News

Source Parents need to fill a child’s bucket of self-esteem and respect so high that the rest of the world can’t poke enough holes to make it dry.— Alvin Price, American teacher

Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, December 28, 2011 (Hindustan Times): Ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, the Centre has decided to accede to the long-standing demand of the Sikh community for enacting a separate Anand Marriage Act, giving legal sanctity to the marriages under Sikh religion, official sources said. Prior to Independence, marriages among Sikhs were held under the Anand Marriage…

Source US, December 24, 2011 (caring.com): “A few hours before she died, my mother said, ‘Are you the gentleman who’s come to meet me?’ She was not addressing anyone in the room.” — Michele, a North Carolina mother of four These “deathbed visions,” as British neuropsychiatrist Peter Fenwick, a specialist in near-death experiences, calls them, almost always take place when…

Source US, November 20, 2011 (First Post): Balasaraswati and her famous contemporary Rukmini Devi Arundale, both extraordinary dancers, disagreed on many things. Eventually, those differences played out on a national stage in a legendary 1945 concert that is one of the subject of a new book about Balasaraswati. Bala’s outspoken criticism of carnality in Sringara rasa as presented by some…

Source Kumar: Mom, remember how you always worried that I’d break your best teacups if I played with them? Amma: Yes, I remember. Kumar: Well, your worries are over.

Source USA, December 8, 2011 (NPR): [HPI note: It’s probably not too late for a recipe of Besan Laddu to celebrate the new year. Of cultural significance is that this very Indian recipe was published not in a specialized site, but in National Public Radio, a non-profit media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900…

Source USA, December 19, 2011 (Huffington Post, by Philip Goldberg): Last month I attended the annual conference of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). Comprised mainly of scholars who teach and do research at North American universities, the AAR is, according to its mission statement, “dedicated to furthering knowledge of religion and religious institutions in all their forms and manifestations.”…

Source JAMMU, INDIA, December 26, 2011 (Zeenews): A record number of 9.9 million pilgrims from India and abroad visited the Hindu shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in Jammu region this year, an official said on Sunday. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) said the number of pilgrims has been increasing by about a million every year in the…

Source USA, December 19, 2011 (Huffington Post, by Philip Goldberg): Last month I attended the annual conference of the American Academy of Religion (AAR). Comprised mainly of scholars who teach and do research at North American universities, the AAR is, according to its mission statement, “dedicated to furthering knowledge of religion and religious institutions in all their forms and manifestations.”…

Source INDIA, December 25, 2011 (The HIndu): The State Archives Department is digitizing the Mathilakom records (old palm leaf manuscripts of Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram) as part of the second phase of digitization of old records. The records throw light on the history of the temple, and digitization might help in researching the records and finding missing links. There is…