Source CHENNAI, INDIA, May 24, 2011 (Times of India): Encroachments on 2.4 acres of land belonging to Sri Arulmigu Somanatheeswarar temple at Kolathur were removed on Monday. Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) officials evicted two contractors of Chennai Corporation who used the land to store materials. In addition, a car mechanic shop and another temporary shed were demolished. HR&CE…
Source NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 19, 2011 (Voa News): For the first time in 80 years, India is planning a detailed survey of religious and caste affiliation. Castes in India are part of a traditional Hindu system of social categorization and are believed to have an impact on the economic fortunes of the population. Leaders say having detailed caste data…
Source It is so refreshing to visit a spiritual site that doesn’t condemn me to hell every second sentence.— Samantha McGarry after visiting www.hinduismtoday.com
Source UK, May 26, 2011 (The Economist): In 2000 Paul Crutzen, an eminent atmospheric chemist, realized he no longer believed he was living in the Holocene. He was living in some other age, one shaped primarily by people. From their trawlers scraping the floors of the seas to their dams impounding sediment by the gigaton, from their stripping of forests…
Source PUTTAPARTHI, INDIA, May 27, 2011 (The New York Times): Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who spent decades assembling a spiritual empire, permeates every corner of this small Indian city. He transformed it from a village of mud huts into a faith center with a private airport, a university, two major hospitals, rising condominium towers and a stadium — a legacy…
Source KARNATAKA, INDIA, May 6, 2011: Raghuram Ashok and his cousin Sreenivasa S.L., both Bangalore-based photographers, were intrigued by the thought of a 16th century transcription of the Sampoorna Ramayana resting just 81 miles from their city. They first visited the Academy of Sanskrit Research in Melkote–a temple town in Karnataka and a historical centre of Sanskrit learning three months…
Source HYDERABAD, INDIA, May 21, 2011: The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, lauded the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) trust for organizing a mass marriage for poor people. About 12,000 couples across Andhra Pradesh entered into wedlock yesterday as part of the sixth phase of mass marriages by TTD. Amid the chanting of Vedic hymns, the marriages…
Source NAGAPATTINAM, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, May 20, 2011: The famed Navaneetheshwara Swamy Temple housing the celebrated Sikkal Singaravelavar shrine in Sikkal is getting more infrastructural facilities, thus providing stimulus to religious tourism in the district. The facilities will house 3,000 pilgrims. Work to the tune of US$220,000 has been taken up at Sikkal as part of a project funded by…
Source VARANASI, INDIA, May 14, 2011: As an initiative to inculcate cultural values and allied Indian ethos among youngsters, a special summer camp has been organized for school children in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. This summer camp has been introduced by Ishita School where the children are taught the essence of Hindu culture, relevance of rituals, and recitation of passages from…
Source Life has been downloaded from the sound Om.— Maya Tiwari