www.eldia.es TENERIFE, CANARY ISLANDS, December 15, 2007: A tropical enclave in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morroco, the Canaries are an African archipelago forming an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain. Its seven volcanic islands host what is proportionally the greatest Hindu population in Spain, according to Gope Bhagwandas Mahtani, Consul-General of India. “We came slowly,” explains…
www.hinduonnet.com SABARIMALA, INDIA, January 14, 2008: Thousands of devotees on Monday evening witnessed the “Makara Jyothi” — a celestial light on the eastern horizon — marking the finale of the pilgrimage season of the hill shrine of Sabarimala, which witnessed a record turnout of 32.5 million pilgrims this season. The chant of “Swami…Saranam…Ayyappa” rent the air as the holy light…
www.hinduamericanfoundation.org NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 13, 2008: In order to promote the principles followed by Mahatma Gandhi, the Culture Ministry has sought Rs 500 million to develop Gandhi heritage sites across the country. “We already have launched the Dandi Heritage Corridor Project to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi Yatra at an estimated cost of Rs 200 million,” said a senior ministry…
www.hinduonnet.com ALLAHABAD, INDIA, January 14, 2008: As the Ardh-Mela (half-Mela) festival approaches, arrangements have been made by the government to ensure the safety of the thousands expected to pilgrimage to Allahabad for this holy event. The Mela will begin with the Makar Sankranti bathing on January 15. The Mela administration is expecting a congregation of five hundred thousand devotees bathing…
www.dnaindia.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, January 13, 2008: New Delhi’s community of seven hundred thousand Tamils are gearing up to celebrate the harvest festival of Pongal with literary programs, mass prayers and music concerts. The week-long celebrations will also include preparing ethnic delicacies and drawing the “kolam” in the house. “Thai Pongal”, as it is popularly called in Tamil Nadu, is…
www.centralchronicle.com BHOPAL, INDIA, January 12, 2008: Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that Yoga will be part of school education from next academic year. He was speaking at the state level “Surya Namaksar” event organised by the School Education Department at the TT Nagar stadium today. The Chief Minister joined the students in performing Suryanamaskar and…
www.hinduamericanfoundation.org BEIJING, CHINA, January 13, 2008: Impressed by the enthusiasm shown by Chinese youngsters to learn Hindi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday announced a grant of 7.5 millions to the Institute of Indian Studies at the prestigious Peking University. The Institute of Indian Studies of Beijing has been active for a long time in promoting Indian culture and languages…
www.hindusangam.org.my KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, January 12, 2008: (HPI note: this is the summary of an interview given by Malaysia Hindu Sangam’s President, Datuk A. Vaithilingam.) “Practicing Hinduism, or any other faith for that matter, is no problem in Malaysia. I don’t see it being a problem now and also in the future. Despite the differences in our belief system, Malaysians…
www.hinduonnet.com SABARIMALA, INDIA, USA, January 13, 2008: Security has been stepped up at Sabarimala two days ahead of the Makaravilakku, marking the finale of the pilgrimage season as devotees in thousands kept thronging the hill-shrine of Lord Ayyappa. About 3000 police personnel have been deployed around the temple complex with high-tech equipment to keep a close watch on the uninterrupted…
www.hinduamericanfoundation.org KENSINGTON, MARYLAND, USA, January 12, 2008: The Hindu American Foundation is seeking information about online and correspondence courses on Hinduism from accredited institutions. This will be used in evaluating potential educational curriculum for upcoming projects from the foundation. Please e-mail the course name and curriculum as well as contact information to HAF Working Group member Arvind Chandrakantan, chandrakantan@gmail.com.