SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, January 14, 2004: The festival of Makar Sankranti was celebrated fervently throughout India recently. At Hardwar about 700,000 pilgrims and sadhus took a holy dip in the river Ganga to commemorate the beginning of the Ardh-Kumbh Mela. In West Bengal where the Ganga and Bay of Bengal meet, 200,000 devotees took a holy dip and performed puja…
SourceKAUAI, HAWAII, January 19, 2004: The annual Kauaian Days He Inoa no Kaumuali’i Parade moved along Kaumuali’i Highway to Kaua’i Community College Saturday without a hitch. The community event focused on honoring Kaua’i, its people and its past. Upcoming events include a Martin Luther King memorial on Monday, along with community events across the island. Among them is “Gurudeva Day,”…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, January 10, 2004: The Centre for Science and Environment conducted a study in November and December of 2003 to determine the level of pesticides in food eaten by the average consumer in India. Sunita Narain director of CSE says, “The results were startling. Of the eight pesticides, the theoretical maximum daily intake (TMDI) for five pesticides was…
SourceOREGON, U.S.A., January 10, 2004: Mad Cow Disease, scientifically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has caused alarm to some American consumers of beef after a Washington Holstein was identified as carrying the disease. Some are considering adopting a vegetarian diet. This article explains how the beef industry has permeated American Society. Cow by-products are used to make gelatin, soap, asphalt…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, January 11, 2004: The All India Democratic Women’s Association today demanded effective policy to end the evil of honor killings of young people marrying out of their community. There is the chilling tale of Geeta whose husband Jasbeer was killed before her eyes. Geeta is a Rajput and her husband was a Jat and the medieval customs…
SourceKUALA LUMPAR, MALAYSIA, January 14, 2004: The Hindu community has been celebrating Thai Pongal, also known as the Harvest festival, for over 5,000 years. Festival popularity has resulted in business for those catering to the festival. Traders sell milk, cashew nuts, raisins and honey to devotees who prepare to give thanks to the Sun for a good harvest. The tradition…
SourceRAWANG, MALAYSIA, January 16, 2004: Sweet success was spelt on the lips of all the participants in the People’s Pongal festival at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Rawang in Malaysia on January 15. The participants filled 1,001 earthen pots with freshly-cooked sweet Pongal rice. More importantly, their very presence tripled the size of last year’s Malaysia Book of Records entry for…
By Paras RamoutarTRINIDAD, January 16, 2004: The 20th anniversary of, “Mantra of the Year” (MOTY), will be celebrated on Saturday, January 17, at 7 p.m., at the Hindu Prachar Kendra Mandir, Ragoonanan Road, Central Trinidad. Gita Ramsingh, coordinator of the programme, pointed out this year marks the 20th anniversary, “since the inception of this major religious initiative instituted by Raviji.”…
SourceWEST LANTANA, FLORIDA, January 15, 2004: Leila Persaud, a retired teacher who lives in a gated community (a subdivision of homes where access to the roads is allowed only for residents, who pass through a locked gate) of West Lantana in Florida said she faces fines and a trip to court if she continues to fly a jhandi (brightly colored…
SourceJAIPUR, INDIA, January 13, 2004: Activists participating in a national Dalit Swadhikar rally were denied entry into the famous Shrinath temple in Nathdwara, despite a 15-year-old judgment of the Rajasthan High Court directing the State Government to ensure unhindered access for Dalits to the temple. The rally, organised by the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights, started from four different…