SIVAKASI, TAMIL NADU, October 20, 2022 (Organizer.com): Owing to blanket bans on firecrackers in numerous states, 1.5 lakh people in the firecracker manufacturing industry have been left jobless in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. The firecracker industry in Sivakasi has over 1,000 registered units in operation employing over 700,000 people. “The garland cracker has been banned despite being a significant item. Garland…
LUKAIYA, INDIA, October 16, 2022 (AFP): The dense forests near a small village in eastern India reverberated with chanting and the beating of drums as hundreds of villagers gathered to tie decorated threads around the trees. In an annual ritual that has been performed in Lukaiya for the past 20 years, people consecrated the trees with floral garlands and smears…
NEW MEXICO, USA, October 13, 2022 (firstpost.com, by David Frawley): India has historically been a great land of magnificent temples. Temples were not only important sites for religious worship but also served as centers of learning, art, community gatherings and festivals. Temples held great wealth and were the pride of the communities in which they were built. Such temples became…
USA, October 14, 2022 (sentientmedia.org): HPI Note: This question about McDonald’s fries comes up every decade or so, and the answer is always the same: No, they are not vegan and may or may not be vegetarian. Here’s the latest round: The most popular item at McDonald’s isn’t a burger. The fast food stalwart may have served over 300 billion…
INDIA, October 16, 2022 (globenewsinsider.com): The relationship between mother and child is precious. Ahoi Ashtami, this year on Oct 17, is about the special bond between mother and child. It is the ashtami day in the lunar calendar five days prior to the start of Diwali (this year on October 22). On this auspicious day, mothers fast from dawn to…
INDIA, October 12, 2022 (APN): After a mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism in Karnataka, the local Dalit leaders threw away their previous Hindu statues into the river Krishna and adopted the new beliefs of Buddhism. A viral video has been making rounds on the internet as three Dalit leaders can be seen throwing their old statues of Hindu Gods…
MONTREAL, CANADA, October 10, 2022 (McGill University Press Release): The School of Religious Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, will release a series of videos on Hinduism entitled: DIALOGUES ON HINDUISM. The videos will be serially released at one-week intervals in honor of Mahatma Gandhi, a leading Hindu of our times. The…
KERALA, INDIA, October 11, 2022 (Indian Express): In a rare gesture, a Kerala temple on Monday accorded “bhu samadhi” to a crocodile, named Babiya, that died in the shrine’s pond on Sunday night and a post-mortem cited the death due to old age. Since that crocodile has long been part of the lore of Sree Ananthapadmanabha Swamy Temple at Kumbla…
DUBAI, October 4, 2022 (Khaleej Times): A powerful message of tolerance, peace and harmony, bringing together people from various faiths, marked the official opening ceremony of the newest Hindu temple in Dubai today. Located in a neighborhood referred to as the emirate’s worship village, the temple formally opened its doors to worshippers across the UAE on Tuesday, October 4. The…
INDIA, September 28, 2022 (India Currents by Jayashree Krishnan): My early childhood journey began in the rich soil of my native land, Thanjavur (formerly called Tanjore), a city in Tamil Nadu, India. Most of the existing great Chola Temples, which are UNESCO World Heritage Monuments, are located in and around Thanjavur. Thanjavur’s paintings, handicrafts, silk weaving, Tamil literature, classical dance…