SourceSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, May 5, 2003: The Indian Community Center opened in the San Francisco Bay Area, home to 150,000 Indian Americans, in February. Rajwant Ahluwalia, who came to the U.S. 20 years ago, says he’d been waiting since then for a place like this to open. “The moment I read about this facility in the newspaper I was very…
HPIMcCLOUD GANJ, INDIA, May 6, 2003: A pilgrim in McCloud Ganj hill station, home of the Dali Lama, reports that the Chinese have closed the border of Tibet, canceling this year’s Kailash pilgrimage. Hinduism Today’s reporter in New Delhi spoke to a number of journalists and officials of the Ministry of External Affairs [MEA] on the subject since yesterday and…
SourceBERLIN, GERMANY, May 2, 2003: The Ninth International Humor Congress, opening Friday in Stuttgart, offers an ideal opportunity for Germans serious about putting a bit more laughter into their lives. A series of seminars with titles such as “Discover the Clown Within” and “Clowning Around in Hospital” promise the social and therapeutic benefits of gelotology, otherwise known as the science…
The GazetteMONTREAL, CANADA, April 27, 2003: Migrating to Montreal, Canada, from Lucknow, India, in the 1970’s, Asha and Govind Saxena have held fast to their Indian culture and Hindu religion for nearly 30 years. They are among 58,000 Montrealers that have South Asian roots and who have tried to establish a balance between the East and the West in their…
The GazetteMONTREAL, CANADA, April 27, 2003: South Asian and Indian communities, practising the religion of their choice, whether that be Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism or Islam, are the first to build houses of worship when they migrate to other countries. In Montreal, temples and mosques serve to unite the community that is scattered throughout the city. The significance of these houses…
SourceUNITED STATES, May 4, 2003: Meditation is being embraced within medical circles as a powerful healing tool. A study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine reports meditation affects areas of the brain focused on emotion and also strengthens the ability to ward off illnesses. Harvard Medical School experts say the key to the relaxation response is repetition. The repetition can be…
New Straits TimesSEREMBAN, MALAYSIA, May 5, 2003: Around 7,000 Hindu devotees are expected to gather at the Arulmighu Maha Sapthakannika Devi Temple here on Thursday for annual prayers. Also known as the Temple of the Seven Virgin Goddesses, it is believed to be the only one in the country dedicated to the seven goddesses — Sri Bama Devi, Sri Rauthri…
St. Louis Post-DispatchST. LOUIS, U.S.A., May 1, 2003: The FBI is investigating the vandalism of the Islamic Center in Carbondale, Illinois, which took place over the weekend. The building had been defaced with painted slogans, including “Long Live Shri Rama,” and “Free Kashmir.” Such vandalism is often the work of unsophisticated youngsters, but the content of the messages in Carbondale…
SourceTIRUVARUR, INDIA, May 4, 2003: Organized by the Kanchi Kamakoti Peeta Carnatic Sangeetha Seva Trust, the six-day Jayanti festival of the famous Carnatic music trinity, Shyama Sasthrigal, Thyagaraja Swamigal and Muthuswamy Deekshitar, was inaugurated at Tiruvarur on Saturday night. Opening the festival, musicologist and secretary of Chennai-based Music Academy, Dr. V. V. Srivatsa, highlighted the contributions made by the three…
SourceUNITED STATES, April 30, 2003: An American company has apologized for introducing sandals emblazoned with Ganesha images and has promised to withdraw them from stores immediately. The sandals were cause for concern among Hindus in the U.S. and hundreds wrote in to the website of IndiaCause, an activist organization, to protest against American Eagles, the firm that produced the sandals.…