Source: Indian Express MUMBAI, INDIA, December 6, 2000: An estimated 250,000 sadhus and 700,000 pilgrims are expected to visit Trimbakeshwar in the Himalayas for a holy bath between July 30, 2003, and August 26, 2004, when Nashik hosts the Kumbh Mela. Dates will be ratified at a meeting on January 14 at Allahabad. According to the dates declared, the Sinhasta…
Source: The Hindu NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 11, 2000: The Ramakrishna Mission has incurred an expenditure of over US$22,000,000 on education, health and relief as well as developmental works undertaken during 1999 – 2000. Over $14.8 million, much of it subsidies from the government of India, was spent by the Mission’s educational institutions imparting knowledge to nearly 170,000 students. Medical…
Source: Hinduism Today FLUSHING, NEW YORK, December 15, 2000: According to the latest bulletin from the Hindu Temple Society of North America which governs the Ganesha Temple in Flushing, a new dress code is in force. “Certain kinds of dress are inappropriate for attending the temple,” says the bulletin. “These include shorts for both men and women; very short skirts,…
Source: Dainkik Bhaskar, Bhopal KHILCHIPUR, INDIA, December 5, 2000: To promote world peace Sri Ram Nam Jap, the chanting of Lord Rama’s name, has been organized and inspired by religious leader Sri Balyogi Rammilan Das Ji Maharaj of Kashi at the Naharda Hanuman Temple premises. According to Sri Balyogi Maharaj, this was the first huge sacred offering of it’s kind…
Source: South China Morning Post, November 27, 2000 KATHMANDU, INDIA: To have our last rites performed according to the Vedas is the parting wish of all devout Hindus. With the shortage of wood for many of the crematoria in Kathmandu, Nepal, the government has established an electric crematorium in the area around Pashupatinath Temple. Traditional funerals, with wood and hay…
GO TO SOURCE HOUSTON, TEXAS, December, 2000: To commemorate India’s Millennium Republic Day Celebrations to be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas, on January 27, 2001, the organizing committee is holding an essay competition covering various aspects of India. Dr. S. Kannappan, co-chairman of the committee, said the purpose of the competition was to generate interest…
GO TO SOURCE ALPERTON, ENGLAND: Indian stonemasons who were paid a mere US$0.96 an hour have won $160,000 in compensation from their employers. The 10 men, all from the same region in India, were working on the construction of a $11.2 million Sanatan Hindu temple in Alperton, North London. Their employers, Shirco Ltd, based in North London, have been ordered…
Source: Star TV, December 13, 2000 NEW DELHI, INDIA: In a nationwide broadcast, UP Chief Minister Raj Nath Singh, declared, “We will not allow holding of beauty contests in the state of Uttar Pradesh as they are indecent. Showing bare bodies is not a part of our culture and tradition. Beauty is something which is given by nature and there…
GO TO SOURCE BOMBAY, INDIA: To most North Americans, the golden arches of McDonalds restaurants means beef burgers. Not so in India, where the fast food chain has infiltrated the country since 1996 by using a clever marketing program that avoids offending both the culture of the land and the Indian pocket book. The company sells no beef or pork…
Source: India Today, December 9, 2000 BANARAS, INDIA: It was the early morning of December 6 when journalist Priya Solomon tried to photograph the ancient 16th century Gyanvapi Masjid, standing in the premises of the Baba Vishwanath Mandir in Banaras, a policeman prevented her from doing so. Her initial irritation vanished when realization dawned that the restrictions were meant to…