Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 12, 2011 (Reuters Blogs): It’s festival season in India, with the celebrations providing a perfect opportunity for family outings, late-night parties and customary feasting on sweets. But health experts warn that the festivities, coupled with genetic predisposition and lifestyle changes brought about by the increasing prosperity of the middle class, is contributing to the country…
Source UNITED STATES, October 3, 2011 (by Sona Gajiwala): It’s rare that you feel good about paying a wedding vendor. There are, however, a few vendors to whom I feel OK paying a premium, for they have identified specific needs for a demanding demographic, and have stepped outside their comfort zones and crossed cultural lines to fulfill them. My favorite…
Source UNITED KINGDOM, October 9, 2011 (BBC): A new US$1.6 million Hindu temple has opened in Leicester after a special procession down the city’s Belgrave Road. The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Belgrave is one of the biggest in the Midlands. Located on the corner of Catherine Street and Gypsy Lane, it features temple architecture found in northern India. Celebrations on…
Source Sometimes I wish karma could talk… That would take a lot of the guesswork out of what we do.— Randy Hickey, TV character, brother of the eponymous star in the American show “My Name Is Earl”
Source MANGALORE, INDIA, October 2011: His attire and mannerisms reflects classic asceticism. But in his unique mission, 68 year-old Swami Bhaktiteertha has hit the road to apply brakes on the trend of naming beedi wrappers, wine shops, non-vegetarian restaurants among other things after Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The seer traces the roots of his unique mission to 1998. It was…
Source NEW YORK, USA, October 2011 (First Post): The 18th century Balaji Ghat, situated along the river Ganges in Varanasi, is among over 60 endangered cultural heritage sites in the world that are in dire need of preservation, according to World Monuments Fund (WMF), a private foundation. WMF said, Balaji ghat is an “important example of the buildings constructed along…
Source NEW YORK, USA, October 1, 2011 (nytimes.com, by Ann Louise Bardach): The big day is over 15 months away, but India is planning a major celebration on January 12, 2013 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Swami Vivekananda–the first missionary from the East to the West, the man who introduced “yoga” into the national conversation. Born…
Source PATNA, INDIA, October 12, 2011 (www.deccanherald.com): The Bihar State Religious Trust Board has filed a groundbreaking public interest litigation, sparked by the desire to release two Deity murtis that have been held for nearly 17 years in the strongroom of a police station in Bhojpur district, their bail set at over USD 8.5 million. The two Deities, Lord Hanuman…
Source LONDON, UK, October 12, 2011 (BBC): Stunning images from high in the Himalayas — showing the extent by which many glaciers have shrunk in the past 80 years or so — have gone on display at the Royal Geographical Society in central London. See them here. Between 2007 and 2010, David Breashears retraced the steps of early photographic pioneers…
Source UNITED KINGDOM, October 1, 2011 (Alliance of Religions and Conservation): In 2001, more than 60 million Hindu pilgrims attended the Maha Kumbh Mela, a festival held every 144 years in Prayag, Allahabad. This was the largest human gathering in recorded history. Imagine what could be achieved if pilgrims and pilgrim cities were to become models of care and respect…