Source: The Daily Pioneer NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 24, 2001: A Norwegian man arrested and jailed in India for smuggling heroin has made such a remarkable transformation through the Vipasana meditation program the jail offers that the Norwegian government is looking into instituting the same program in its jails. Vipasana is a Buddhist meditation method involving long hours of meditation…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, April 21, 2001: A bland red curry known as chicken tikka masala has joined the ranks of pizza and chow mein in culinary history. That is, just as until a few decades ago no Italian in Italy had seen a pizza, and no Chinese in China ever tasted “chow mein,” now the British have not…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, April 25, 2001: A recent outbreak of violence in West Yorkshire County and Bradford has led to controversy as to the cause. This Times of India article is just the latest of several articles that discuss the incident. By appearances the looting, fire-bombing and street fighting could be attributed to racial tensions between Hindus and…
GO TO SOURCE PARIS, FRANCE, April 26, 2001: Lord Siva continues to fascinate the French literary world that has already seen the publication of numerous books on Him. Two more books on differing aspects of Siva have joined the list. “Le religion de Shiva” (The religion of Siva) which tries to explain Hinduism through the famed temple art of South…
GO TO SOURCE SINGAPORE, APRIL 15,2001: The tiny city-state of Singapore, with a scant four million population, is encouraging its citizens to have more babies. Concerned with its declining birthrate, the government has developed monetary and workplace incentives to persuade people to have larger families. The government is offering cash for couples who have a second and third child, extended…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, U.K., April 23, 2001: Indian and British farmers joined hands to fight new agriculture techniques being planned by scientists from their countries. The contest took place in Norwich in East Britain where the John Innes Center held its Global Agriculture 2020 conference from April 17 – 21 on genetically modified (GM) crops with the theme “Global…
GO TO SOURCE BRITAIN, UK, April 20, 2001: In Britain, the non-white minority ethnic groups are estimated at 3.8 million or just under seven per cent of the population. Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities make up about 1.87 million of this figure. Along with religious and cultural differences, socio-economic levels vary widely within the Asian community. Indian children show the…
GO TO SOURCE FAKIR HASSEN, JOHANNESBURG, APRIL 21, 2001: Fifteen South African Hindu youth organizations collaborated to present one of the largest religious gatherings in the mainly Indian populated area of Lenasia. The organizations are hosting Ram Kathas, or recitals of the story of Hindu Lord Ram, by well-known Indian preacher, Morari Bapu. The event, which will continue through April…
GO TO SOURCE NEW DELHI, INDIA, April 21, 2001: Speaking from the heart, this article expounds on Mark Tully’s love of India. Tully worked most of his life for the BBC in India, and is widely respected. Born over sixty-five years ago in Kolkata, Tully’s early upbringing took place within the lavish British society with servants and tea. Moving back…
GO TO SOURCE LAMPANG, THAILAND, April, 23, 2001: 59-year-old American Richard Lair, aka Professor Elephant, is the conductor of the world’s first and only elephant orchestra comprising 12 jumbos on a wide range of ingenious percussion, string and woodwind instruments. While Phangkhawt and her fellow musicians are unlikely to put the Vienna Philharmonic out of business, their 19-track compact disc…