Delhi’s Durga Puja Will Have Authentic Bengali Feel

www.hindu.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 23, 2006: Hundreds of artisans from West Bengal who have been camping at Chittaranjan Park in South Delhi for the past three months are now giving finishing touches to Deities of various Goddesses for the festivities that are due to start September 28. While the smaller Deities are being brought by various Puja samitis from…

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Vaishno Devi Temple Ready for Pilgrims

www.ndtv.com JAMMU, INDIA, September 23, 2006: Katra is all spruced up and ready for the Navratara festival. Hundreds of pilgrims have already begun making their way to Katra with an average of 30,000 pilgrims coming to Vaishno Devi temple here every day. Hotels in Katra are offering up to 50 per cent discounts during this period. “We want that the…

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Gujarat’s Dandiya Spirit Moves New Delhites

www.ndtv.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 23, 2006: The traditional Gujarati folk dance where dancers form two circles, moving clockwise and counter-clockwise, holding dandiyas (two sticks) and strike them against their traveling partner’s pair has become wildly popular outside of Gujarat. This Navaratri dance celebration has invaded India’s capital where people have committed themselves to learning the dance correctly. Gearing up…

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Fiji Organization Publishes Special Diwali Magazine

www.sanatanfiji.com FIJI, September 20, 2006: For the first time ever a historic Diwali Issue magazine will be published by the Shree Sanatan Dharm Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji to mark the Festival of Lights 2006. The magazine, which is an A4 format, is scheduled to be launched at the Hanuman Gari Temple in Nasinu 9 miles on September 26, 2006. The…

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Caste Violence Erupts Over Temple Entry n Nepal

english.ohmynews.com DIPAYAL, NEPAL, September 20, 2006: More than 50 Dalits (“Untouchables”) were injured in a scuffle while trying to enter a Hindu temple in far western Nepal on September 17. Non-Dalits pelted Dalits with stones and bricks, protesting their entry into and worship in the Shaileshwor Temple, at the Silgadhi bazaar of Dipayal. Organizer Min Bahadur Bam said in a…

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Indian Government’s Secular Credentials Under Scrutiny

timesofindia.indiatimes.com NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 20, 2006: The government’s secular credentials came in for embarrassing scrutiny on Monday with the Supreme Court interrogating the Centre on whether secularism, a basic feature of the Constitution, allowed it to grant largesse for the annual Haj pilgrimage. Though a Bench comprising Chief Justice Y. K. Sabharwal and Justices A. R. Lakshamanan and C.…

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Tri-State Hindus Come Together for Grand Sangam

www.hssus.org EDISON, NEW JERSEY, September 19, 2006: The Hindu Sangam a grand cultural festival organized by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) in New Jersey was a runaway success with over 1,000 people participating in the event. The event was organized as a culmination of the birth centenary celebrations of Shri M.S. Golwalkar (Guruji), the second head of the RSS. During…

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Fijian Hindus Hire Guards to Protect Temples

www.radionz.co.nz SUVA, FIJI, September 20, 2006: In the face of increasing attacks, Hindus in Fiji have hired security to protect temples. Three attacks on temples in five days led to an emergency meeting of the Hindu religious organization, the Sanatan Dharam. The meeting discussed security for their temples after Senior Superintendent Jahir Khan said they should provide their own security…

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Jeans Clad Deity Costs Priest His Job

www.ibnlive.com VRINDAVAN, INDIA, September 19, 2006: The caretaker of the Banke Bihari temple Jugal Goswami was relieved from all the responsibilities of the temple on Monday. Goswami, at the request of some fun-loving devotees, gave the Deity on Thursday a “modern look” complete with jeans and a shirt and wielding a mobile phone. The Western dressing of the Deity had…

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Hindu Temples in Fiji Targeted by Thieves

www.fijilive.com NAUSORI, FIJI, September 19, 2006: Thieves broke into a temple in Koroqaqa, Nausori, on September 16, the third in one week. Earlier this week, thieves broke into the Adi Shakti No Durga Mata Mandir in Nasinu and torched the temple. On Wednesday morning, thieves broke into a temple in Baulevu and got away with $400 and robbers entered the…

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