guardian LONDON, ENGLAND, August 21, 2002: Bradford’s Hindu Cultural Society has submitted a proposal to Bradford Council to allow a small stretch of the River Aire at Apperley Bridge to be used for the scattering of ashes after a traditional Hindu funeral. A spokesman for the cultural society says, “Most of our community still travel to India for…
Source: Daily Post SUVA, FIJI, September 2, 2002: Amid racial slurs and religious backstabbing in the Senate, a temple was attacked here. A Hindu temple at Naila, along Bau Road in Nausori, was the target of vandals who ransacked and set it alight. Fortunately the smoke was spotted by a neighbor and the fire extinguished with minor damage. Other temples…