Source: The Hindu TIRUVANNAMALAI, INDIA, April 3, 2002: With the kumbabhishekam, or rededication blessing, of the Sri Arunachaleswara Temple scheduled for June 27, a major portion of the renovation of the sannadhis (structures housing the individual deities), the gopurams (entrance towers) and the Ayirankal Mandapam (1000-pillared hall) has been completed. The kumbabhishekam, to be performed after a gap of 26…
GO TO SOURCE BANGALORE, INDIA, April 6, 2002: Ganati, a temple management software was launched by Sri Raghavendra Seva Samithi and Mediateck on Saturday. Greater responsibilities of religious institutions that function as trusts or government bodies brought about the development of this software. Ganati was developed to bring in efficiency and transparency in various functions of the temple such as…
GO TO SOURCE PUERTO RICO, USA, April 4, 2002: Mathangi Sundararajan (“source” above) sends the following items from Puerto Rico: 1. Swami Yogatmananda, who is at present minister in charge of Vedanta Society of Providence, Rhode Island, USA, visited the island for three days from March 23rd to 26th and addressed formal and informal groups. He left a deep impression…
GO TO SOURCE GUJARAT, INDIA, April 8, 2002: Intelligence reports from various districts in Gujarat reveal that Hindu activists are stoking the communal tension prevailing in the state by sending bangles to cadres in areas where the level of violence did not match the death and mayhem witnessed elsewhere in the state. The gift of women’s bangles are meant as…
GO TO SOURCE KOLKATA, INDIA, April 6, 2002: The tourism ministry is considering a move to start a “Vivekananda Yatra” for tourists, which would encompass all the places Swami Vivekananda visited spreading his message, Union culture and tourism minister Jagmohan announced. The minister was speaking at the annual convocation of the Ramakrishna Institute of Culture. “In these troubled times, it…
GO TO SOURCE BANGALORE, INDIA, April 6, 2002: This month Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury will be clearly visible between April 15 and 30, with Mercury joining in to shine in the night sky in the month-end. The best time to see these planets is around seven in the evening, just after sunset in the Western sky. “It will…
GO TO SOURCE WASHINGTON, U.S.A., April 4, 2002: Two research teams, one from the West and one from the East, have collaborated their efforts as part of an international rice project to determine the genetic makeup of the grain. Both teams, the one in California located at Syngenta International Inc. in San Diego and led by Steven Briggs and Stephen…
GO TO SOURCE AHMEDABAD, INDIA, April 4, 2002: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday told Muslims of Gujarat that they were not alone at this time of crisis and the entire country was behind them. “You are not alone at this time of crisis. We all are with you. The entire country is with you,” he told the riot…
GO TO SOURCE ABASANA, GUJARAT, INDIA, April 3, 2002: “You are welcome to Hindu nation’s village…..” — such “welcome” boards can be seen lined all along the road as one drives down to this village in Gujarat State. But Abasana is an exception as no such proclamation of Hindutva greets you to it, states this report in the Hindustan Times.…
GO TO SOURCE DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, March 31, 2002: Feathers have been ruffled in the Hindu community in this country because some temples used a symbol of a peacock rather than a rooster on their flags for Kavadi festivals. The rooster symbol has been widely used for more than a century, but some temples have upset devotees by replacing it…