GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, August 17, 2002: This opinion piece by Vijay Rana reads in part, “The first time I was forced to declare myself as a devout Hindu was when I approached one of the finest schools in London for the admission of my daughter. The priest lectured me on the advantages of regular temple visits. He reluctantly…
Source: Hindustan Times KOLKATA, INDIA, August 28, 2002: While Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas dedicated generous celluloid space to the Bengali tradition of procuring earth from a prostitute’s threshold for Goddess Durga’s idols, the country’s largest body of sex workers has declined to yield to the pre-puja custom this year. For the first time, the conglomerate Durbar Mahila Samanvaya Committee has…
Source: The Telegraph KOLKATA, INDIA, August 29, 2002: The Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) has embarked on a clean-puja (festival) campaign. Around 500 trash bins will be placed on main thoroughfares for passersby to dump their trash. The conservancy department is investing over $30,000 for the fiberglass bins and the civic authorities mean business. They will make the errant Calcuttan pay…
GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA July 18, 2002: The next time you visit the Siddhivinayak (Ganesha) temple, Prabhadevi, and the temple guard finds your dress inappropriate for the holy environs, you could be given a lesson in modest dressing and the temple guard will advise you not to wear such clothes the next time you visit there. A guard says,…
GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, August 31, 2002: In the narrow lanes of Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra, groups of youngsters formed human pyramids and brought down earthen pots brimming with curds and milk on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami on Saturday. Pots, filled with fresh white curds, home-made butter milk, bananas and a coconut were hung several feet above…
GO TO SOURCE MUMBAI, INDIA, August 30, 2002: The Shanmukhananda Sangeet Vidyalaya will offer a University of Mumbai-recognized degree course in the Indian classical Carnatic music as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of its parent body, the Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha, located in Sion. The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Carnatic) to be offered by the Vidyalaya will…
Source: San Juan Star SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, August 27, 2002: Member of the Indian Parliament Menaka Gandhi participated in a International Conference on Peace and Development in San Juan,capital city of Puerto Rico during the second week of August. held on the second week of August. Though she raised many eyebrows here by her comment on India’s population growth…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, UK, August 27, 2002: An Anglican minister said Tuesday that he has banned yoga classes from his church because he feels the practice is incompatible with Christianity. The Rev. Derek Smith has angered yoga practitioners by barring a weekly yoga class from meeting in the hall of St. Michael’s church in Melksham, 100 miles west of…
GO TO SOURCE AYODHYA, INDIA, August 30, 2002: A parallel body of Hindu saints on Thursday resolved to work out an amicable solution to the centuries-old Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masj dispute in Ayodhya. Drawn from local congregations and a few other north Indian religious centers, these saints met formally for the first time on Thursday under the banner of the Vishwa…
Source: Yahoo.com ASPEN, COLORADO, August 28, 2002: Plans for a classroom yoga program were put on hold so administrators and parents could decide whether it would bring religion into the school. Some families at Aspen Elementary said the chanting that often accompanies yoga techniques might challenge the constitutional separation of church and state. The program, called Yoga Ed, would use…