Kerala Wood Carvers Create Fourteen-Foot-Tall Rosewood Nataraja

TRIVANDRUM, KERALA, November 3, 2012: John Xavier of the BaronIndian Group has announced the creation of a huge Siva Nataraj measuring 9 feet across and 14 feet high. Made entirely of rosewood, it required sculptor Palakal and 8 carvers four years to complete. Photos of the carving can be seen here. Xavier may be contacted at “source” above for more…

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Silom’s Hindu Parade in Thailand

Source BANGKOK, THAILAND, November 2012 (Bangkok Post): Watch this well-edited recent video as worshippers pack the Sri Maha Mariamman temple, known as Wat Khaek Silom, for the annual parade of devotion to Goddess Sri Maha Uma Devi along Silom and Sathon Roads in Bangkok. (HPI note: Parts of this video may be a little unnerving for some.)

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Golden Mile Set To Shine At Diwali Switch-On

Source LEICESTER, U.K., November 4, 2012 (ITV Central): The world famous Diwali light switch-on celebrations in Leicester’s Golden Mile will take place tonight. This year’s Hindu event takes place from 6pm in Leicester’s Belgrave Road and organizers are promising a lively programme of entertainment including classical Indian and Bollywood music, ahead of the lights being switched on at 7.30pm. Once…

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Goddess Durga’s Rudraksha Statue Pulls Crowds At Gita Mandir

Source LUDHIANA, PUNJAB, INDIA, October 17, 2012 (India Times): Navaratra is here and has the whole city caught in the festive mood, with temples decorated and women set to play garba to welcome Goddess Durga. The city temples too have left no stone unturned to add extra glitz and color to celebrations for the residents who are coming in large…

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Daily Inspiration

Source I adopted the theory of reincarnation when I was 26. Religion offered nothing to the point. When I discovered reincarnation … time was no longer limited. I was no longer a slave to the hands of the clock.— American auto industrialist Henry Ford

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California Temple Faces Backlash Over Karva Chauth Fee

Source FREMONT, CALIFORNIA, November 3, 1012 (San Jose Mercury News): The best things in life are supposed to be free, but a Hindu temple here angered worshippers Friday with the announcement that it would ask for money to take part in an annual ceremony. “They’re making the temple a place for moneymaking, and that’s wrong,” said Fremont resident Rita Ratra.…

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Hindu Festival Dashain Brings Nepalese Together In Hornsby

Source KATHMANDU, NEPAL, November 2, 2012 (Hornsby Advocate): Kathmandu was a ghost town last Wednesday. “The streets would be all empty; everyone’s gone back to their villages,” said Mitra Pariyar, who marked Dashain, Nepal’s holiest Hindu festival, with his family in Hornsby. More than 100 local Nepalese families did likewise. The 15-day festival celebrates the mythological victory of good over…

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Earthen Lamps To Spread Light In Homes

Source ALLAHABAD, INDIA, November 1, 2012 (India Times): Kumar the potter is happy with a stock of earthen lamps he has made ahead of the festival of lights hoping “they will be spreading light in so many houses on Diwali.” There is big demand and we are making best efforts possible to fulfill it. These days, several potters, who have…

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Daily Inspiration

Source There is no good and bad karma; there is self-created experience that presents opportunities for spiritual advancement. As long as we react to karma, we must repeat it. That is the law.— Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today

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A Thrilling Ram Leela Captivates Houstonians At The Wortham Center

Source HOUSTON, TEXAS, November 1, 2012 (Indo-American News): The Indian holiday season went into high gear with the Ram Leela pageant that was performed this past Sunday, October 28, at the Wortham Center downtown as months of preparation culminated in a spectacle that unfolded in the 1,300 seat Brown Theatre for a four-hour show, which had been sold-out four weeks…

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