CHENNAI, INDIA, December 20, 2023 (The Hindu): It’s exactly 6 a.m. at Mada Street in Chennai’s Mylapore, and school children dressed as various mythological characters are getting ready to perform. Popular Carnatic vocalist Saketharaman gives them the cue, and the group begins walking along the road, singing Margazhi Thingal, a verse from the Thiruppavai. Even as Mylapore wakes up to…
CHENNAI, INDIA, December 20, 2023 (The Hindu): Come December, and Chennai springs to life with the sound of Carnatic music. Sabhas — as performing spaces are referred to — come alive, as vocalists and instrumentalists put forth their best performances, dishing out popular and rare kritis and varnams. It’s not just the city’s rasikas who look forward to this Margazhi…
INDIA, December 16, 2023 (New York Times): Want to raise a child with the business acumen of the industrial tycoon Ratan Tata, the concentration powers of the spiritual guru Swami Vivekananda, the scientific brilliance of the nuclear hero A. P. .J. Abdul Kalam and — of course — the confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi? In India, there is an…
KAUAI, HAWAII, December 16, 2023 (HPI): “A Visit to the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple” created by Hinduism Today was published on YouTube today. Funded by Uberoi Foundation, it is intended to assist in the presentation of the Buddhist religion in California 6th grade social studies classes. The ten-minute video is hosted by Rimban William Briones who describes the…
SRINAGAR, December 13, 2023 (Times Now News): Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) authorities began to repair the damaged boundary wall of Shardha Peeth a day after Home Minister Amit Shah registered a complaint about it. Kashmiri Pandits have also raised the issue of Shardha Peeth with the PoK Civil administration. Shardha Peeth Temple, situated in Neelam Valley of PoK, is an ancient…
GREAT BRITAIN, December 15, 2023 (Atlas Obscura): October 25, 2022 has been called Britain’s “Obama Moment”: On that day, Rishi Sunak became the country’s first ever non-white Prime Minister. But Britain’s current head of government represents an even bigger change. As a practicing Hindu, Sunak also is Britain’s first non-Christian PM. And although Sunak won his post via an internal…
INDIA, December 14, 2023 (Swarajya): India’s break-neck infrastructure development spree and increasing levels of prosperity have allowed more and more yatris to go on their favorite pilgrimages. Nobody expects better facilities or improved temple going experiences at any of the ancient, large temple complexes in India. Maladministration of heritage spaces is almost always a given, but we may be entering…
AUSTRALIA, December 13, 2023 (Hindu Council of Australia): The Hindu Chaplaincy course, “The Graduate Diploma in Counselors of Hindu Tradition” (CHT) is now recognized by the Chaplaincy body of NSW, College of Clinical Pastoral Education as equivalent to the Chaplaincy Course offered by them. This means that people from the Hindu community now do not need to do any extra…
AYODHYA, INDIA, December 15, 2023 (YouTube): The Ram Mandir is under construction in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. The ground-breaking ceremony was performed on the 5th of August 2020, and the pran pratishtha (consecration) ceremony is scheduled for January, 2024. This 3D animation movie, at source, describes the detailed process of the construction of the temple. https://youtu.be/lyFazCoV7UI?feature=shared
FRANCE, December 11, 2023 (New India Abroad): A statue of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar was unveiled in France, in a commune called Cergy, located approximately 17 miles from central Paris. Jawed Ashraf, Indian envoy to France and Monaco and Cergy mayor Jean-Paul Jeandon were present at the event. Thiruvalluvar is known for authoring Thirukkural (translated as “Sacred Couplets”), which is compared…
