Betel Leaves Get Costlier

TNN PUNE, INDIA, May 7, 2011 (TNN): The price of betel leaves is going through the roof. A box of 3,000 leaves, which would usually be sold for US$8.90, is now being sold at $22.22. Besides being the most important ingredient of the humble paan, betel leaves are an inseparable part of most Hindu rituals and poojas. The betel leaf…

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Gold Plating of Tirumala Temple Shelved

Source ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA, May 10, 2011 (The Hindu): The Tirumala Tirupati Devesthanam (TTD) on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it has shelved the controversial decision on gold plating the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, the world’s richest temple. The decision to reconsider the move was taken in deference to the sentiments expressed by…

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Graphene: You Should Know About It

Source [HPI will, in rare occasions, bring you non-religious articles of interest. This is one of them.] UK, May 21, 2011 (BBC): The material graphene was touted as “the next big thing” even before its pioneers were handed the Nobel Prize last year. Many believe it could spell the end for silicon and change the future of computers and other…

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What The West Can Learn From India

Source INDIA, May 5, 2011: While the United States struggles to right itself from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the Indian economy steams ahead with an annual growth rate of more than 9 percent. How did India sidestep the financial meltdown as supposedly more sophisticated operators in the U.S. stumbled? Indian leaders have a different business model…

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Premier Joins Hindu Celebration

Source TORONTO, CANADA, May 5, 2011: Canadian Premier Dalton McGuinty was among the guests tonight when three days of celebration began to commemorate the opening of the new Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga. The centre, located at 6300 Mississauga Rd. in a 25,000-sq.-ft. complex on 2.4 acres of land, will serve a quarter of a million Hindus living in the…

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Kalahasti Receives Lavish Offering

Source HYDERABAD, INDIA, May 14, 2011: The Reddy brothers, Karnataka ministers and businessmen, on Saturday offered diamond-studded ornaments and gold-woven clothes to the famous Srikalahasti temple in Andhra Pradesh. Their offerings are estimated to be worth US$ 2.2 to 3.3 million. Revenue Minister Gali Karunakara Reddy made the offerings in the presence of the temple priests and authorities after offering…

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Amarnath Yatra Registration Begins

Source JAMMU, INDIA, May 10, 2011: The air has been cleared for the annual Amarnath “yatra” (pilgrimage) as the weather has improved in the Kashmir Valley over the past week, enabling the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to start registration of pilgrims. This year the pilgrimage will be held between June 29 and August 13. The annual summer pilgrimage to…

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Christian Leader Says that the World is Ending, Starting Tomorrow

Source MIDDLETOWN, MD, USA, May 20, 2011: Thousands of people around the country have spent the last few days taking to the streets and saying final goodbyes before Saturday, Judgment Day, when they expect to be absorbed into heaven in a process known as The Rapture. Nonbelievers, they hold, will be left behind to perish along with the world over…

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