SourceMEGHALAYA, INDIA, April 29, 2003: Cherrapunji and Mawsynram, located in a remote part of northeast India, usually experience torrential rains. Increases in pollution and deforestation have been blamed for the environmental changes. Meghalaya, which means “Home of the Clouds” in Sanskrit and Hindi, enjoyed the distinction of having two of the world’s wettest places, Cherrapunji and Mawsynram, but Cherrapunji is…
SourceSILICON VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, April 26, 2003: In an effort to raise cultural awareness about the Sikh community, all public elementary school students in California will receive a new coloring and activity book which explains why Sikh boys and men wear turbans and refrain from cutting their hair. Introducing the book entitled “The Boy With Long Hair,” Lt. Governor Cruz M.…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, April 23, 2003: New Delhi has been given the prestigious honor as World Book Capital by a UNESCO panel represented by the International Publishers Association. Since 1896, the IPA has been a forum for 67 countries who believe in freedom in publishing, and respect for creativity and copyright laws. Managing director of Prentice-Hall, Kokee K. Ghosh says,…
HPIKAUAI, U.S.A., April 29, 2003: An HPI reader responded with details of the bank that deposits the names of God: “The name of the bank is Ramramapatri Bank, 5/35 Tripura Bhairvi, Dasaswamedh, Varanasi, India. This was established in 1927 and has more than 7000 billion Ramnam (names of Lord Rama.) On Ram Navami day, all the Ramnams are brought out,…
SourceKOLKATA, INDIA, April 29, 2003: An ordinary middle-class Hindu family with a real estate business and a kerosene shop runs a mosque in Barasat near Kolkata. “I feel good that the Basu family looks after the mosque on their compound,” Muslim priest Mohammed Abu Bakkar says. “It shows that despite all the religious hatred, Muslims and Hindus are basically one.”…
SourceKABUL, AFGHANISTAN, April 25, 2003: Hindus make up only a small fraction of Afghanistan’s predominately Muslim population of around 25 million, however a member of the Hindu minority has been appointed to a commission that will review a draft constitution for Afghanistan. Businessman Leek Raj will be the first non-Muslim participant in the 35-member Scrutinizing Commission. “The idea is to…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, April 5, 2003: Planetary alignments have put the wedding business in the doldrums. Astrologers say this particular planetary alignment between July 23 and October 7, occuring once every 12 years, is extremely inauspicious and marriages should be put off until this phase passes. Jupiter enters Leo on July 23. While malefic Jupiter stays in Leo until August…
SourceNEW DELHI, INDIA, April 26, 2003: With a current population of 14 million and growing by at least 500,000 each year, New Delhi’s need for water has become paramount. If current rates of water consumption continue, conservationists predict that groundwater will be depleted by 2020. In an effort to find a solution, municipal water authorities are encouraging everyone to participate…
SourceDURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, April 6, 2003: Former South African singer Shashika Mooruth is back in the country to release two new CDs. Mooruth, who has toured the world performing devotional music, will release “Vraja — Sounds Beyond Time” and “Swagatam Krishna” at the Festival of Chariots, which ran from April 18 to 21. “It is different from the kind of…
SourceSAN FRANCISCO, USA, April 13, 2003: According to the Bay Area Yoga Guide, there are more than 70 yoga studios in the nine counties around the San Francisco Bay, and most have opened since 1999. Yoga practitioners say that in the uncertain aftermath of the tech crash and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many unemployed dotcomers and jittery urbanites are…