GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, May 13, 2002: Selfridges store has stopped selling cakes with icing decoration depicting Hindu Gods and Goddesses after complaints that they offended religious sensibilities. The cakes were featured as part of a three-week summer promotion of Indian foods, and were on sale next to a food counter where Hemant Oberoi, the Indian Prime Minister’s personal…
GO TO SOURCE SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, April 24, 2002: People from more than 60 countries settling in California in the last ten years have brought with them their customs, beliefs and ethnic food. As a result, Bay area cuisine has changed accordingly. Ethnic cuisine once meant Italian and Chinese food. Now it could be Indian curries, Taiwanese hot pot restaurants,…
Source: Times of India KATHMANDU, NEPAL, May 13, 2002: Some 500 Maoist rebels stormed a Sanskrit university in west Nepal, set the building on fire and destroyed office records, an official said on Monday. District officer Mathur Prasad Yadav said that the guerrillas snapped telephone lines and overpowered the night guard of the Mahendra Sanskrit University in Dang in west…
GO TO SOURCE AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, May 14, 2002: Asia 2000 and Auckland City both joined hands and holding an authentic Deepavali festival in Auckland, New Zealand at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre on 26 October 2002. An official press release states that the Deepavali Festival of Lights will be the first of its kind on this scale in Auckland. As…
GO TO SOURCE SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, May 2, 2002: The Seattle lawyer who successfully forced McDonald’s to publicly admit its use of beef extract in its supposedly vegetarian french fries now has set his sights on another popular fast-food chain: Pizza Hut. The proposed class-action suit, filed by attorney Harish Bharti on behalf of 15 million vegetarians and 1 million Hindus…
GO TO SOURCE CAMPAL, GOA, INDIA, May 15, 2002: Percussionist Shivamani is recognized as “Shiva” in the world of South Indian percussion in the present day, for he becomes the epitome of Shakti on stage with his assortment of percussion instruments. Shivamani creates magic with just about anything from his conventional cymbals to the timbale to the batajon to the…
GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD, INDIA, May 12, 2002: The state government will help pilgrims from Gujarat who have been selected by the Ministry of External Affairs for the June 2002 Kailas-Mansarovar Yatra. Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board chairman, Bhupendra Khatri said that the ministry conducted a drawing to select the participants for the pilgrimage. He said pilgrims from the state should…
GO TO SOURCE LUCKNOW, INDIA, May 13, 2002: An Astrology-Mela, organized at Sanatam Ashram on Sunday to mark its 42nd foundation day, drew people from all walks of life to enquire about their health, career and marriage with renowned astrologers of the country who had assembled there for the two-day conference. As one entered the Sanatan Ashram, stalls full of…
Source: Hinduism Today HOUSTON, TEXAS, May 13, 2002: Hinduism Today magazine’s Houston-based correspondent, Kalyani Giri, was one of fifteen Asian women journalists honored at a luncheon held on May 13 at the Hyatt Regency Downtown. The event was initiated for the first time by the newly-devised Asia Houston Network, a nonprofit organization affiliated to the Mayor’s office created to help…
GO TO SOURCE AFGHANISTAN, May 9, 2002: They no longer have to wear yellow badges like the Jews under Nazi rule, but little else has changed for Afghanistan’s religious minorities, the Hindus and Sikhs. Four months ago, a new government took office, promising equal rights for all Afghans. Yet many Hindus and Sikhs say that life is no better —…