GO TO SOURCE LONDON, ENGLAND, April 7, 2002: A section of nonresident Indians in the UK are up in arms against the use of the image of Lord Ganesha as a carrier and advertiser of beers. The objectionable photograph appeared under the title “Indian Summer Food and Drink” depicted in the Sunday Observer today shows Lord Ganesha carrying a glass…
GO TO SOURCE LONDON, UK, April 6, 2002: Scientists reacted with skepticism and shock to a report that a woman taking part in a controversial human cloning program for infertile couples was eight weeks pregnant. Italian fertility specialist Severino Antinori, who last year announced his intention to create the world’s first human clone, has been quoted as saying one woman…
GO TO SOURCE HYDERABAD, INDIA, April 2, 2002: The state government of Andhra Pradesh has recently issued a government order banning corporal punishment in schools. School education secretary I. V. Subba Rao said, “Imposition of corporal punishment was not in keeping with a child’s dignity, and it is cruel to subject a child to physical violence in school in the…
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…