Source TEXAS, U.S., May 2013 (by M. Vijalapuram/V. Tummala): Holi, also known as “The Festival of Colors,” is a Hindu festival that has also become popular with people of other backgrounds and communities, with thousands of people celebrating it each year. Holi is a joyous occasion that commemorates the story of Prahlad, an ardent devotee of Vishnu, prevailing over the…
Source Youth is not a time of life–it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips and supple knees. It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions. It is freshness of the deep springs of life. Nobody grows old by merely living a number…
Source SRI LANKA, May 11, 2013 (New York Times by Aatish Taseer): Four years ago this week, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam announced that their struggle for an independent homeland in northern Sri Lanka had “reached its bitter end.” The group had been fighting on behalf of the Tamil people for more than a quarter-century, and its defeat was…
Source Man arrives at immortality by breaking beyond the limitations not only of his physical self, but of his mental and his ordinary psychic nature into the highest plane and supreme ether of the Truth: for there is the foundation of immortality and the native seat of the triple infinite.— Sri Aurobindo (1879-1950)
Source MARTINIQUE, May 2013 (martinique.franceantilles.fr): The 160th anniversary of the arrival of Indian workers in Martinique was celebrated in Basse-Pointe during the first weekend of May 2013. The festivity was the second edition of the “Days of Indianness.” It was an opportunity to showcase all those who are contributing to the preservation of the Indian cultural contribution to Martinican society.…
Source VIETNAM, May 1, 2013 (Tuoi Tre News): The Ponagar fest, the biggest cultural event held by Cham people in the south of the central region, kicked off on April 30 in Khanh Hoa’s Nha Trang coastal city. The event also earned the recognition as an intangible national heritage the same day. From April 30th to May 2nd when the…
Source When I came out of the spacecraft (Discovery) for a space walk, I had this feeling that Ganesha was looking over me.— Sunita Williams, astronaut, the second Indian-American to orbit the Earth
Source PHUKET, THAILAND, May 8, 2013 (The Phuket News): Despite having already served the Thai-Nepalese community for more than a decade, the Thai-Nepalese temple on Patong Hill was officially opened on April 19. The event attracted hundreds from the local Nepalese community, many of whom work in the tailor industry in Patong and other tourist areas, as well as a…
Source Though Pakistan was established as a state for Muslims, the original vision of its founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was of a place of tolerance and inclusion. “You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any…
Source As a dog, let loose after being tied up for some time, is energetic and active, so one, who learns to remain summa, or still, gets increased energy which can be put to good use.— Siva Yogaswami of Jaffna (1872-1964)