SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 14, 2004: As festival season progresses in India this year with Ganesh Chaturthi, Navrata, Diwali, Dusshera and Durga Puja, India’s rivers and lakes are subjected to the immersion of divine icons. Environmentalists are concerned about the subsequent aftermath of these festivals. The article explains, “Barely a month after the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, when thousands of icons…
SourceDHAKA, BANGLADESH, October 18, 2004: Hindu community in Bangladesh has decided to scale down the festivity and limit the playing of musical instrument during the Durga Puja to maintain communal harmony in the country as Muslim’s Ramadan coincides this year with the Puja celebration. Leaders of Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council at a press conference on Monday, a day ahead of…
SourceKATHMANDU, NEPAL, October 18, 2004: Nepal Government today announced a temporary suspension of military action against Maoists in response to the rebels’ offer of a truce during Dusshera festival. “There will be no offensive from our side… If there is any sabotage against us and if anyone tries to disturb peace the government will be on high alert to maintain…
SourceNEW YORK, U.S.A., October 14, 2004: Twenty years ago, 74th street in Jackson Heights featured only a few Indian-owned shops. Today this same street has over 200 businesses that are Indian. For the sixth year in a row, the Hindu community has decorated the street with full fanfare to celebrate the Hindu festival of Deepavali. The merchants plan on leaving…
SourceHONOLULU, HAWAII, October 11, 2004: An exhibit of stone, marble, bronze, wood, clay and painted images from across India that depict the Goddess Durga will be on display at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. “Durga: The Great Goddess Revealed,” an exhibit of Durga images runs through December 5. The academy is also holding various music, film, lecture and festival events…
SourceKANPUR, INDIA, October 14, 2004: Jagat Guru Shankarachrya of Puri Math, Swami Nishchalanand, has alleged that various political parties were misusing the name of Shakaracharya by appointing people of their interest. Talking to reporters here Shakaracharya said that there were three recognized Shankaracharyas working in four peeths in the country —Gobardhan Peeth, Puri Peeth’s Nischalanand; in Karnataka south, Sringeri Math…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 4, 2004: When 53-year-old Kuchipudi maestro Jayarama Rao and his wife Vanashree traveled to China, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia to perform, they were amazed at the appreciation shown towards them for their art form in these countries. Rao says, “What beautiful expressions, what costumes, and what rhythm, they said at all the places we performed. All…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, October 11, 2004: The Supreme Court today declined to stay the ongoing construction activities at the Akshardham Temple Complex being built on the banks of river Yamuna even as the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said that all necessary permissions for the temple was obtained. A Bench comprising Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Justice S. B. Sinha declined…
SourceTRINIDAD, TOBAGO, October 15, 2004: Not many can afford to journey to the sacred pilgrims of India so for this year’s Divali celebration, the PRIDE Foundation in collaboration with the Sri Dattatreya Yoga Center will create a pilgrimage site–Jyoti Mahotsav (the festival of lights) where devotees can visit and discover their light within. This initiative is under the patronage of…
SourceAHMEDABAD, INDIA, October 11, 2004: Innovation is the name of the game when it comes to wooing the crowds during Navratri. The traditional garba-raas is improvised with new themes and swanky sets each year so much so that a Mumbai-based event manager Niraj Damanwala was in for a shock when he planned a garba on the traditional lines in Ahmedabad.…